| Short Bio
My Photo |
simon@simonmason.karoo.co.uk |
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Shortwave Espionage
Read articles, hear sound clips and watch videos
of number stations.

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If you have ever tuned a radio beyond
the medium wave band, you will have entered the weird and wonderful world of
short wave. You will hear many strange transmissions, such as ranting American
evangelists warning you that the end of the world is near, people trying to sell
you gold and silver before the economic collapse,
jammed clandestine radio broadcasts from Iraq, aircraft flying over the Arctic,
barely understandable Scots fisherman on their trawlers and many other bizarre
sounds.
Perhaps the strangest of all transmissions are the “Spy Number
Stations”. These do not officially exist and no one has ever explained what
the purpose of these stations is. They consist of the most boring content
imaginable. A strange non-human voice reading out series of numbers, sometimes
accompanied by weird tones or odd melodies.
Some Americans even use them as
background music at intellectual dinner parties and they even turned up in the
film "Vanilla Sky". On this site you can read my
book on this subject; “Secret Signals”, as well as explore articles and
sound clips from the height of the Cold War era.
LAST UPDATED
3
FEB 12 NUMBER OF SOUND CLIPS:
663 NUMBER OF VIDEO CLIPS: 31
NUMBER OF EXTERNAL LINKS: 251
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Latest
additions:
Mystery
Ocean by Hermit Thrushes
samples
some of my own recordings
Czech
Spy Erwin van Haarlem's autograph.
Number
station reception and decoding as shown in 1972 German TV series,
Der Illegale. |
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A-D E-M
M-R
S-Z
Closed pubs
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My home city of Kingston upon Hull currently has
250 pubs. On this site you can see a photo of each one, as well as read a small description. Some of the pubs
have their own websites and the links are
included.
LAST UPDATED 1
OCT
11
LATEST PUB: Nostalgia
- Beverley Road
Johnny's
Hull pub page Hull
and East Yorkshire CAMRA forum
www.pub-explorer.com www.anlabyroad.com
'Home
Fans Only" - The Away Supporters Pub Guide' by Martin Kerr.
Paul Gibson's Hull Pub History site.
Essential Pub
Solutions Hull based service. |
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KINGSTON
UPON HULL TOURIST VIDEO
I
was inspired to create this tourism video to showcase our local area
after a cyclist in Colorado, USA said that he enjoyed seeing the
streets of Hull from the viewpoint of my video sunglasses. His
mother even enjoyed it too. So here is a 5-30 minute video of our
beautiful city and countryside.
DECEMBER
2011 TOURIST VIDEO |
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20 mph Gallery
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Kingston upon Hull is the most traffic-calmed city in the country, with
over 115 20 mph zones. In each zone the local school children are asked to design a picture, which is shown below the 20 mph limit sign. Here is a gallery dedicated to this unique art form.
NUMBER OF PICTURES:
114
LAST UPDATED
16
AUG 10
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Cycling
stories.
Hull based rides, double centuries and time trials.
(Warning: Contents can be tedious and inconsequential,
but at least it's not Twitter!)
Various
personal cycling stories from 200 mile non stop rides to time trialling
1999-2010.
LAST UPDATED
20
DEC
11
NEW
: A list of the top
killer hills in East Yorkshire to make you suffer
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Cycling
videos.
The thrills and spills of city cycling as seen through the eyes of a
pair of video recording sunglasses. Not for the faint hearted.
LAST UPDATED
10
JAN 12
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Radio
memories of the Cold War.
Personally recorded radio identification
and call signs
recorded at the height of the Cold War.
Also check out: Old Time
Radio Catalog
http://www.otrcat.com/
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Hull Fish Trail
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HULL
FISH TRAIL
The streets of Hull are paved with fish! All around the city are unique fish sculptures, ranging from a shoal of anchovies outside the City Hall, to a Zander near the medieval Beverley Gate. Take a virtual tour around the trail and see these works of art from your own armchair.
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THE
LARKIN TRAIL
I
actually met the poet when I was studying for my LRSC in 1980 when
he was the librarian at Hull University. He is also buried nearby to
my mother. Here is a 25 piece trail of places relevant to the great
man.
The Larkin Trail. |
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Safety Videos |
I once produced a series of (award winning!) safety related video for my work colleagues.
For those with a fast connection and nothing better to do with their time,
here is a selection.
wmv format.
17 videos online.
UPDATED 8 DEC 06
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Statues of Hull.
William De La Pole
Charles Henry Wilson
Amy Johnson
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria 2 |
Prince
Albert
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce 2
James Stuart
Britannia
Andrew Marvell |
Saint
Peter
Smith and Leggett
King William III
John Alderson MD |
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Gary Burt
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Gary's
Gags
Gary
(Dizzy Fingers) Burt, Doncaster's organist extraordinaire, appeared on TalkSPORT with the above presenter, James H Reeve. He would
steal James' jokes and send them in to national newspapers to win money. Here
are some of their classic exchanges.
UPDATED 18 MAY 08
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The Finnish Sauna
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Fancy
your own sauna? It's easier than you think and after a good workout, there's
no better way of relaxing. If it's cold, dark and wet outside you can make
a little tropical oasis in your own garden.
Sauna culture videos. Thanks to Dave M.
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