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The Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth Harbour, intended as part of the Millennium celebrations in 2000, has finally opened to the public, only 6 years late*.



As a final irony the external lift carrying the city council's project manager to the opening ceremony got stuck halfway to the top. Says it all really.

*PS. It says 5 years here but what's a year between friends? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4351452.stm

Wonder if it will stay open for longer than the Dome did. Sounds like the project came from the same guy

What an odd looking tower

I dont think it looks like a sail from a Spinnaker Yacht. I guessing this was the the idea

There is always one

About time. Now that i know what it is

The Spinnaker Tower is actually a very impressive piece of architechture & can be seen from miles around. It includes the tallest public viewing tower in the UK & looks very much like the mast & sails of a ship depending on the angle it's viewed from. The main structure was finished on time (I think) & it's been a familar landmark around here for a long time. Although it's considerably smaller I think it was based on one in Malaysia or somewhere in the Middle East. I forget what it's called & can't find details on that one at the moment.

http://www.lusas.com/case/civil/spinnaker_tower.html

It reminds me of that weird hotel in Dubai (I think thats how you spell it.)

ehm... When is it gonna take off?  :P

Well I love the architecture Hope it stays open for a while

Ah, that's it. Thanks Tacit.

The Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai. As you can see it's a very similar concept & the hotel is designed to resemble the sail of an Arab dhow. Looks like a splendid view from all rooms.

I love it. Pity us brits can't be more punctual, but then look at our trains.

I've been one of the severest critics of the public transport system in this country for a long time. That was mainly because I believed what I read in the papers without any experience of actually travelling by train. My opinion was changed when I visited London by train last Friday. I was so impressed that I'll be doing it again, soon & often.

PS. My train departed on time & deposited me in London on time as advertised. Maybe I was lucky but you can't ask for more than that.

Hi Doug, as with all the public transport functions, when they work, there is nothing wrong at all infact in most cases its quicker than car. When i went to get my visa in london, i left my house at 5:30 in the morning by taxi at new street by 5:45, on the train at 6:10 as scheduled and in london 80 minutes later again as it should have been. and it was the same on the way back. Perfect no hassle and by car it would have taken double the time and finding parking in London is never easy. The downside was over

Oh well they have greatly improved. But the service is still very poor and lagging terribly behind some countries. Network rail says that more than 85% of trains were now on time. Funny that there are so many complaints still.

As an example of how they can get around this, if there are not enough people on one train passenegrs have to wait for another, so although they are delayed and behind time the trains are not.

Personally I like the train. A comfortable ride.

Ooops, off topic.