Month: August 2013

I have been on a “Speed Awareness Course” today courtesy of being caught doing 35mph in a 30mph limit down the country lanes around Snape!  Hence, I have not been around too much.  But – I do have a new iPhone which has enabled me to take a picture that has bugged me for months. Valerie’s parents live in Kesgrave and the quickest way there from us is up the Foxhall Road and down Bell Lane. Visible from that corner (and up the Foxhall Road) it the old Autovon telephone exchange.

What is an Autovon Telephone Exchange, I hear you ask? Well, that is where the Cold War comes in. AUTOVON was until the early 1990’s the United Stated DOD Military Voice Communications System. Much much more information about the system and the RAF Foxhall Heath installation can be seen at the following web site.

http://www.bunkertours.co.uk/autovon.html

Every time I pass this in the afternoon, I complain that I haven’t brought my camera with me – mornings are no good as the site is back lit. Afternoons give you a great Suffolk sky with the installation silhouetted against it. Well, I had still forgotten my camera today – but now I have an iPhone. A quick snap got me exactly what I wanted.I hope that you enjoy the photo and the story.

Pioneer is an 1864 built deep sea smack with a wet well (lets it keep its fish fresh) which allowed it to work the Terschelling Bank off the Dutch coast.