Open House

Every autumn, in London, there is a special programme called 'Open House'.  I say 'programme' because it is not quite a festival.  It's a weekend when all sorts of private buildings are open to the public for free.

Now they haven't yet started showing people round 10 Downing Street or the Ministry Of Defence yet, but some of the places that have opened their doors for a couple of days have been interesting nonetheless.

For example, right next to Tower Bridge is the Customs And Excise building.  Although not much to look at from outside, this was once one of the busiest buildings on the banks of the river Thames.  This was where all the freight that entered London was inspected by the customs officers.  Although ships no longer dock there (as container traffic has moved most of the traffic to other ports), a lot of administration goes on in the building.  On Open House Day, there were tours around the inside of this huge building where the battle against smuggling takes place.  They had displays of all the sorts of things they had seized (taken) from criminals over the years and examples of the technology used to find them.

Down river there was free entry to the Rotherhithe tunnel museum.  Here the great engineer Mark Kingdom Brunel (father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel) built the first tunnel under the Thames (in fact the first tunnel under a major river in the world).  I could describe in detail how he managed to do it, and make it big enough to be used to this day by London Underground.  However, you have to see a picture of the Brunel Shield which he designed to understand just why this was such an amazing piece of engineering.  The best I can do in words is this:  Take some thick vegetable soup and put it through a blender.  Now imagine digging a tunnel through millions of litres of it without drowning.  Believe it or not, it can be done.  That's what it was like to build the first Thames Tunnel.  And he succeeded.

Then there are the architectural tours.  Have you ever wondered how illiterate people in London knew how to get around the London underground?  What is a return platform ticket?  Why does the underground have the words 'Way Out' but never 'Exit'?  All these and more you can find out with the help of local guides on Open House day.

The idea is to encourage people to take a greater interest in the area they live in.  Have you ever thought 'I wonder what goes on in that building over there'?  Or has the question 'Why is that building such an odd shape?' ever crossed your mind?  With the help of a lot of organisation and a little sponsorship, these get answered every year in London.  I've been thinking: Wouldn't it be a good idea here in Wrocław?

Glossary

freight                         towary

a shield                       tarcza

Here are some things that customs officers find hidden in people's luggage.  One of them is legal in the UK.  Which one?

L S T C G E K E E F F K V K I E T O N U

I A R X Y E J O E J O S L I K D M E R J

P S M N M R B S I B O V P O H Y R K Z X

W P S I X P N Y N A Z S Q Z G A E V F E

Y X R E N H Q A P X D C W M W F V P Q Y

Y P F N G A N A J Z R I Q T Z C O F J F

Q I P F R E D F Z O R T F J F H L Z G U

N W B Y M A C E S H D O W U C I V T F U

M R H G F G K S R I S C T P C R E Y D G

S E W E X V B G Z E V R J K Y H R V T S

O Y A X A O T U T L G A K A V J R Y Q P

D I J V W L T A N H J N Z V S O S G W W

K K Y P O Y R L R X I S A Z V F M W T B

N G P C A I F M I F B N V D T M E C J N

P S G B P T G W E R S Z V Q N O M S H D

O F M M R P Q K A G P C Q Q B E F B J E

E Q R I P Z B F D S Z G N H J B R J P G

M C M S F Y X R W Q D M G G C I P U D K

D X T E L R W X I Y D P R W T A A J B A

P G X C P L Y J U H K J D K S Q Y O Y D

KEY

crossbow

narcotics

revolver

pirate software

flick knife

mace

endangered animal

The one allowed in the UK is the crossbow.

Did you know?

The British military had a top secret base where even the local police had never visited.  It stayed a secret until about five thousand tourist maps appeared in the shops with every single 'secret' building on them.

The US Stealth plane was also a secret, until a toy company made a model of it and sold thousands before the military noticed.