The Final Folly

Lord Berners said: "The great point of the tower is that it will be entirely useless."

也许你印象中的英国人都是循规蹈矩彬彬有礼。但英国历史上也不乏我行我素的奇特人物。BBC 最新推出的六集系列将为大家介绍六位古怪的英国人– English Eccentrics.

There is a long tradition of eccentricity within the Britisharistocracy贵族。Perhaps the most famous example of awacky古怪的member of the English upper class in the 20th century was Lord Berners.

Lord Berners' home, Faringdon House, was full of curiosities and surprises. Even the pigeons were strange colours! He entertained his guests with music and magic tricks throughout the 1930s.

He also created the last folly in England. A folly is a building which has no purpose. Why did he build it – and is it really a useless building? Listen to the programme to find out.

You will also hear a useful phrase that describes a rich person who has lots of strange and pointless projects.