Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness, concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream events issues from the decision.
The M1 is widely perceived as a necessary evil synonymous with bad weather, tailbacks and stewed tea. Yet there was a time when the first intercity motorway in the UK was a celebrated part of the national geography, valued as a destination in itself. We explore the length of this great tarmac institution, meeting architects and historians, artists and truckers. We unearth the story of the motorway’s construction, reveal the poetry of its monumental architecture, dine in its historic service stations and recover the utopian thrill of its early days.
The Monday 2nd, 1959 issue of the Guardian offered this prophetic warning …
In an age of serious contemplation of travel to the moon it seems senseless that no British Government has yet devised means of enabling traffic to move more freely on the ground at home.
