Breaking The Code

 

Recreation of a classroom at Bletchley Park

The next day I met Christine and Anne at Euston Station, as we were off to Bletchley Park.  This was the central site for Britain’s code breakers during World II.  A pleasant train journey and a short walk took us to the visitor’s centre.  This was full of interactive and audio-visual displays detailing some of the fascinating work that was undertaken at this site, as well as filmed, first hand accounts from some of the staff that worked there during the war.  We then toured some of the huts in the extensive grounds and saw first hand the equipment used and the conditions under which the personnel worked.  It was all the more interesting when you realised that 75% of people who worked there were women.  

Enigma Machine

 

 We saw the working rebuilt bombe, which had been partly designed by Alan Turing and watched a very instructive talk on how the electromechanical device was used to discover the daily settings of the Enigma machines used by the Germans.  I won’t pretend that I understood completely how this complex machine worked however I did follow the explanation up to a certain point. We finished our visit with a tour of the mansion and saw exhibits from the film, The Imitation Game, as some scenes from the film were filmed on site. 

Bletchley Park Mansion

 I am glad that we were able to visit Bletchley Park as we gained an insight into the crucial work undertaken during the war and which, until fairly recently, has largely gone unrecognised.

 

The next day was museum day with visits to both the London Museum and the Foundling Museum.  I love the London Museum and I usually find an excuse to go there each time that I am in London.  There is always something different to see and it is not difficult to spend a couple of hours wandering the different rooms and looking at all the displays.  Christine and Anne enjoyed the Foundling Museum, as they hadn’t been there before.  There was a special exhibition, Feeding the 400, which I enjoyed.  This was a collection of paintings, tableware and archival audios detailing all aspects of feeding the children over the years at the hospital.

London Museum

We finished our sightseeing early that afternoon, as Christine and Anne needed to pack for their trip to Bruges.  Michael was supposed to be joining me for the weekend however his trip was cancelled at the last minute due to work commitments.  I dropped very large hints to Christine and Anne that I was available to join them on their jaunt, however they pretended not to hear me!  James and Amber had left for Bali, Michael was in Ireland, Christine and Anne were heading to Bruges and I was going to be left all alone in London, my most favourite city in the world, for three days.  Bliss!