Block H

The National Rail test train

If you are like me, you'll have found that some narratives follow you around through life. Often presenting themselves in different ways with new perspectives.

One such story, for me, is that of Bletchley Park, in many ways the birthplace of the modern computer.

When I wrote my first BASIC code on punchcards, aged 11, much of the story was still classified..

I was aware of the work of Alan Turing when I was at school, especially the concepts of the Turing Test and the Turing Machine.  I learned more about them at university, from the perspective of AI during what was known as the AI Winter.

The work at Bletchley Park also influenced many of my early years working in government IT security. One of my great achievements in that area was breaking the password encryption on a supposedly highly secure MOD and Police system in my lunchour. I should stress that I did so as part of my job and with official sanction. 

There are other connections that I won't bore you with, such as finding myself lecturing in Ada Lovelace's old home.

Zooming right up to date...

Last Tuesday I exhausted myself delivering an international seminar on AI. I find delivering these online events soul-destroying. So I was grateful that on the Wednesday I had a chance to head to a conference on AI where I wasn't speaking, at, you've guessed it, Bletchley Park.

One great thing about getting old is exploiting my Senior Railcard. That made peak-time First Class travel feasible, and I do like my scrambled eggs and salmon. But before that there was an even better delight, the sight and sound of a 37.

I was soaked by the time I got to the museum; a good reminder of how bleak wartime conditions were there.

It is a great museum, especially if you have worked in IT. There were a lot of people with very happy faces, including myself

I wrote my first program to represent 4d data on one of these to help out a Mech Eng flat mate

The Apple Lisa, the computer I used to analyse London's crime statistics

 The Lisa couldn't process the raw data, for that I needed an ICL Mainframe running VME

We replaced the Lisa with a Mac, that cost more than my annual salary.

If only ERNIE had selected my numbers...

I used to take my students to see the Met Office "Cray Twins"

I went to the UK launch of the Newton - three times. The food was better than the product

The Newton might have flopped, but I still miss my PSIONS

Right, that is Memory Lane done. Now for the really interesting stuff.

After the formal event was over we got to see the WW2 history. Not only to see it, but to see it working.

A replica Enigma machine. Getting to play with this was a personal highlight

The Replica Bombe, used to work out the Enigma rotor settings. Over 200 were eventually built

The Germans helped enormously by sending out regular "Weather Forecast" messages 

Seeing these rotate was mesmerising

Then there was Colosuss. TBH photos can't do justice to this replica. It is a beast

A typical listening station

A lorra lorries

I'm sure I've missed a post about something significant post Doncaster. I'm sure it will come back to me.

Meanwhile the reorganised office/studio has let me make some progress. I've started with some road vehicles, partly because I find them useful to judging how scenes are going to work.

Unfortunately, it turns out there is a bit of a problem.

I can't believe the three lorris I've started with are to the same scale.

From left to right these are an Arch laser Thames Trader 3D print, An Oxford Diecast Foden, and a P&D Marsh ERF.

Ignore the leaning cab on the Foden, it hasn't been screwed back in place yet.

So I need to do some research on the full size dimensions.

I like the Thames Trader, the print is characterful, but it seems massive, whilst the Foden seems minute.

Then we come on to the ERF....

I should say I bought in on a whim in Doncaster, primarily as a mule to try out my painting skills in 2mm, with no real intent of it ending up on a layout

Painting it is a one-step forward, one-backwards sort of process, as seen here, but I'm learning from it.

As I'm also learning from weathering the Foden.

I've dialled the weathering down a bit since this photo, but it is going to end up posed next to the limekiln, so is going to have to look very dusty.

My Kind of Library

 Actually, all kinds of libraries are my kind. They have featured heavily in my life.

But to finish off my Doncaster posts, the Danum Library had to be visited. First of all, it is a building within a building.

But then the basement contains two engines I have loved almost all my life.

Scramble!!

 I'd checked out the Aviation Museum in Doncaster as an option to kill some time after the railway show.

As it is, I probably spent more time here than at the show. I was blown away the number of the exhibits, though it is always sad to see aircraft stuffed and mounted.

I would particularly recommend it to anyone with fond memories of the Air Cadets.It has a great selection of the gliders as well as a Bulldog and Chipmunk.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, because you'll either know what they are, or not care anyway.