53°44'N 0°26'W

53°44'N 0°26'W
Short Bio My Photo simon@simonmason.karoo.co.uk
Shortwave Espionage What's it like to tune into a spy station on your radio? Click below to find out. video wmv format 2.2 MB)	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 15 NOV 09 NUMBER OF SOUND CLIPS: 601 NUMBER OF VIDEO CLIPS: 29 NUMBER OF EXTERNAL LINKS: 231
Latest additions: BBC Radio Humberside had a piece about number stations on their Breakfast Show of 3 NOV 09 Happy Station Tribute To DXers Part 2 with a personal interview by Keith Perron. Listen to the track 15728 by the group C!ties (from Ennis in Ireland) with E1 clip Cherry Ripe recording from new Australian home at Humpty Doo.
A-C C-F G-M M-R R-V V-Z Closed pubs	My home city of Kingston upon Hull currently has 256 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 16 NOV 09 LATEST PUB: Lizard Lounge - South Church Side
	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.
Cycling Stories	You can read about my attempts to ride a cycling double century (200 miles) and getting involved in Time Trial racing. What's involved in getting into the sport from scratch. LAST UPDATED 18 SEP 09
20 mph Gallery	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: 113 LAST UPDATED 5 NOV 07
	Radio memories of the Cold War.
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.
Safety Videos	I have 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
	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
James H Reeve	Talk show host James H Reeve had a small tenure on the ill-fated long wave radio station, TEAMtalk 252 which was shut down by some bad men at 1300 UTC on 31 JUL 02. During his time there, I managed to get a number of e-mails read out. Listen to them here.
Gary Burt	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
	Photos of Hull and the East Riding. LAST UPDATED 23 JUL 06
The Finnish Sauna	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.
Hull Links	External Links relating to the city. LAST UPDATED 21 JUN 09