[Gulliver]

Re engineers.....it's true. My late father saw the rot set in....he gained a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1961, transferring eventually to the furniture industry as a structures expert when the British aircraft industry self-destructed.

By the 80s he noticed that he wasn't respected here in the same way as he was when he visited Germany for business...."Guten abend Herr Doktor Engineer".

Part of the problem here is that we call street cleaners such as "sanitation engineers". I have respect for street cleaners and bin men. Where would we be without them? But the job is not highly skilled and is not a branch of engineering. I agree, the guy who came to fix my washing machine (under warranty, otherwise I DIY) was not an engineer. He's definitely a technician or repair man...has had a fair amount of training but isn't an engineer....but he's described as a "Hotpoint Engineer"....I suspect Hotpoint employ engineers in the manufacture of their devices though.

Engineer as a whole career is looked down upon now. And as already said, so many kids would rather study art history or media studies.

As for blacksmiths and the fetish community, the requirements for metal fittings are often lucrative and the quality requested high. Sometimes the items are not just required to look like something one might see in a dungeon but must also be strong enough to hold the weight of a human being or two. It's been a second lease of life for some blacksmiths.

As for "devices of pleasure"....yes some run to hundreds or even a couple of thousand pounds and contain quite heavy duty motors and mechanisms. I'm in no way embarrassed that I know these things.