Various ramblings by the small hobbit

Bletchley Park was where the codebreakers in WWII worked.  It was a mansion purchased just before the war in its own grounds, quite secluded, and gradually as more people came to work there during the war, further huts were put up to provide work space for the 9,000 who were working there by the end of the war.

It was where codebreakers like Alan Turing worked, where they transcribed messages sent by Enigma machines and others.  It was all extremely secretive, and for many it was extremely monotonous, it was vital war work and by intercepting and transcribing messages much information was passed on.

There was a lot to take in, covering the different aspects of the work and the variety of people who worked there.  We were there for six hours, including stopping for lunch, and only just covered everything as much as we wanted.  The visit was The Daughter's birthday present, so naturally we had to visit the shop as well!

I took very few photos - there's a bit more information here on their website

( Bletchley Park )

We've been to Aberglasney Gardens a couple of times, but never in April, so here is the view from the top of the gardens:

( Aberglasney Gardens )

We're just back from a couple of days away in Wales and, since we visited a variety of different places, I've decided to do three separate short posts, beginning with the beaches we visited.

On the way to Cross Hands - north of Llanelli - we stopped for lunch in Porthcawl.  We used to bring the kids here for days out when they were young - so about 20 years ago.  We had fish and chips and then a short stroll along the front, but, as it was overcast we didn't stay for that long.

   

Monday was sunnier, but by the later part of the afternoon it was clouding over again.  However we took a drive around the Gower Peninsula (just west of Swansea) and then stopped at Oxwich Bay for a cup of tea and cake.

   

As you can see the beach would be lovely, if one wasn't wearing a thick jacket and woolly hat!

One thing I always do when on these trips is remember those who died and here are a very few as symbols of the many.

( memorials )

I'm just back from a short tour which looked at the WWII evacuation of Dunkirk and Hitler's Fortress Europe.  The photos I share will be reflecting on what happened to the everyday men and women and remembering their losses, rather than a celebration.

( Dunkirk )

We first visited Aberglasney Gardens in the spring (here) and as we had decided to have a few days break in Wales this week, we thought we'd go back and see how it looked in the autumn.

( Aberglasney )

Our second full day in Scotland we took up the optional excursion to Glasgow.  Since we had limited time there (we shall be going back) I decided to spend my time in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  It was wonderful, so much to see, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The following are just of few of the photos I took, where I've chosen items which particularly appealed.

( Scotland Part Two )

The third day we looked at the campaign after D-Day itself.  The pictures below are more a reflection on the trip, rather than things which relate specifically to the day.

( Normandy )

Last week we were on a coach tour of the D-Day landing sites and the further battles which happened.  This is not a historical description, there are plenty of books which can do that, but photos I took at the time which spoke to me.

( D-Day tour part one )

We visited a large number of gardens this time - making use of the reasonable weather and the arrival of spring flowers.

( Lots of flowers )