History Wednesday: The Bletchely Circle

Period fashion! Knitwear! I love the bow.

 I thought I would continue my pattern of history-related posts on Wednesday. For typewriter fans, this might be relevent to your interests. Or, if you're just a geek like me.

Several weeks ago, someone on Facebook posted a quick summary of a new British show called The Bletchely Circle. While the initial description I was given turned out to be way off base, the show itself was excellent. Of course, I'm a sucker for just about anything from the UK, and when you add in the 1940s-1950s costumes I was all over it.

The Bletchely Circle is about a group of female codebreakers who worked together during WWII. Now, nine years after the war, they struggle to lead normal lives after the secrecy and excitement of their time in the military. On the surface, they've moved on--some taking new, quiet jobs, others as housewives and mothers. Susan, however (seated in the picture above, and pictured right) is having a little trouble letting go of old habits.

I couldn't get a good
clipof this outfit, but
it's one of my
favorite costumes in
 the entire show.

When a series of murders happens in London, she begins collecting information through wireless reports and newspapers, slowly piecing together the pattern that the killer is following. As the killer begins stepping up his game, she calls in some old friends to help her piece together the "code" of his behavior.

One thing that I find fascinating about this show is that it was inspired by the actual Bletchely Park (which, by the way, is now on the list of places I want to see the next time I make it across the pond). Considering it was part of the Official Secrets Act, and I didn't grow up studying a lot of British history (I've mentioned before how poorly my school district covered international events), this was the first time I'd ever heard of it.

For those undereducated like myself, Bletchely was a top-secret facility for training codebreakers and studying intercepted transmissions during WWII. It was staffed primarily by women, and was considered to be the deepest of secrets. 

Lucy is one of my favorite characters. She is the
Spencer Reid of their little criminal
investigation, for those familiar with
Criminal Minds.

This show has a great mystery, filled with dozens of twists and turns. On top  of that, there are awesome costumes, knitwear, and some wonderful interactions between the various characters. If you haven't seen it yet, go look it up now. ITV has already announced a second series of four episodes (the first was only three, so it's a really quick watch) to come out later this year. I think the first series is already up on the PBS website for viewing.

For more information in Bletchely Park and what the girls were up to during WWII, here's a short documentary (only about 25 minutes). It's really interesting. Also, now I sort of want an Enigma machine.

Chill

Busy, busy days. We have seen so much stuff in the last few days. Buckingham Palace, Parliment, Westminster, the Tower Bridge, Picadilly, China Town. Alice swears that she saw Bill Nighy when we were in Picadilly, but I was facing the wrong direction and she didn't want to say anything. I guess he was about two feet behind me....yeah. Never going to forgive that one.

It looks like today we might be taking some time off. We went to see The Vampire's Assistant this morning. Not great, but it was a good way to kill two hours or so.

Last night was the L13 tour, which involved a riverboat cruise (kinda cold), a Jack the Ripper walk, and a bus tour. We got to see the building where Sweeny Todd had his barber shop (!!!) and the corner where Mrs. Lovette's used to be, among other things. Honestly, I had no idea he was a real person. I knew that there were stories (several) of murderous barbers, and I thought the movie was just based on one of them--not that he actually lived and it ws based on a specific person. The things you learn when taking macabre tours of foreign cities.


The biggest problem we have right now is that we've run out of things to read. I know, I know, we're on vacation, why would we be sitting around reading when there are places to go, people to see? Well neither of us is really up for dawn to dusk site seeing. I've done that before, and it isn't fun. Normally we go out a little in the morning, then come back sometime after lunch, chill for a an hour or two, then go back out again. We're usually back by 9, and then we just chill. It makes for a much more relaxing trip, since this is VACATION. Maybe there aren't any white sand beaches or nice boys bringing us drinks with umbellas in them with their shirts off, but we are still here to relax, and oh my god, it has been wonderful. I absolutely adore London, and I want to live here. After living in Columbus and London, Ohio, and Florence, it us such a change to be in a city that is so full of life. Those other cities are dying--Ohio because of the economy, and Florence through a combination of polution, economic woes, and the general age of the population (which I think is somewhere between 50 and 60. There's an average of 4 elderly people for every child born, and the birth rate is on the decline). That and the vast majority of Italians I've met have been rather rude and inconsiderate, while the Brits have been friendly, helpful, and all around pleasant.

I'm going to go kick back and finish up my last book. Maybe I'll go out later and seek out a new one...