����ý

If only everything in life was as straightforward to achieve as a plate of beans on toast.

Simply heat up those beans while the bread is in the toaster, and within 10 minutes - hey presto - it’s ready.

With other things, we need to exercise a little more patience. Major construction projects can take years, some music acts can leave long gaps between albums as they strive to perfect every last note and lyrics. But in many cases, the wait pays off. ����ý Bitesize takes a look at some of history’s accomplishments which took a lot longer to unveil than a quick toasty snack.

Brooklyn Bridge: A 14 year wait to cross New York’s East River

A designated landmark in the USA and a familiar sight throughout the world from films and TV, the Brooklyn Bridge took a while to make an impact on the New York city skyline.

Spanning the East River to create a crossing between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, only around a quarter of its 6,016ft (roughly 1.8km) length is over water. The low-lying banks of the river require the approaches at both ends to stretch far inland. Traffic travels on the lower deck of the bridge, while pedestrians and cyclists can enjoy some amazing views from the top deck, walking or pedalling between the distinctive granite arches.

The suspension bridge was the vision of architect John Roebling, who had developed a method for weaving wire cables - a key part of the Brooklyn Bridge design. This was pioneering work in 19th Century construction when it began in 1869, and completed 14 years later. There were delays; a blast damaged part of the structure, a fire led to work slowing down, one cable came loose from its anchor and went into the river and tons of cable also needed to be replaced.

Sadly, Roebling never saw his work completed - or barely begun. He died in 1869 following a collision with a boat which led to his death from tetanus three weeks later.

Boyhood: A coming-of-age film 12 years in the making

If a film has a long journey to the screen, there can be all sorts of reasons. It could be linked to budget, a director’s perfectionism, or rewrites and reshoots. Boyhood was a little different.

Director Richard Linklater’s film was released in 2014, but shooting began 12 years earlier - and it was always planned that way. Linklater wanted to tell a story of a boy growing up, while capturing the natural ageing process of a group of the same actors in the process. Ellar Coltrane, who played main character Mason Evans Jr, was six years old when they were cast and 19 when shooting finished.

Every year between 2002 and 2013, Linklater would gather the same group of actors - including Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke - for a short period and film some more footage. This enabled him to shoot without recasting the character of Mason as an older child or teenager in a shorter project. The idea paid off; Arquette won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - while Boyhood itself received critical acclaim.

York Minster: A place of worship that took centuries to emerge

We have to go right back to 627 for the first building that can be identified as York Minster. This was a small wooden church built for the Easter baptism of King Edwin of Northumbria. Other buildings gradually took the place of this structure. In 1080, Archbishop Thomas of Bayeaux began work on a completely new cathedral after the previous one was destroyed by fire in 1069.

It was from around 1154 that the building we know as York Minster today began to rise from the ground. This was the year Archbishop Roger of Pont l’Évêque oversaw the replacement of the east end of the building. In around 1225, Archbishop Walter de Gray began work on a new south transept.

The Gothic Minster was built between 1225 and 1255, followed by the Chapter House with its vaulted ceiling in the early 1290s. Work began on the Nave in 1291, taking more than 60 years to finish. Two other sections followed, the East End and the Quire, with construction delayed when the central bell tower collapsed during a storm in 1405.

Fires remained an unfortunate part of the Minster’s history. Flames caused damage in 1753, 1829, 1840 and most recently 1984.

Finnegans Wake: A book that had the literary world waiting 17 years

Ulysses, which would become the most famous novel by Irish author James Joyce, was published in 1922. It told the events of a single day in Dublin in June 1904.

When it came to his next novel, Joyce took a while to come up with something new. Almost 20 years in fact

He began work on Finnegans Wake in 1922 in Paris and it wasn’t published until 1939. Progress on the book may have been slowed by family issues and the author’s failing eyesight. The finished work can be a challenging read, blending events in real life with that in a dream world.

Finnegans Wake includes examples of James Joyce’s thunderwords - each made up of 100 letters (except one, which has 101) to describe different sounds which appear in the narrative. A thunderword appears on the very first page of the book. Joyce also plays around with language throughout the book, creating many portmanteau words. An example of this is ‘fadograph’, a combination of the words fading and photograph.

It was James Joyce’s final published work. He died in 1941.

This article was first published in June 2022.