Picto Diary - 12 April 2019 - Churchill War Rooms
Above: Enigma code breaking machine. Churchill War Rooms. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
TIMDT booked in advance tickets for the two of us to see the Churchill War Rooms today.
Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister and his war time cabinet of eight supervised the British fight in World War II from this underground bunker. The German bombing "blitz" of 1939 and 1940 nearly destroyed London, but Churchill rallied the British people to resist, persevere and, later, go on offence against German aggression. Churchill's is one of the great stories of wartime leadership at times of extreme duress.
The Churchill War Rooms shows recreations of offices, living spaces, cafeterias etc. used by the command staff. We see the special, noiseless Remington typewriters used by the clerical pool. Apparently, Churchill didn't like typewriter noise. The typewriters were specially created for Churchill's war room by Remington of the United States.
Interesting is the nook where Chruchill would regularly talk via transatlantic cable to US president Franklin Roosevelt. During the war period the phone nook was disguised as an inconsequential closet area so onlookers would not be tempted to eaves drop on critical, high level, war time conversations.
There are fascinating diorama exhibits chronicling Churchill's life story and the important events of World War II.
Many today call Churchill a racist. He didn't have good things to say about Gandhi, and he is scathingly negative in his descriptions of Islam. Racist is an inappropriate term to describe Churchill. Racism is to denigrate another person solely on the basis of skin color. Churchill never did this. Rather, I would call Churchill a cultural supremacist.... and there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, there may be a moral imperative on the part of owners of superior culture to export strong cultural values to cultures where dysfunctional and venal leaders inhibit opportunity of their people to maximize potential for self fulfillment. All cultures are not equal. Preservation of culture is why we fight.
Brexit is a hot topic in Britain today. I thought how the Britain is in need of someone with Churchill's inspirational leadership capabilities today to resolve Britain's exit from the EU. In 2016 Britain's voters voted a separation from the EU. However, today, her leaders, most of whom likely disagreed with the "leave" vote, wiggle and waffle to sort out an "exit" that minimizes the pain of separation. With the current ambivalent approach the pro remain side seems emboldened that the public can be worn down to either hold another referendum or to accept a watered down "separation" that is a separation in name only.
My own view is that a hard exit will (or at least could) lead to a culturally reenergized Britain.. where the spirit that initialized the industrial revolution and energized a great colonial administration could re capture these qualities and channel them into accelerated economic prosperity and growth. This revival of British culture, in my view is far superior to allowing British culture and sovereignty to evaporate into the cultural vacuum of the Brussels bureaucracy. Britain can negotiate bilateral trade deals on her own, common. No one is going to ignore the British market.
Julian Assange was released from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London today. The embassy is near to the War Rooms, where we were. A chopper was hovering over our area to monitor the demonstrations at the Ecuadorian embassy as Assange was released. So... "we were there" at the time this historic footnote was written.
What would Churchill think of Assange? Probably, he'd not think very much of him. Churchill was head of a powerful central government during war time... a time where "loose lips sunk ships." Purveyors of secrets, like Assange, did not, and probably should not have, fared well at a time when national survival was at stake.
Yet, today, if you are a believer that powerful central government is a threat to freedom, you might come up with an argument in support of people like Assange. On the other hand, if you believe in rule of law, you would very much be for his prosecution for the crime of hacking government secrets and making them public. Without being explicit in whether Assange is a hero or a goat, I would put him ahead, integrity wise, of the reporters of the New York Times and Washington Post.
Above: Fortnam and Mason. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
TIMDT was interested in some jewelry here that she saw yesterday. I had never heard of this place. TIMDT assured me that any body who is any body knows Fortnam and Mason.
Above: Pomellato. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
Bishop selfie. Look carefully.
Bishop awaits damage assessment for well deserved fiftieth anniversary present for TIMDT (16 May 2019).
Above: Liberty London. London, UK. 12 April 2019.
TIMDT surveys her empire.
Addendum:
I have eaten at Michael Caines restaurant many years ago - The stories of the owners and their shenanigans is also quite interesting 👻
Markco,
Ojai, CA