Roman buildings famously tend to be shut for years while in restauro.
Jack Straw delayed dealing with it for three years while in government.
Foreign investment in Santa Cruz has shot up in recent years, while in Bolivia generally it has fallen.
In Ethiopia, the population is now heading towards its worst drought in 50 years while in Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe has declared a state of disaster.
Many of the most popular and enduring traditional practices have been disproven over the years, while in some cases science has found measurable benefits.
A flop produced with private funds might mean no more chances for five years, while in the WPA project a man might produce an unbroken series of flops.
Johnson said Hogan-Howe had cut crime by 40% in three years while in Merseyside and had an excellent record in tackling gangs.
The average lifespan for a panda in the wild is 18 to 20 years, while in captivity it is 30, according to Guinness.
I had no savings, despite having worked for two years while in the sixth form, so I was gambling with my student loan, and constantly extending my overdraft.
I was pretty much a clerk, doing boring data entry for two years while in university.
The usual length of study in technical schools is 3 years, while in universities it is normally 4 years.
