I hope I am not adding to the risk that canvassing may lead to her disqualification by encouraging one & all to vote for Ada & Phyllis, the names she has chosen. Votes can be cast online at www.crossrail.co.uk/tunnel-comp
Although feminists perhaps ought (on the grounds that we don’t like men giving girl’s names to their toys) to bridle at the idea that only women’s names were allowed, Phyllis & Ada at least have the virtue of having contributed to inventions which have, & continue to add, value in all our lives.
Ada Lovelace, the mathematician daughter abandoned by her father Lord Byron, worked with Charles Babbage & has a claim to be the world’s first computer programmer.
Phyllis Pearsall walked all 3,000 miles of London’s 23,000 streets to pursue her own dream - to draw & index the original A-Z guide.
Phyllis was also the name of my Nana, who was a virtual contemporary of Phyllis Pearsall.
If you prefer, you could vote for another of the short-listed pairs: sports stars, singers, queens, wives of famous men or just fictional characters.
