Bridges, Spice and All Things Nice!

Bridges, where would we be without them?

Over the years I have been over many bridges. Three bridges stand out and all are very different. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia and Campbell's Covered bridge in South Carolina, USA.

The Golden Gate Bridge is the youngest of the three. Building started in 1933 and was completed in 1937.

The suspension bridge is 8, 981 ft (2.7km's) in length and 90ft(27.4m) wide. 

Three men were responsible for the wonderful structure. Joseph Strauss, Irving Morrow and Charles Ellis. 

 A suspension, truss arch & truss causeways design made of steel.

The bridge-opening celebration began on May 27th 1937 and lasted for one week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed by foot and roller skate!

Since its completion, the Golden Gate Bridge has been closed due to weather conditions only three times. December 1, 1951, because of gusts of 69 mph (111 km/h). December 23, 1982, because of winds of 70 mph (113 km/h) and December 3, 1983, because of wind gusts of 75 mph (121 km/h). An anemometer was placed midway between the two towers on the west side of the bridge and has been used to measure wind speeds. Another anemometer was placed on one of the towers.


The Sydney Harbour Bridge started construction in 1923 and was completed in 1932.

Under the directions of Dr J.J.C.Bradfield of the NSW Department of Public Works, the bridge was designed and built by British firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd of Middlesbrough.

The Bridge length is 1,149 m (3,770 ft) and the width 49 m (161 ft). 

A through arch design made of steel.

Something happened when the bridge was formally opened on March 19th,1932. There were many dignitaries and the Labor Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang was to open the bridge by cutting a ribbon on the southern end. However, just as Lang was about to cut the ribbon, a man in military uniform rode up on a horse and slashed the ribbon with his sword, opening  the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the name of the people of New South Wales before the official ceremony began. He was promptly arrested, the ribbon was retied and Lang performed the official ceremony! 

The intruder was identified as Francis de Groot. He was convicted of offensive behaviour and fined £5 after a psychiatric test proved he was sane, but this verdict was reversed on appeal. De Groot then successfully sued the Commissioner of Police for wrongful arrest, and was awarded an undisclosed out of court settlement. De Groot was a member of a right-wing paramilitary group called the New Guard, opposed to Lang's leftist policies and resentful of the fact that a member of the Royal Family had not been asked to open the bridge. A similar ribbon-cutting ceremony on the bridge's northern side by North Sydney's mayor, Alderman Primrose, was carried out without incident.

Campbell's Covered Bridge is in Greenville County, South Carolina, USA.

The wooden, covered bridge was built in 1909 by, Charles Irwin Willis. The bridge was given it's name after Alexander Lafayette Campbell, who built and maintained the Campbell Corn Mill in the town of Gowensville. 

It was made in a relatively rare four-span Howe truss design. It features vertical iron rods and diagonal timbers that were made of pine.

The bridge is only 38 ft (12 m) long and 12 ft (3.7 m) wide.

In 1980 the bridge was closed off to traffic. The bridge itself is currently owned by the  Greenville County. The land surrounding the bridge was owned by Sylvia Pittman until 2005. Plans emerged for a park to be built around the bridge, and in mid 2005 Pittman sold 10 acres (40,000 m²) of surrounding land to the Greenville County, which paid for it. She said, "I had in mind to have this park preserved to allow everyone to enjoy it like we have." 

The initial cost of US $180,000 was covered through state and county grants.

One hundred years after it was built, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 1, 2009 .

The next time you cross a bridge, think about it's history. The day I visited Sydney Harbour Bridge, I had afternoon tea at a little cafe near by. They served delicious Gingernut biscuits. From that day on I have loved them and here is my recipe for you to make them. 


Enjoy! 


Bernadette's Gingernut Biscuits/Cookies


Ingredients

340grams of plain flour
1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons of ground ginger
100grams of butter
160grams of light brown sugar
4 tablespoons of golden syrup
1 large egg, beaten

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180°C/350°F

Line the baking trays with oven proof paper.

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl. 

Place butter into dry ingredients and mix together with finger tips until it looks like bread crumbs. 

Stir in the sugar, then the syrup and the beaten egg. Bring it all together to form a smooth pastry dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to be about 8mm thick.

Using a small round cutter, cut out biscuits until all the biscuit dough is used up. 

Place on baking tray making sure enough room is left for slight expansion of the biscuits.

Before placing in oven to cook, chill on the baking tray for 20 minutes in fridge.

Cook for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Put onto a rack to cool.