Hello… I’m back!!!
I was shocked to discover that my last blog entry was 2 months ago. When I think back over that period of time I realise that it’s not a lack of adventure in my life but a lack of time, focus and energy I’ve had to write, mostly caused by my job and its demands. A company ruling however stops me from saying anything about where I work and the things that I do. However, I had a very busy November and December and I’m glad now to say that I’m back.
The days of 2014 were one of the best years I’ve had and its not too often that I can say that. I found love, I made new friends and I had fun. Life has a way of changing in a heartbeat and nobody is more surprised than me how quickly that can happen. I’m not pretending that I’m completely happy with my lot in life but I feel that 2014 has made moves in the right direction to get the things that I want in my life but with plenty still to do. I know that if you wanted to know what happened last year to me then you can read the pages of blog entries from last year but I wanted to share a short story from December that always brings a smile to my face since. I was having a drink with a friend while a reception for something or another was going on around us. I notice the impressionist Jon Culshaw walking past me and having the opportunity asked if he could rate my Tom Baker impression.
He agreed but before I could set off he started with, “Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow”. I then did my “Hello Harry, Hello Sarah” which is the limit of my impression. We had a little Tom baker off and then looked over to see Sir Trevor McDonald watching us. Bizarre world.
I went to my first fancy dress party in over 200 years before Christmas that I actually enjoyed. I say that because I don’t normally enjoy them and always look like someone who couldn’t be bothered and always have the worst costume despite always trying hard to look good. This party had a theme of your favorite Christmas character from a movie. A group of us decided to go as the cast of Die Hard which of course is a great Christmas film.
Having had a costume planned out for me, it would appear that my extra eating in the build up to Christmas meant it didn’t fit and I once again had the worst costume. All photos of me in my back up costume have been destroyed to save the eyes of innocent people but the party was great fun and that’s the most important part.
2015
I recently took a few days off work that was desperately needed and decided to be a tourist in my own city of London. For a long time I’ve wanted to tour Tower Bridge that is probably one of the best-loved and well-known symbols of London. The view from the top of the bridge gave me a unique and fascinating view across the Thames and the city beyond.
Going outside of the school holiday period and in the winter allowed me the time to enjoy the history of the bridge, take in the views and to play on the new glass floor which for those with vertigo including myself was a very uneasy experience but thrilling.
The sense of falling was overwhelming but an assistant told me that the glass was stronger than the wood that surrounding it, however it’s a shame that my mind and my Arse didn’t believe him. I really enjoyed the tour and learnt about something I see every day. It’s a great tour and well worth a visit.
That same week I took a trip to Bletchley Park that was the home of the code breakers. For those not aware of the history, during the Second World War the Germans had a coding machine called Enigma that altered communications and protected their contents from enemy eyes.
Breaking this code was the job of an amazing team of code breakers at Bletchley Park lead by a man called Alan Turing. He created a machine called ‘The Bome’ which broke the code and shortened the war by at least two years and saved over an estimated 15 million lives.
A truly remarkable story and one which Hollywood has decided to tell in the recently released film called ‘The Imitation Game.’ Having immersed myself in the subject at Bletchley I decided to watch the film in the evening. The performance of Benedict Cumberbatch was fantastic but the film lacked focus, direction and failed to really show how important the work of Turing and his team was to WW2.
It tried to cover so much of Turing’s life and work that it struggled to tell any of it well. If you want to understand the subject I recommend going to Bletchley on a warm day. Enjoy the grounds and learn from the very knowledgeable guides about the important work done there. The movie doesn’t cut it like they do.
I think that brings me up to date. Normal service resumes.
M