No 6 - LONDON and LAURA (Part 1)
On our way from Aylesbury to London we spent a few days around Milton Keyes and Stony Stratford. Near Milton Keyes is a placed called Bletchley Park. It was here that the British code breakers or intelligence people had their headquarters in WW2.
The German military started the war using advanced encoding on all their messages which made it very difficult for their enemies to know what they were planning. Consequently the German Airforce and Navy (especially their 'U Boats') were causing heavy losses for Britain had her allies. Early in the war, in just one year over 1,000 allied ships were sunk in the Atlantic. Bletchley Park were finally able to decode the German messages which meant that they then knew where all the German U Boats were and direct their shipping elsewhere. The building below is the mansion at Bletchley Park which became the headquarters of British intelligence in WW2.
The Germans changed their encoding at midnight every night. Towards the end of the war the British had development a machine (below) to break the new codes within 1-2 hours. This meant that for the latter part of the war they had a good idea what the enemy was up to - before it happened. Many believe that the work done at Bletchley Park shortened the war by at least two years.
Once the new daily code had been broken then this information was provided to the people who received the encoded German messages. They would type these into this special type writer and the decoded messages would then been typed onto paper and forwarded onto the appropriate people.
The Cock Hotel and just a few doors down the road.....
the Bull Hotel.
On the way back we walked. As the daylight waned and darkness fell on London we were treated to a very special light show - the Christmas lights along most of the main streets. When we were here in 2013, the long summer days meant that we did not see much of the night lights of London. In summer the trees were loaded with green foliage and blooms were everywhere with lots of blue sky overhead. In winter the trees are just skeletons, there are few flowers and the sky is mostly dull and grey however the Christmas lights certainly brighten the night.
Some more lights along Oxford Street. Not far from our accommodation is Hyde Park. The Winter Wonderland Carnival was set up at the Marble Arche end of Hyde Park. Lots more light there too - but more of that in the next blog.
Laura arrived early Saturday morning. She had slept well on the flight and was keen to see London. Below - Laura all rugged up in Trafalgar Square.
We took a ferry ride on the River Thames to Greenwich and back - and more blue sky! Well just for a couple of hours. As we approached the Tower Bridge a flying Kangaroo Qantas A380 flew over.
Laura and Nancy in the crowd at Greenwich.
On the way back the cloud rolled in with some drizzle. Below the Tower Bridge lights starting to take effect.
The Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and the British Parliament Houses. Big Ben is shrouded in scaffolding and lights while it undergoes a facelift. So.... no Big Ben bells ringing this time. Earlier this year a terrorist killed a number of people on this bridge and nearby. Given the number of people out and about in London at the moment, it does not seem to have had any effect.
Lizzy's weekend shack (Buckingham Palace) was lit up but no extra Christmas lighting. May be they have to tighten the belt to pay for a big wedding next year. There is that lady in the blue jacket again!
On the way to our accommodation we walked along the side of Buckingham Palace. The autumn leaves were thick on the footpath.
The German military started the war using advanced encoding on all their messages which made it very difficult for their enemies to know what they were planning. Consequently the German Airforce and Navy (especially their 'U Boats') were causing heavy losses for Britain had her allies. Early in the war, in just one year over 1,000 allied ships were sunk in the Atlantic. Bletchley Park were finally able to decode the German messages which meant that they then knew where all the German U Boats were and direct their shipping elsewhere. The building below is the mansion at Bletchley Park which became the headquarters of British intelligence in WW2.
The Germans changed their encoding at midnight every night. Towards the end of the war the British had development a machine (below) to break the new codes within 1-2 hours. This meant that for the latter part of the war they had a good idea what the enemy was up to - before it happened. Many believe that the work done at Bletchley Park shortened the war by at least two years.
Once the new daily code had been broken then this information was provided to the people who received the encoded German messages. They would type these into this special type writer and the decoded messages would then been typed onto paper and forwarded onto the appropriate people.
From Bletchley Park we went to Stony Stratford where we stayed in the Cock Hotel. Just down the road we noticed the Bull Hotel which had a similar appearance. In the morning while eating breakfast we read the story about the Cock and Bull..........from which the saying comes, 'what a lot of cock and bull'. See the full story below.
The Cock Hotel and just a few doors down the road.....
the Bull Hotel.
Anyway, it was time to head for London to meet Laura. We took a bus from Luton which dropped us a few hundred metres from Marble Arche, where we were staying. After checking in and with a few hours of daylight left we headed into Central London to collect our London Passes and public transport cards. Along the way there were many place names that provided reminders of hours spent playing Monopoly - Oxford Street, Regent Street, Park Lane, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square etc.
Nancy is inside that blue jacket at the base of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. Noticed the sun shining in the background!
On the way back we walked. As the daylight waned and darkness fell on London we were treated to a very special light show - the Christmas lights along most of the main streets. When we were here in 2013, the long summer days meant that we did not see much of the night lights of London. In summer the trees were loaded with green foliage and blooms were everywhere with lots of blue sky overhead. In winter the trees are just skeletons, there are few flowers and the sky is mostly dull and grey however the Christmas lights certainly brighten the night.
Some more lights along Oxford Street. Not far from our accommodation is Hyde Park. The Winter Wonderland Carnival was set up at the Marble Arche end of Hyde Park. Lots more light there too - but more of that in the next blog.
Laura arrived early Saturday morning. She had slept well on the flight and was keen to see London. Below - Laura all rugged up in Trafalgar Square.
We took a ferry ride on the River Thames to Greenwich and back - and more blue sky! Well just for a couple of hours. As we approached the Tower Bridge a flying Kangaroo Qantas A380 flew over.
Laura and Nancy in the crowd at Greenwich.
On the way back the cloud rolled in with some drizzle. Below the Tower Bridge lights starting to take effect.
The Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and the British Parliament Houses. Big Ben is shrouded in scaffolding and lights while it undergoes a facelift. So.... no Big Ben bells ringing this time. Earlier this year a terrorist killed a number of people on this bridge and nearby. Given the number of people out and about in London at the moment, it does not seem to have had any effect.
Lizzy's weekend shack (Buckingham Palace) was lit up but no extra Christmas lighting. May be they have to tighten the belt to pay for a big wedding next year. There is that lady in the blue jacket again!
On the way to our accommodation we walked along the side of Buckingham Palace. The autumn leaves were thick on the footpath.
Anyway, that is it for London Blog - Part 1. Part 2 coming soon.
Bless ya heaps.
Nancy, Laura and Bryan
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