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...world lays to rest such a naive assumption. Politics under any system of government is always a dirty business. But the Athenian political system is tied particularly closely to our own because it was – I’m tempted to say first and foremost – a spectator sport. Much of the time, meetings of the Athenian Assembly resembled an explosive televised debate, as...

...world famous Crystal Palace, where cast iron columns support wrought iron beams which in turn support wooden floors. However, it is remembered for the glazing which forms the exterior roof cladding (Figure 3). Figure 3: Building the Crystal Palace using system methods What cannot be so easily appreciated is the way it was built in the remarkably short time of 3 months, to...

...world on Burns Night. But why? What are the reasons for this ubiquitous ritual and what is its relevance today? In 1817, in the cramped graveyard of St Michael’s church in Dumfries, the bones of Burns were exhumed from the coffin in which he had been laid to rest in 1796. The workmen present stood bare-headed ‘their frames thrilling with some indefinable emotion, as...