Latest Bletchley Park Newsletter (I've had to edit the external links to get them to work, so sorry if some don't work. They've not discovered PDF yet!) Some plots lost, no mention of the achievements of 70 years ago. But they aim to entertain you. Living the Secret World ----------------------- Visitors to Bletchley Park will be transported back to February 1941 this= half term. Actors will create Living History by talking to visitors whil= e remaining in character, taking them deep into the story of the men and=20= women who cracked codes at the Government Code and Cypher School's top se= cret HQ. The grandfather of the actress cast as the Wren (Women's Royal N= aval Service) was a Bombe Maintainer, giving her a personal connection to= the Bletchley Park story. Link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/7/393053/759825.= html Sarah Harding: "I hope she will smile, feel recognised and proud." ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Bletchley Circle Director Sarah Harding has told the Bletchley Park P= odcast about her mother's secret war work. Sarah says "One of the first t= hings my mother ever taught me was to spell my name, in Morse." Dorothy H= arding, nee Thompson, was a Wireless Operator/Morse Slip Reader at Bletch= ley Park 1943-1945. Now, Sarah hopes her mother has enjoyed the series. I= n an exclusive interview with the Bletchley Park Podcast, she said "I hop= e she will smile, feel recognised and proud." Link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/10/393053/759825= .html Dorothy Harding: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/18/393053/759825.html Michael Portillo hails Bletchley Park's secret heroes ----------------------------------------------------- Michael Portillo has described the "blanket of secrecy which was rolled o= ut across the nation" during World War Two as "fundamentally important."=20= He said during filming of Great British Railway Journeys at Bletchley Par= k "It was a fight for survival. There was nothing unnecessary or bureaucr= atic about it." Between takes at Bletchley Park, Michael told the Bletchl= ey Park Podcast that, as a former Defence Secretary, he himself is still=20= subject to the Official Secrets Act. Link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/11/393053/759825= .html BBC Link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/12/393053/759825.html Bletchley Park Presents: Christy Campbell ----------------------------------------- The first in a string of eminent speakers in Bletchley Park's 2014 lectur= e series, Bletchley Park Presents, will be author and journalist, Christy= Campbell, on Sunday 20 April. His talk, The Park and Peenemunde, will ex= plore the role of linguists in the success of the Government Code and Cyp= her School. Christy says "Bletchley Park people were not all maths swots.= " Tickets are =A320, including entry to Bletchley Park, available now to=20= Friends of Bletchley Park on 01908 272684. Tickets go on general sale 17=20= February. Link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/2/393053/759825.= html 1940s Boutique =96 Bringing wartime glamour to Bletchley Park ----------------------------------------------------------- New for 2014, 1940s Boutique will bring a dose of glamour and style to Bl= etchley Park from the era of eyeliner stocking seams and the jitterbug. T= ickets are on sale now for the first day-long experience on Saturday 15 M= arch. Hair stylist and make-up artist, Sarah Dunn, will show how to recre= ate iconic styles including the famous victory rolls as well as make-up t= o match. The day includes lunch as well as admission to Bletchley Park. Link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/5/393053/759825.= html Sarah Dunn: link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/13/393053/759825.html Tickets: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/2/393053/759825.html New Bletchley Park Podcast out now ---------------------------------- The February episode of the Bletchley Park Podcast , "I hope she will smi= le, feel recognised and proud" is out now on Audioboo's Bletchley Park Ch= annel. We hear from Veteran Betty Webb, who did the tricky job of paraphr= asing decrypted messages, helping to cover up the very existence of Bletc= hley Park. Director of the hit ITV drama, The Bletchley Circle speaks abo= ut her mother's work as a Morse Slip Reader at, and we meet Michael Porti= llo, former Defence Secretary turned TV presenter. We also take you behin= d the scenes at rehearsals for February half term's exciting Living Histo= ry project, where actors will help bring the buildings to life. Link: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/newsletter/lt.rhtm/1/393053/759825.= html
‘War’ at Bletchley Park over tale of two sites (from the local paper): http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/community/community-news/war-at-bletchley-park-over-tale-of-two-sites-1-5885974
22 February 2014 A proposal to resolve disagreements at Bletchley Park: "In view of recent press reports about the disagreements at Bletchley Park, the trustees of The National Museum of Computing would like it to be known that on 13 February 2014 its Chairman, Tim Reynolds, wrote to the Chairman of the Bletchley Park Trust, Sir John Scarlett, putting forward a proposal that an independent and suitably qualified individual (or individuals) be called upon to review the situation and to work out a way forward that allows the regeneration of the whole of the historic Bletchley Park Conservation Area. A full reply from the Bletchley Park Trust is awaited." http://www.tnmoc.org/news/news-releases/proposal-move-things-forward-bletchley-park
I just ran across this thread. Having just spent Saturday doing a non stop Bletchley Park TV Series Documentary marathon. 18 of my all time favourite TV Shows on Enigma and the people in it and behind it. Followed by one "rather" good Enigma Drama: The Turing Enigma I have been lucky enough to have had two people in my life whose IQ's (measured) were over 250. One who could instantly measure the person in front of them and adapt her conversation instantly to their interest areas and level of understanding. One who made life mandatory to stop all conversations at the end of each sentence in order to have a go at a latin, a greek and a Safety Science dictionary which all had be be kept readily at hand. I can not imagine living and working in an environment where people of that calibre numbered in the thousand(s.) Mind boggling. Bletchley Park is not about a place or a thing. It is not about a person. It is about the incredible bank of human minds that dedicated their entire war efforts to our salvation. The fact that this insight has apparently been entirely lost to the current administrators... Well... Nuff Said Fred.
@BParkCEO's (Iain Standen) seems to have closed his Twitter account. Let's hope there is an admin change due at BP.
Craig Lewis: "Plans to create a pay zone, restricted via a fence and a metal gate, around the codebreaking part of the Bletchley Park site has led to criticism from members of the neighbouring, National Museum of Computing. I spoke to its chairman Tim Reynolds on why he feels the move is 'a disgrace to the legacy of Bletchley Park' and how he is calling for an independent review. Mr Reynolds also reveals how the Bletchley Park Science & Innovation Centre, which he founded ten years ago and which also falls outside the pay zone, has contributed around £3million to Bletchley Park." https://audioboo.fm/boos/1971341-tim-reynolds-talks-about-the-ongoing-differences-between-the-national-museum-of-computing-and-bletchley-park
Common sense from Sue Black. http://blackse.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/bletchley-parks-bitter-dispute-mediation-is-the-solution/
Still in the news. Seem to be having a go at TNMOC in this report. House of Lords to debate. That should sort it :wink: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/10690205/Why-Bletchley-Park-is-at-war-again.html
And TNMOC's reply to that misleading article. http://www.tnmoc.org/news/news-releases/tnmoc-restates-call-independent-review-bletchley-park-disagreements
House Of Lords 12 March 2104 Bletchley Park Question for Short Debate 7.28 pm Asked by Baroness Trumpington To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the future of Bletchley Park. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldhansrd/text/140312-0002.htm#14031284000111
Visited TNMOC last week. BPT and TNMOC are actually on two adjacent tectonic plates, the pressure is building up slowly and something will give soon, with a big explosion. Lots of work going on with security gates. Shed loads of money being misspent on silly ideas. No sign of machine guns at Checkpoint Charlie yet though. German army signals unit post is still there, not sure how long. All other displays of relevance seem to have gone. Sad destruction of a heritage site, run by tossers.
I find it shocking they are actively removing good online information, so I sent thim this. All the best Andreas
Andreas, Bet you don't get a reply! The latest idiot idea from Bletchley Park Trust is now that the perimeter fence and gates are in operation (AKA Berlin Wall Memorial), volunteers from the Computer Museum (TNMOC, The National Museum Of Computing) cannot go into BPT without paying entrance fee. Their passes are no longer valid. Since a ticket costs 15 quid and lasts for a whole year and how many volunteers are there? then it must be an idea created by assholes. Probably an ex-military man, I would guess. geoff
Here you go... Defragging the partition of Bletchley Park http://audioboo.fm/boos/2138963-defragging-the-partition-of-bletchley-park
Yawn, yawn, blah, blah.... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/12/bletchley-park-national-museum-computing-berlin-wall-restored-colossus-codebreaking
