More Of Manchester's Magic Moments: Alan Turing Memorial

More of Manchester's Magic Moments:

 Alan Turing Statue

Alan Turing statue in Sackville Park, Manchester. Photo by Joseph Reddington.

 A few facts about Alan Turing: 1912-1954.

Father of computer science.

Wartime codebreaker.

I also like the quotation from Bertrand Russell:

Mathematics, ..., possesses not only truth but supreme beauty like that of sculpture.

Plaque photo by lmno.

Bletchley Park Museum

 The Mansion, Bletchley Park, Sherwood Drive, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK3 6EB.

Where the top secret codebreaking all happened in WWII.

Other statues and memorials around the world include:

UK

Life size statue at Bletchley Park made of Welsh slate.

Statue outside School of Management Building, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey.

USA

Alan Turing bust on side of Deschartes hall, the computer science building at university of Oregon.

Bronze statue showing Alan Turing walking carrying books (middle distance) at School of Mangement Building, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, England. Photo author Mark Boyce.

More information from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

https://www.visitmanchester.com/things-to-see-and-do/tours-and-sightseeing/tours-and-tour-guides/sightseeing-manchester-p340511

https://www.surrey.ac.uk (University of Surrey)

visitengland.com

visitbritain.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

How to remember the autumn six letters of the Greek alphabet: Xi, omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega

Xi

Ξξ

Xi

The hardest letter. Sh!

Omicron

Οο

Omicron

O is an easy letter to recognize in both capital letters and lower case.

Pi

Ππ

Pi

Think of it as a portal or door.

Mathematicians find this one easy.

Rho

Ρρ

Rho

How do you remember that what looks like a P is really an R. You know all those sign writers who get the signs wrong on signposts and signs on the road. They go home early and don't finish the letters. The Russian sign writer went off for a cup of tea, or vodka. He forgot to put the last part of the letter R. It looks like P but he meant R. The two related letters are PR, as in the initials for Public Relations. P is R. Rho - row, row, row your boat, as the Eton boating song says.

Sigma

Σσς

Sigma

How do you distinguish the Greek  Sigma from the Greek Zeta? Easy. The Zeta is like the English Z. It faces left, looks backward, like the last letter of the English alphabet. The Sigma may be angular like a z, but the top half or face - it faces forwards, to the right, like the English S. You start writing an S with a curve like the letter c in mid-air above the line. The lower case sigma starts the same way with a c shape. C is pronounced s in our English words police and palace.

The second small s is the final s at the end of the word. Imagine that instead of a full stop, in a signature you end with a flourish. So a person called James would write the final s with a twist on the end of the last letter. In joined up writing there's no room on the other letters but the letter with nothing after it can end with a squiggle.

Tau

Ττ

Tau

The letter looks the same as the English Tee. How do you remember it is Tau? Like a towel. Like a taurus.

Glossary

capital letters - the big ones, used in English to start a sentence, as initials for proper names of people such as John. (German uses capital letters for all nouns, but English only bother to use capitals for names of people or objects such as a ship's name. In an English dictionary the words start with a lower case or small letter so that you can see whether you need a capital. For example, the word Elizabeth needs the capital letter at the start. Sometimes handwritten notices are in capitals for clarity and to draw attention. For example: NO SMOKING.

lower case - small letters used in the middle of a word, for joined-up writing.

How to learn to read and write Cyrillic, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian

Problem
How do I remember the Cyrillic alphabet?
How long will it take?

Answers
If the alphabet is 26 letters long, and you learn a letter every day, in one month you will have mastered it - forever!

If some of the letters are the same, that makes it easier. You simply revise the previous days' letters on days when a new letter is the same at the Latin (English) alphabet.

If some of the letters are the same, you will do it in two or three weeks.

If you are doing nothing one day this weekend, you could learn four letters an hour, over seven hours, 4 x 7 = 28, with revision at the end.

Story
A relative of mine learned Russian in one term at a boys' grammar school. I think every school should do this. Or offer it as an after school option.

Tips
Learn words you can recognize and remember. For example, the title of the Russian newspaper PRAVDA, which means truth.

The English P is the Russian bridge sign, or Pie in mathematics. The r is written as p. The a is the same. The English V is a B. The D is a delta. I think of it as the door to a tent. The final a is again a.

правда 

Remember:
Look at it three times:

правда 

правда 

правда 

Today's Russian letter:
Day one. Letter one.
A is the same in Russian and English.

Tips
www.duolingo.com
https://lp.babbel.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script

You will need it in:

National script of:
 Belarus
 Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly in Serb inhabited parts of the country)
 Bulgaria
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgyzstan
 Macedonia
 Mongolia (also Mongolian Script)
 Montenegro (also Latin)
 Russia
 Serbia (also Latin)
 Tajikistan
 Ukraine
(see Languages using Cyrillic)

To fly to these countries check the national and budget airlines:
http://www.aeroflot.com/ru-en (Russian)
www.bulgaria-air.co.uk/
ryanair.com
https://www.cheapflights.co.uk/find-flights/to-Ukraine
If Cyrillic is too hard, try Romania which used the Latin alphabet.
www.tarom (Budget airline to Romania.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and languages.
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