KBO

So I'm in London for the holiday, visiting my sister and Matt. I'm staying in the Hyatt Andaz with my mother and step-father, Alan.

It's nice to be here... it's a bit strange rolling into a bustling city for the holiday. There is a different energy about everyone has they hurry to finish their Christmas shopping and get ready for the loads of food everyone is about to eat. What has been particularly interesting or weird is the area where we are staying is the same general area where I hung out 7 years ago when I visited London during my junior year abroad. The Hyatt is literally on top of the Liverpool Street tube station which I used in order to get anywhere I was going the first time I was here. Weird.

Anyway... I intend to put more interesting information than a small coincidence into this entry.

I went to the British War Cabinet Room which is located two blocks from Westminster. I don't think there are words that can adequately convey how great of a museum this is (and the museum website does a poor job of making it look cool). During the Battle of Britain and specifically the blitz on London, Churchill and his cabinet were forced to move into an underground bunker and manage the war from there. The bunker was reinforced with 6 feet of concrete and steal girders over the ceiling which was to protect against the German bombing raids. What makes the museum so amazing is when they vacated the premise near the end of the war... many of the rooms were untouched until the 1970s when it was decided to create the museum. Many of the original war maps are still up on the walls which chart the supply ships in the Atlantic. The detail is incredible, which includes one of the officer's sugar ration for his tea which was hidden in his desk all those long years.

The feeling of walking through the rooms and with so much of the area either untouched or restored to it's original state is gives a true feeling of what it must have been like. There were so many important decisions made down there and made under such strange physical conditions. I can't talk enough about it.

The only lame part of the museum is the introduction of wax figures... I know it brings the spaces to life for some people, but I think it's weird.

Oh yeah, while Churchill was PM all of his telephone conversations were transcribed by a personal secretary who was interviewed for the Churchill Museum. Apparently, Winston would end all his conversations by saying "KBO." Perplexed, the secretary kept on transcribing that each time, until someone told her it was best not to record that bit of info. Churchill was telling his ministers Keep Buggering On.

KBO