I’ve been wanting to run a “Women of Bletchley Park” day for a while, and finally we have managed to get it sorted!
The day will include a tour of Bletchley Park by Jean Valentine, and a tour of the National Museum of Computing, including the Colossus and the Bombe. There will be a hands-on Enigma machine demonstration and maybe even a visit to Station X if numbers allow.
Tea, coffee, biscuits and lunch are included in the ticket price of £19.
When & Where
Sunday, July 26, 2009 from 11:30 am – 3:30 pm
The Mansion, Bletchley Park, Sherwood Drive, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK3 6EB
Schedule
(As it stands – we may tweak it a little!)
Arrive: 11.30 Tea/coffee on arrival in the Ballroom
Start: 12.00pm Talks in the Ballroom:
* Suw Charman-Anderson: Welcome and Introduction
* Simon Greenish, Director of Bletchley Park: Update on the current funding status of Bletchley Park
* Sue Black: The campaign to save Bletchley Park
Film showing in the wartime cinema: Women of Station X http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/content/video-example.rhtm (The cinema takes 40 – 50 people each, and the film takes 26 minutes, so there may be two showings, depending on how many people sign up.)
There will be wifi in the Ballroom, so if you want to live Tweet or blog, then bring your gadgets!
Lunch: 1.00pm (-ish – depends on film showings)
Tour: Jean Valentine, a Bletchley Park WWII veteran, will to be our expert tour guide for the day, and Lin Jones will be on hand to give a personal tour of the The National Museum of Computing, including the Colossus and the Bombe. We’ll also have a hands-on Enigma machine demonstration, and may be able to offer a visit to Station X – only three people can enter Station X at a time and it’s not normally open to the public, so we’ll have to see how the numbers pan out on this one!
Tea, coffee and debrief: 3.00pm
Departure: 3.30pm
Travel arrangements
You must make your own way to Bletchley Park.
Bletchley Rail Station is 2 minutes walk away. Trains from London leave from Euston, and we recommend the 10:23am train which arrives at Bletchley at 11.17am (no changes).
More travel info: http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/content/visit/findus.rhtm
Cost
The ticket cost of £19 includes all Eventbrite and PayPal fees, with any surplus being donated to Bletchley Park. Book online at Eventbrite.
Is this open to men, too? 🙂
Oh yes, men can come as well!
This sounds fantastic, but I don’t think I can get my act together in time to get there–the easiest way for me would be to take the train from York to London, then the train from Euston, but by now the tickets must cost a fortune. Maybe you’ll do it again someday?
Also, if you’re counting, I did an Ada Lovelace Day post from within our own little fictional world:
http://community.livejournal.com/negabilityprime/28331.html
Wondering at this late stage if it’s possible to get tickets for tomorrow as it appears the planetary gods have aligned magnificently, and I now find myself in a position to attend but the eventbrite has closed.
Please let me know 🙂
@gabysslave
@suw – I’m glad to hear that, and didn’t doubt it anyway :o)
I would have loved to attend this (my Ada Lovelace Day post was on the women of Station X), but unfortunately have a prior engagement.
Btw, I think you, Sue and the veterans should be taking this incredible story to our schools and inspiring a new generation! Perhaps there is scope for the BCS and/or government to provide a little financial backing for such an activity? Heaven knows we need to do something to inspire our kids to take up science and engineering!
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Thanks for organising this, Suw. It was absolutely excellent! I had such a great day, and my in-laws loved it too.
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