Sunday 4th May 2008 - Air raid siren and Southwark Cathedral in London

I was back in London this afternoon and went to visit the Britain at War Musuem with a friend. I found this very very interesting. One new thing really gobsmacked me with the impact of WW2 experience. There was an air raid Anderson Shelter in the museum and you went into it and got a demo of what it was really like being in that shelter. You could hear the air raid siren going off at the beginning of the raid, the planes flying above and then the sound of the bombs crashing to the ground and exploding and then the all clear air raid siren going off at the end. It was all so interesting as if I had been alive during WW2, hearing aids at that time were not strong enough for profound deafness so I would have never ever heard those sounds. But with a cochlear implant, I am able to do so. After the museum we went to see an Evensong at Southwark Cathedral. This was also very interesting and I can hear the organ and the choir with my implant. Also whilst inside the cathedral I also became aware of the cathedral bells ringing. And then of course once you opened the doors to go outside, that sound got louder and fuller. I was amazed by that!! The London Underground gets noisier and noisier!! Not only do I hear the squeaking of the carriages as they are pulled out of the station, I also hear the wheels on the track joints, the beeping of the doors just before they close, the closing of the doors and that stupid voice of “Sonia’s” whose voice on the tube train tannoy, the hearing people have to keep listening to on the tube trains. I can hear her now, but I cannot make sense of what she is saying though.