Some years ago I spent
a pleasant day in Suffolk with Martin, an old 'birding' friend. We were
often out in the field once a fortnight to indulge our joint passion
for unusual birds: in this case a Sandhill Crane which had been blown
across the Atlantic by the recent hurricanes:
Having
enjoyed close and sustained views of this astonishing vagrant, we drove
the short distance to Orford Quay for a cup of tea in the excellent
cafe that looks out towards the disused MoD establishment and soon-to-be
demolished lighthouse.
Martin has no particular interest in UFOs or the paranormal, but nevertheless
I shared with him the story of the events of 1980 and suggested we stop
off at the East Gate on the way home: to this he readily agreed.
As we were walking back from the gate to our car, he decided to share
with me an experience of his own.
Some years ago, Martin lived with his lovely young partner Kerry in
the beautiful Broadland village of Coltishall: at the time, the famous
RAF base was still operational, and it was not unusual to see and hear
Jaguar fighters flying over. In the early Summer of 1997, my friends
were in the garden when the loud roar of jet engines caused them to
glance upward. To their astonishment, they saw that the two Jaguars
they had heard were accompanying (or being pursued by) a much larger,
all-black triangular craft! Martin called out to his neighbour, a civil
airline pilot, who was also incredibly excited by the spectacle.....
The following night, Martin happened to be in his back garden. As is the
wont of birdwatchers, he glanced upwards and was astonished to see the
black triangle gliding silently across the sky, this time with a bright
light at each corner angle!
