(Big debate this morning - train or bikes? The boys were immediate and unanimous in their answer - BIKES.)
So we headed off and up to Bletchley Park. A nice ride this morning, although Sherlock was wriggling about - like having an eel behind me on the bike.
Once we were there, an in, Sherlock obviously wanted to DO everything, while Mycroft wanted to know what was going on, and when.
So off we strolled, having been kitted out with little ...well, earphones and screens, that fit in your pocket, you know? To the main house, to find out which talks and things we could go and see/walk around with.
Well...the boys decided we needed to do a walking tour, then a talk about the Enigma machine, then a talk about The Bombe... so we did.
The walking tour was very interesting. Amazing to think of all those people, not even knowing what each other did, let alone telling anyone outside what was happening in there! The poor guys who were getting abuse for not being in uniform, as if they weren't 'doing their bit' and unable to defend themselves... the people who arrived single, and left married...still without knowing what their new spouse did! The people who arrived married...and left married to someone different!
And the pressure...the thought that so many lives were in your hands, when they were only 18, 19 years old. Amazing.
Anyway, after that we got coffee (this is a bit of a theme...) and then headed for the first talk. It was in the ballroom - very impressive.
It was...very interesting. I do sort of understand it...sort of. Clever machine.
Then I got another coffee... and we went to the talk about The Bombe. Same old guy... well, I was lost. I mean, really really early on, when we were still on the 'simple' part, I was completely lost...I'm still lost. If you find me, do tell me where I am.
I mean, I can tell it was completely amazing, what they did. I just...don't quite understand how they got there. Mycroft tried to explain, but...well, maybe I should do some reading on it. Mycroft went and spoke to the guy afterwards, and thanked him for his very informative talk.
 |
| A corner of ballroom. |
Then I got another coffee... and we went to explore some bits of the site, with our little devices.
Once it started raining we headed back indoors, to the museum-y bit, and saw the recreation of the Bombe. Which was amazing. I mean, amazing they've recreated it, but also amazing to think it was every made in the first place.
The man told us a little about it, then ran it.
That's the front...sort of. All those little circles turn around, the top row of each 3 turn fast, the middle row slower, the bottom row slower still. It...well, it works out bits of the code, and how to crack it...but you'll have to read this to try and understand, not ask me!!
And they had to crack the code...cypher... every single day. Madness, madness to think they thought they could ever do it! 158,000,000,000 combinations! I'd just have started learning German...
Anyway, yes, and then, at the end of the war, they all went their own ways, and never spoke of it. Many of them even when they were told they could...they didn't want to, for different reasons. So only a few people have ever really shared their stories.
Absolutely amazing. They're building a whole new visitor centre, to open this summer. As our tickets last a year, we shall go back!
98 comments:
After watching Mycroft talk to that guy today, the watch out world tag seems very appropriate.
Actually I do have a question for Mycroft (or anyone who can answer it): did everyone who worked there have to speak German? I'm linksurfing wikipedia now, and it's talking about how there was a big reliance on cribs and things like that, words they could recognize that were used often, so now I'm wondering if every single person who worked there needed to be able to read German to be able to recognize if a pattern was a possibility or not. Of course, this is largely beyond me, so I may be entirely missing a lot of the point.
As far as I can see I could have coped with the getting of coffee, but that's about it. And I'd manage being very impressed with what they achieved.
Z- no, they didn't have to be able to speak German. Or indeed Italian, or other languages they intercepted. In fact, it added security that certain people didn't! But obviously some did. Lots of them were mathematicians or scientists, not linguists. And many of them were scholars and changed their specialism as a result of meeting people at work who did other things.
It really was amazing.
Danger - definitely! I could imagine him there, in a nice suit, running a cypher department :)
Glad you enjoyed it all and understood most - I was pretty much in the same boat. The sheer amount of computations that had to be done and, as you said, it changed every day was just staggering.
That sculpture of Alan Turing was brilliant wasn't it, it must have taken hours to assemble each slice in the right order.
It was good I enjoyed it and I want to go back and see more because we didn't see everything and thank you for taking us and I enjoyed going on the bikes too because it's fun.
We're watching the relay in the ice skating it looks loads of fun and I want to go ice skating and swimming.
I'm not sure I'll have any life left in me by the time I go back to work!
Still, at least he went to sleep fast!
It sounds like Sherlock has a blissful day! Actually, it sounds like you all had a great time.
A number of years ago, I did an "Americanization" and redesign of a book about the Bletchly Park codebreakers (I think it was titled "Station X," or something similar), and it was fascinating--until I reached the part where I couldn't understand a word! ;D
(haD a blissful day.)
Station X was the listening post that was there at the beginning of the war, I think they said, but was then moved, in case someone detected the high power radio gear they needed, and suddenly realise something was going on there...
I think Mycroft enjoyed it the most. Even Sherlock had to ask him to explain things, much to Sherlock's disgust ;)
Off topic: Thanks, Greg for today's title lyric. I had completely forgotten Enigma existed and they're proving excellent background for the research/writing/diplomatic (I hope) emails that are eating my life this week.
On topic: Sounds like a great day. Hope half term continues in this vein.
fA
ha, no problem. I aim to please ;)
I hope so too! It's so nice doing things together.
It's amazing what people accomplished when they didn't have much to work with. I'm glad you all had what sounds like a great day!
My grandma soldered wires for the first computers during WWII. To the day she died she wouldn't talk about it. Some things, I guess, you just had to experience.
They said people have all different reasons for not talking about it. Some because they said they never would, so they don't. Others because they could never tell loved ones, so don't want to tell others, and I'm sure loads of other reasons.
I shall dream tonight of a lonely dispatch rider, and his true love - the neatly turned out soldier at the gate ;) Their brief meetings each day, the start of something beautiful...
I sense a story that might eclipse The Saga of Greg the (Were)Florist . . .
fA
Ha, sadly I think it would be quite dull....neither dispatch riding nor sentry duty being the stuff dreams are made of!
I suppose it'd depend what they got up to off duty.
...
"Done anything interesting today?"
"I can't tell you what I do."
"Don't be an idiot, I let you in the gate four times a day on your motorcycle! I know what you do!"
....mmm. I'm thinking Dispatch isn't as bright as Sentry....
Ha!
Exactly, John.
Plus, both dispatch riding and sentry duty must allow a generous amount of time for pining. Gently yearning and pining improve any romance. And this WOULD be a romance, right?
fA
definitely lots of pining time, yes.
And...sneaking about in darkness. Although that'd probably be a quick way of getting yourself in big trouble, around there! Don't expect they liked sneaking...
The wartime spur to gather ye rosebuds while ye may probably motivated a good deal of calculated risk taking. Though I'm a pedestrian sort and too much justified fear & apprehension is a downer.
fA
Sad to say, but considering the law at time, unless one of the two was a woman, such a romance would be super-dangerous unless it never went farther than pining. :(
Most dispatch riders were women, both sentry and dispatch would need to have something about them that stopped them being sent to the front.
But Danger is Sentry's middle name...would they have risked it all in the name of love??
would they have risked it all in the name of love?
If not, they'd need no chronicle of their romance . . . 'twould be nothing more than warm glances and warm thoughts to while away dull moments.
Hope the day is pleasant and not too exhausting, given the strenuous demands for skating, swimming and more biking, and the dogs' undoubted desire for exercise and attention after being denied an historic tour, yesterday.
fA
fA
We have swum. We will skate. Couldnt skate first and show off our bruises at the pool!
Going back to work wille a rest!
It's all so fascinating, both Sentry and Dispatch and the true history they are drawn from. My daughter just did a report on the W.A.S.P.s and was incensed at the shoddy treatment they received when the war was winding down and after. I may have to get some books about the codebreakers and all, just leave them lying around the living room.
I'm awfully glad there were (and are) people who are both smarter and braver than I am, who do such amazing things.
John says if I'm not tired tonight he's selling me to medical science and that might be fun.
Have you just worn out everyone else, Sherlock?
I'd *pretend* to be tired, Sherlock, if you really think John would do it. (I don't, and I don't think you do either ;-) ) Medical science would want you to be a passive subject and not particularly want your opinions on their research protocols. I suspect you would find that frustrating.
fA
my dad did national service at Bletchley and used to sneak out to town or to the other camp to play football (amongst other things). The RAF weren't terribly happy with them as he wouldn't play for the RAF team... We have pictures, and used to have his shirt, so we do know he was actually playing footie and not up to something more nefarious.
Sherlock would be like one of those chimps that's taken for experimentation but then everyone falls in love with it (I know that probably doesn't really happen, outside stories.)
Anon - Wow, amazing. Do you know what he did? The social side of it all - outside the long hours - make it sound quite an amazing place. I mean, to socialise with people who were so clever. And they had every sort of club going, given they couldn't talk about work, I suppose they needed hobbies to talk about!
RR - Well I'm worn out. Dunno about the others.
Lestrade swore because a man didn't score a goal.
Tsk.
:)
It was only half a swear word! And...yeah, well, he took a crap penalty. Really shockingly bad. You could have done better, and you're not being paid £140,000 a week....
That's LOADS of money I couldn't even spend that much I bet.
I could... if I were a rich (wo)man...
MGanon
I'm sure he could, if he realised how much things cost...
Someone should persuade me that following a footy team really isn't worth it... 2-0.
if you didn't follow a team what would you do with all the excess worry energy that gets burnt off during a match? ;-)
I'm fairly sure Sherlock would find a way to burn off any of my excess energy... well, between him, John, and the criminal element of London...
Sherlock and I are very fortunate to have two people who not only care for us, but also join us so enthusiastically on trips and new experiences. I find it very sad that so many people do not have such adults in their lives.
I can assure you it's our pleasure.
It's a two way street, Mycroft (which is a good thing). The way you two are willing to articulate a desire to spend time with John & Greg is noticeable even over the limited view in these blogs.
In Sherlock, since he's still living at home full time, it shows up as unhappiness when something robs him of some of his expected time with his grown ups - especially one-on-one time. Mycroft is refreshingly able (for a young man his age) to request John or Greg's presence, express a desire to spend time riding the bikes, playing guitar or a number of other things etc. In my experience, teens are not always so forthright.
You're all four of you good together and Mrs. Holmes is as lucky as anyone - or else she's an absolutely psychic genius mastermind to engineer these relationships. And as much as I respect her, I'm not sure even she . . .
(Now Captcha is weighing in with compliments for y'all: "Conduct easesfun" it informs me")
fA
Hey guys--I haven't heard you talk specifically about volcanos pretty awesome, but this one in Indonesia glows blue at night, which is amazing:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140130-kawah-ijen-blue-flame-volcanoes-sulfur-indonesia-pictures/
What an amazing planet we live on/universe we drift through.
Ella
Okay I really don't know what I intended the first half of my sentence to say. Something about volcanoes being awesome? But they're not awesome, they're destructive and slightly scary.
I should go to bed.
Ella
Cool photos Ella. I did not know gaseous sulfur was intensely blue when combusting.
fA
Good morning all. So is Sherlock safe or will you be shipping him off later today ;) I'm sure that even if he dropped off fairly quickly after all that exercise he'd still have been up bright and early.
That's a lovely sentiment, Mycroft, you are indeed all lucky to have each other and it's great for us to see that through the wonderful things you all share on these blogs.
Do you have more exciting plans for today or are you staying closer to home like playing with the dogs in the park and other simpler pleasures. Have fun whatever you do. :)
Quiet day today. I'm on call so can't stray too far.
Did on call disturb your day Greg or have you had another day of fun? I can't believe how quickly this week has disappeared! Its unfair that holidays go by so much more quickly than work/school weeks do :-(
No, no disturbances yet! (May be tempting fate.)
We have optimistically planted some shallots, and put potatoes to 'chit' as per Reg's instructions.
We've also started some Aubergines at home on the window cill to surprise John with later in the year...
Lestrade currently has a strong resemblance to a child who has reached the end of his holidays, but, on the last evening, realised he has failed to do any of the homework set.
Although the chance of a dog eating what he is doing is actually quite high, however poor the excuse may be.
It's not the evening before... but...it is quite soon. And I don't want to stand in front of people unprepared. So I've got to know roughly what I'll say before I go into work and look up actualy facts and figures. Or make someone else look them up for me.
If a dog eats my seminar there will be trouble.
I imagine the degus would be happy to make a nest of the papers, too... ;)
If a dog eats my seminar there will be trouble.
As entirely inappropriate as the rest of the lyrics are, I now have a mental image of dogs, degus and a flurry of papers with the Clash playing over the scene:
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
:-D
I am buried in work and you just don't know how this earworm is improving my life, and probably will for at least 10 minutes. I just hope I don't start singing. There are other people around.
fA
I caved. Playing it on youtube. Had to hear the guitars. Now dancing in my chair.
The public humiliation of singing under my breath is near . . .
fA
Sing! I sing in my office all the time. And air guitar.
You can carry a tune.
fA
You only have the word of very unreliable witnesses testifying to that.
I believe you're better than I.
When I have earbuds in, and the observers cannot hear the music, the only way anyone can tell what I'm singing is if they know the lyrics.
My children roll with laughter or roll their eyes, depending. My best friend, who is a musician, asked me decades ago, in high school, if I would just skip singing happy birthday to her, it would be a kindness.
fA
God what a lovely little interlude. Should I Stay or Should I Go 3 times, London Calling twice. Train in Vain once. SIS or SIG one more time and back to concentrating on work.
Thanks for the inspiration. Good sleep wishes to all.
fA
Oh the Clash. *happy sigh*
Anyone else know/like Joe Strummer's later stuff, with the Mescaleros? Streetcore is one of my favorite albums.
Ella
Ella,
I came across the Mescaleros late, after Strummer died (most of the '90s and the early 2000s were the Child Rearing Years, and I missed a lot of popular culture), but yeah. Like. Strummer always seemed like a good, ordinary guy with a solid heart and a lot of energy. The kind of guy who maybe gets in trouble when they're young, but there's no malice in it, and they grow out of it. (I do like to make up completely uninformed personas for people in the public eye, don't I?)
fA
Nah, I always had a similar conception of him, even though I haven't watched or read many interviews of him. I think he's one of those guys that's totally disillusioned on systems, but still has a lot of hope for people.
"Somewhere in my soul...there's always rock and roll." --Joe Strummer
Ella
Hope you're all having good days.
It's glorious here - well, clouding up a bit now, but this morning was sun and clear skies. Sherlock and I took the dogs for an early morning walk before I had to go to work - it was too sunny to miss!
And now...I'm in the office, starking out the window.
An early morning walk sounds lovely and I guess John was pleased to get a few minutes longer in bed :-)
I hope you and the boys are having fun John even if the weather is going off a bit.
"Starking" out the window sounds incredibly rude, somehow. *grin*
I hope it stays nice till you get a chance to go enjoy the sun!
I was wondering if 'starking' was in some way related to 'starkers'. Glad someone, somewhere has nice weather. Schools are canceled again. No idea how we're going to make up another day.
I'd stark out the window if it'd make winter stop.
Yes, staring. Hmm.
I'd like you all - but especially my husband - to know I am eating a curry for lunch. A Vietnamese style curry. It described itself as 'mild'...
And was it actually mild?
It was...about as hot as I'd want it to be. You wouldn't even have noticed the heat. Been hot as a glass of ice cold milk to you..
Good, I'm glad it wasn't an attack curry.
How are you three? Enjoying the sun? I can't believe there's sun!
I'm back on call for Sunday, so I'll be about for returning Mycroft etc.
Just been to the park, where we played some very disorganised rugby and Phobos disgraced himself by popping a small child's balloon... We got her another, and an ice cream. And Phobos may now be afraid of balloons.
I wish I'd seen his face! Balloons are so innocent until they pop...
Lucky we're not 'looners
...We're not what?
Looners. People who enjoy balloons...in an intimate fashion.
Wow, the things I learn from these blogs.
I was prepared to say that wasn't a real thing, and then I googled it... Should've known, really.
Ha, can't believe you googled it. Not following your own advice there.
Just you and the boys playing rugby? Or did Murray join you. Or Mrs Hudson?
Just me and the boys with occasional help/hindrance from the dogs. In theory, it was them against me. In practise, it was pretty much everyone for himself. Want to get some coffee?
Does the pope shit in the woods?
Meet you downstairs in a bit? Text me.
I thought I was the only one on earth who mixed those two sayings up at will. Glad to know I'm not. :-)
starking attack curry looners...
ella
I suppose there isn't anything under the sun that doesn't turn on somebody somewhere. However unlikely the specifics would ever be to occur to those of us with more . . . pedestrian? predictable? tastes. I'm too curious to resist googling looners, but am not up for it today. ;-)
I like the idea of attack curry. Then there's stealth attack curry - the kind of heat that you don't feel right away, but the slow burn builds in your mouth a few seconds later.
fA
Seal Team Six Attack Curry leaves you throwing yourself into the ocean in an effort to escape the burning.
Ella
My sister just texted me with "I worry about you sometimes" - and that was it!
Kestrel - I don't think anyone doesn't mix them up, do they? (Although I've never heard anyone ask if bears are Catholic...)
L.-your sister must love you. She implies her concern for your sanity(?) or maybe coherence(?) in a text, not on a public blog.
Ella, you're getting me worried about what curry is up to when no one is looking. But I guess in an emergency the DI will call in super hero Doc Danger, who is impervious to the burn.
fA
...I read that as 'Impervious to the bum' and was about to assure you that's definitely not the case....
In such matters we of course would bow to your superior knowledge.
(Your sister may be right. How DO you get through all that official paperwork with your subconscious introducing these little surprises?)
fA
I don't even know how I know some of this stuff... misspent youth. Or, really, very well spent youth, perhaps?
I assure you, getting it on with a balloon wouldn't have occurred to me, had John not brought balloons into the conversation. And then I started thinking about how balloons 'Looners use must be...extra strong. Because, you know, they're under certain....strain, sometimes. And you wouldn't want it to pop at the wrong moment, would you??
Might be painful. Shocking at the very least.
Yeah...I imagine it could be like... being flicked with an elastic band! I'm definitely not into that. Maybe it's part of the attraction though - the Danger! I know I am into Danger...
Only if there's no balloons involved.
Promise. Not even modelling balloons made into a silly hat...
*stepping carefully around whole conversation*
Have a fun weekend, all! (And Shabbat shalom. :))
Interrupts the above to make important announcement: Wales done good!
You may return to balloons now, folks ;)
Ah, it was Welsh men in tight shorts John was watching, was it?
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