We took Olive and drove to Bletchley via the A508 and the A5. It was a gorgeous day, and the forecast was for a little cooler than of late. We arrived at 8:45am and spoke to the helpful man who was on duty at the entrance. After parking, we walked to the auditorium and discovered that they weren't ready quite yet. We were very early! The woman we spoke to then said there would be no refreshments available "all day", which we found slightly alarming! Not even any water? She said the nearest café was at the station, a five-minute walk away.
After a bit of hesitation, we decided to walk to the station. Sophie checked the email she'd been sent and discovered that registration was between 9:30am and 10:00am, so we would be back in plenty of time. It was a pleasant walk to the station, and as we neared our destination, we were delighted to see David McCloskey emerge from the building, obviously having just disembarked from the London train! Sophie stared at him open-mouthed, but I smiled, and he said hello! What a lovely man!
When Sophie eventually came around (!), we bought coffees, a sandwich, a couple of flapjacks and a pastry. We ate them in the station, and I had to hold Sophie back from running after her idol as he made his way to Bletchley Park (only kidding, Sophie!).
We sauntered back, registered and said hello to one of the producers. Everyone (except the little Hitler we'd spoken to first thing, who worked for Bletchley Park) was lovely. We were given green wristbands and told that we'd have a tour of the grounds at 12:30pm.
We weren't able to go in straightaway, so we sat on benches outside the auditorium and waited. To our annoyance, little Hitler was telling people that there was water available in a nearby breakout room, and that there was a café just around the corner... She had clearly lied to us this morning!
More and more people started arriving, but when the doors opened, we were able to get seats right in the front row. Two chairs had been placed in front of the seats, with a table containing a bottle and glasses of water. Behind the chairs was a large screen with a great photo of the house itself.
We had to sit through the inevitable health and safety notice, and then David McCloskey and Gordon Corera took their seats, holding microphones, and the podcast started.
It was fascinating to see the behind-the-scenes input for the podcast. Behind the two men sat Becki, another producer, and two cameras were trained on them as well.
The two podcasts were all about Bletchley Park and the intelligence relationship between the UK and the US during the Second World War. It was very interesting, and I particularly liked the easy, comfortable conversation between the two hosts. They had a script, but it was obvious they were ad libbing as well.
We had a couple of breaks during the first recording, and Becki asked them to say a couple of lines again. At about 11:30am, we broke for lunch, and the first group went on their tour. Little Hitler took us over to the café (obviously we weren't capable of going by ourselves), where we ordered lunch. Sophie and I both had sandwiches, accompanied by a small bucket of delicious chips.
Bletchley Park was busy, and there were people of all ages visiting. Sitting behind us in the café was David McCloskey's family, who seemed to be having a whale of a time! We strolled back to the auditorium and waited to be escorted to a hut where we would start our tour.
Looking back, I think I would have preferred to have gone off and explored by ourselves. The tour was very interesting, and the volunteer leading it was extremely knowledgeable, but we didn't go into any of the buildings, and it would have been great to show Sophie the huts, the inside of the house itself and the machines. Luckily, we had been given annual passes, so we will come back again, bring a picnic and spend the day exploring.
The afternoon session followed the same format as this morning, and then we had questions and answers, which members had submitted beforehand. The members were known as "Secret Squirrels", and I couldn't get over how friendly everyone was. Sophie had submitted a question, mentioning her meeting with David in January and the cocktail she had asked him about. She now wanted to know what Gordon's favourite cocktail was! Her question was asked last, and both men thought it was very funny! David admitted to not remembering he'd been asked the question, and Gordon replied he preferred a neat whisky!
Afterwards, the two men stood in the lobby and did a meet-and-greet with people. Sophie was going to go, but I persuaded her to stay, and she confronted David about not remembering! He took it very well, apologised and asked her name, saying he wouldn't forget again! He also shook hands with us, which was lovely. It had been a fantastic day!
We returned to the car and decided to go to Woburn for something to eat. It wasn't far away, and we managed to park easily. We had a couple of drinks first in The Nook: delicious Aperol Spritzes accompanied by a packet of crisps as we felt a bit peckish. It was great to sit and relax and chat about the day!
Sophie had discovered there was a Thai restaurant in Woburn, so as soon as they opened at 5:30pm, we made our way there, somehow ending up in an Indian restaurant first and making a swift exit! We were given a table by the window, and had two hours for our meal, which was perfect.
We chose a set menu, with assorted appetisers to start, followed by a Thai green curry, a beef dish, stir-fried vegetables and sticky rice. Sophie had a large glass of rosé while I stuck to a small one. The food was delicious, and definitely on a par with the restaurant in Market Harborough. The only gripe was a badly-behaved little girl who was eating with her parents and wouldn't sit still or eat any of her food. She constantly whined about wanting pasta and then to go back to the park - we think they were staying at a nearby Center Parcs.
We paid the bill, strolled back to the car and made our way home, driving through the parkland and seeing herds of deer before joining the M1. Keith was pleased to see us, and we chatted about our day. He had been to see Sileby play, a pre-season friendly that he enjoyed, so we'd all had an enjoyable Saturday!
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