Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A computer scientist and social entrepreneur, best known for saving Bletchley Park and promoting women in tech through initiatives like Tech Mums.
On the island
Eight records
She bought the CD years after leaving the refuge; reminds her of being happy with little money.
Empowering message from strong, independent women.
San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)
Memory of lying on a blanket in her aunt's car after a dog show, thinking she wanted to go to San Francisco.
Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)
Reminds her of leaving home at 16 and feeling free.
Memories of going to see them at Brixton Academy with a friend from college.
Happy memory of driving to the beach with her friend Michael and the kids headbanging in the back.
Her and husband Paul's song; she initially mocked 'dad rock' but grew to like it.
The HillsFavourite
Reminds her of her youngest daughter Leah and their fun car rides.
In conversation
Presenter asks
5:52Tell me about the response that you have met [when setting up BCS Women].
So when I set up BCS Women, quite a lot of people were very much against me setting up a group which was only for women ... I went to a women in science conference in Brussels in 1998 ... that kind of changed my life, really.
Presenter asks
8:31How and when did your love of numbers start?
I was about seven or eight ... I used to save up my sixpences until we went to the local shopping centre and then run into W H Smith's over to the math textbooks section.
Presenter asks
15:57What were your fledgling ambitions for yourself at that time in your life?
I think at that time I just wanted to get away from Essex. I really wanted to move to London. I felt very, I guess, kind of culturally stifled in Essex. Most people around me, you know, were great, but no one was reading the books that I was reading. ... I was like trying to read Les Miserable, you know, and there was no one else around me.
The keepsakes
The book
A-level maths textbook (with a pencil)
I never did A-level maths, so I thought to keep my mind occupied, I would really like to take an A-level maths textbook and a pencil.
Presenter asks
Where did your hope come from? Where was your optimism?
Well, I think again, I'd escaped. So, or we'd escaped, you know. ... I can remember actually feeling physically sick. ... I was now in complete control. So then, as I was walking up a hill, I just started thinking, okay, I can do this, I can do this.
Presenter asks
22:26If you had a message to the people who are working out how we [get people out of difficult circumstances], what would you say to them?
Well go to where the people are and find out what they need. ... That's basically by treating people as regular human beings and talking to them about what would work for them and then going out and working with them and encouraging them and helping to boost their confidence and helping them to see where they could get to.
Presenter asks
26:01What was it in the beginning that captured you about the story [of Bletchley Park]?
I went up there the first time in 2003 ... I just knew the code breakers worked there ... bumped into these guys who were rebuilding Turing's bomb machine ... they said, oh, did you know that more than half the people that worked here were women? ... I was like, how can I not know about that?
“Arms in the air, you know, and say positive things to yourself like I'm completely awesome.”
“It just reminds me of me and my kids not having much money but still being happy and enjoying life.”
“I can do this, I can survive.”
“How can I not know about that? Being a computer scientist, a woman, always going on about women in technology. How did I not know that story?”
“And I just love my life. I love my family, my friends.”