Leffrinckoucke Beach

hasslehoff: 29th Apr 2005 - 13:28 GMT

Yeah, we have the same sorta stuff here in england. The countryside is peppered with reinforced concrete river defenses known as "pill boxes". They're protected from demolition by the government as sites of historical interest or something. As such they have endured decades of tagging and senseless teenage vandalism, and most are in a sorry state. Many are totally sealed up, i've never been inside one.

elaine: 29th Apr 2005 - 14:43 GMT

there are also very very exciting installations called sound mirrors, which they made expensively and redundantly just before radar was invented/discovered (doh). they are big and concrete and face france or so. there is a big one at dungeness I was going to visit a few weeks ago but unfortunately the National Trust have now decided after 50 years or whatever of leaving them to rot that suddenly they are valuable so they have made them inaccessible, now that people have discovered partying at them... so no photos as yet, but one day...

hasslehoff: 29th Apr 2005 - 14:51 GMT

photos at: www.ajg41.clara.co.uk/mirrors/dungeness.html

ive never seen or heard of these installations before. they look almost post-apoalyptic.

Peter: 29th Apr 2005 - 14:55 GMT

WTF!!! that shit is insane. yeah, totally post-apocalypse. what i wouldnt give to skate in one of em, though :)

elaine: 29th Apr 2005 - 15:00 GMT

I know, imagine my disappointment to discover they've been mothballed. There is another one we can get to, but it's little like the round ones, not the big one. You're supposed to be able to hear a frenchman eating a bag of crisps. Also the timing was bad with a sudden accelleration of planes, so you would hear a plane at the mirror, and because they were suddenly now faster be able to look up and go "that one" so the whole thing was fabulously pointless all round. Dungeness is great though, french for danger nose, for the izzardians...