INTERWIEW MENETE:

(HASZNÁLJATOK BRITIS ACCENTET PLS!)

BLANKA: Good afternoon Mr Bazalgette! Thank you for sitting
down with me for this interview. You have become a very important
person in London recently. Everybody knows your name because you
are the one who rescued us from another cholera epidemic.
VILMOS: Thank you, it is truly flattering. I only did my job. I am
really happy to have been able to help.
BLANKA: So, you are a civil engineer. When did you start working
for the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers?
VILMOS: In 1849, after the second outbreak of cholera that killed
more than 14.000 Londoners. Before that, the Commission ordered
that the cesspits should be closed and the house drains should connect
to serwers and empty into the Thames. Can you imagine that now?
BLANKA: No, that must have been terrible times!!! And there were
no fish or other wildlife in the river!
VILMOS: They didn”t have the chance! And at that time people
thought that cholera was caused by foul air. Only my friend, Dr John
Snow wanted to convince the public that it was contaminated water
not the air. Now, we can see that he was proven right.
BLANKA: But still, we had the Great Stink just 8 years ago. Of
course, the hot summer weather contributed that all the human and
industrial waste on the River had this terrible smell that nobody can
forget easily. What was your proposal to solve the problem?
VILMOS: We constructed 82 miles of enclosed underground brick
sewers and 1.100 miles of street sewers to divert the raw sewage
which flowed freely through the streets of London. Of course, there
were pumping stations included into the system, which was opened by
Prince Edward last year.
BLANKA: Has it been finished?
VILMOS: No, no way!! It is very expensive and there is still a lot of
work to be done! We also should solve the treatment of sewage and
build new facilities in the future.
BLANKA: Can I have some personal questions? Our readers may
want to know something about your family. Do you have children?
VILMOS: Yes, I have a very big family: 5 sons and 6 daughters.
BLANKA: You must be a very good role model for them. Did you
have or do you have anything similar to that?
VILMOS: Obviously. I would not say that he is still as a huge role
model to me as he was when I was young of course, but at the very
beggining of my career there was a famous engineer called John
Mackneil. His inspiring manner still has an important part in my life.
BLANKA: One last question: Who would you say thanks to for your
successful career?
VILMOS: That is one hard question. But of course my family played
an enormous role. They supported me no matter what. I wouldn’t be
here without them.