06/30/2025
Weird family heirlooms.
We don't have many ornaments in our house, and those we do have tend to be things that have a specific meaning, rather than something 'pretty' bought just to fill a space.
One such item is this bland looking lump of granite. Literally so dull, not a single person has ever asked what it is, or why we have it 'on display' instead of, say, a little statue of an animal.
This is actually a core sample that was given to me by my Dad, who was, in turn, given it by my late Grandfather.
This piece was drilled from London Bridge in the late 60s prior to the bridge being sold, then dismantled, and subsequently moved, stone by stone, from where it originally crossed the Thames in London (UK), to Lake Havasu City in Nevada (US).
London Bridge still stands, straddling the man-made waterway which now separates Pittsburgh Point from Lake Havasu City. The bridge was purchased by oil tycoon Robert P. McCulloch in 1968, and after being transported to the US, was rebuilt brick by brick as a tourist attraction.
I believe this core sample, made of Haytor granite, was drilled as part of the testing/exploratory research to assess the viability of the bridge actually being dismantled and transported successfully to its new home in the US?
One day I would love to travel to Nevada, and visit the bridge in person. I also would love to visit the site of the quarry on Exmoor in Devon, where the granite originated.
If I do either/both of these things, I fully intend to take my little core sample with me and get a photo of it at each place.
51, size 9 feet, so dull I can't even think of anything witty or interesting to put here.
