The masters did their best to discourage Alan's irrelevant interest in science, but could not stop his inventions – in particular, machines to help him in the writing problems that still plagued him:

因此，所有的老师都极力地阻碍艾伦，不让他搞那些没有用的「科学」。但他们无法阻碍他的发明，尤其是发明书写工具：

April 1 (fool's day)

4月1日（愚人节）

Guess and let go and the ink is sucked up and it is full. I have arranged it so that when I press a little of the ink comes down but it keeps on getting clogged.

猜猜我正在用什么写字？是我自己发明的钢笔它是这个样子的（此处有一张简陋的钢笔设计图）： 你们看，按一下E点（钢笔填充管的软头），就能吸满墨水了。本来我以为轻轻挤一下就能跑出一点墨水但这好像还不太好用。

I wonder if John has seen Joan of Arc's Statue yet coz it is in Rouen. Last monday we had scouts cubs it was rather exiting there was no weeks order this week I hope John likes Rouen I don't feel much like writing much today sorry. Matron says John sent something. This provoked another couplet, about a fountain pen that 'leaked enough for four'.

听说约翰去了法国鲁昂他看到圣女贞德雕塑了吗？我希望约翰喜欢鲁昂不好意思我今天不怎么想继续写了迈顿说约翰寄了些东西。因为这支钢笔，大家又有了新的句子来形容艾伦：一支钢笔漏的墨水 够四支钢笔用半天。

Another letter in July, written in green ink which was (predictably) forbidden, described an exceedingly crude idea for a typewriter.

在七月的另外一封信中，图灵还用绿色的墨水（这是不许用的），粗略地勾勒了一个关于打字机的想法。

John's stay in Rouen was part of a general alteration in the Turing family arrangements. Before going to Marlborough, he had told his father that he would like a change from the Wards, and this was agreed. The parents found a Hertfordshire vicarage to be their home as from the summer of 1923. Meanwhile, at Easter, John had parted from his brother for the first time, going to stay with a Mme Godier in Rouen. This went quite well, and in the summer Alan ('simply longing to go there') went with him to imbibe the culture and civilisation of France for a few weeks. Alan made a great impression on the petit-bourgeoise Mme Godier. It was 'comme il est charmant' when he had been persuaded to wash behind the ears, and a telling-off for John if he had not. John loathed Mme Godier, and her fawning on Alan came as a relief, enabling him to slip off to the cinema. Both Turing boys, in fact, were singularly good-looking, with a subtle, vulnerable appeal; John rather the sharper, and Alan dreamier. The stay was not a great success. John had refused to take his bicycle this time because of the prospect of navigating wobbly Alan through the cobbled Rouen streets. So they were marooned listlessly in the maison Godier, or were obliged to take long walks. 'Il marche comme un escargot, ' declared Mme Godier of Alan, an observation which fitted Alan's snail-like progress along the gutter, but also the Turing family's picture of itself – that of the slow Turings, the gloomy Turings, always fighting on the losing side, and coming in last if not least.

约翰去鲁昂的时候，图灵家有了一个大变化。约翰在去马尔伯勒之前，就对父亲说，他想从沃德家产生一点改变（大意就是想搬走），于是图灵先生同意了。他们在赫特福德郡，找了一个教区牧师家庭，从1923年夏天开始，作为他们的新家。复活节时，约翰第一次和弟弟分开，住在鲁昂的高迪尔太太家里。到了夏天，艾伦也实在很想去，于是就去和他一起住了几个星期，感受了法国的文化和文明。艾伦对小资小清新风格的高迪尔太太印象很好，她让艾伦把耳朵后面洗干净，否则约翰就会被训一顿，艾伦觉得「这简直太好了」。高迪尔太太也很喜欢听艾伦的奉承，而且还允许他偷偷去电影院，这让约翰很不高兴。图灵兄弟二人，外表都非常帅，具有很微妙的魅力，相比之下约翰更明显一些，艾伦稍逊。这一次度假很不愉快，约翰拒绝骑单车带艾伦玩，他们只好一起无精打采地闲逛压马路。高迪尔太太说，艾伦就跟蜗牛一样，艾伦走路确实像蜗牛，总是沿着排水沟慢慢走。其实，这不也是在形容整个图灵家族吗？迟钝的图灵，郁闷的图灵，总是失败，要么最慢，要么最差。