# Foghorn Requiem



## Duncan112 (Dec 28, 2006)

Came across this in today's Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...oghorns-This-is-going-to-be-such-a-blast.html which led me to this http://foghornrequiem.org/

May be of interest to our members in the North East - I hope someone manages to record it and post it on YouTube


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## Phil Saul (Jan 20, 2006)

They stopped using foghorns in Auckland a few years ago which is a pity as I used to love lying in bed listening to them.
Really eerie sound which brought back some old memories.
Apparently the Harbour Board used to get lots of complaints about the noise from people living around the harbour.
Regards Phil(Thumb)


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day duncan112,today.00:19re:fog horn requiem,a most unusual post,it has been many years since I heard a fog horn.i live were there is seldom fog,i think the sound is a life saver,if you are at sea in a thick fog.i hope we get to hear the outcome of the bands requiem.nice post.regards ben27


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## woodend (Nov 23, 2009)

On a quiet foggy morning we can hear the three local fog horns on the local lights. The base tone of the three being the one on Cape Columbine. The sounds always brings back many memories and always the same thought 'God help those at sea!'


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## Robert Hilton (Feb 13, 2011)

Stuff of poetry drama and romance. A good sound to hear when you are snug in bed ashore. As a very small child I said I found thunder frightening until my mother explained how snug you feel knowing the storm is outside, "The storm outside might rair and rustle, Tam didna mind the storm a whistle." 

Then, from another point of view, "Now where I am I cannot tell, but I wish I could hear the Inchcape bell."

When I first saw this thread I though someone might have made music from the voices of different fog signals. Nothing too classical. Perhaps Melita (Eternal Father), or a simple sea song or two enaling the musician to give a nod to real seamen who will imagine whatever lyric they can fit to it.


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

When I lived in South Shields I stayed in digs on the Lawe top and although we could always hear the foghorn from the Souter Point lighthouse (mentioned in the article), far more prominent was the close-at-hand foghorn on the Groyne at South Shields. This produced a sort of short, deep, grunt rather than the longer, trombone-like, blast of Souter Point.

To wake up to the grumpy grunt of the Groyne foghorn wasn't always a bad start to the day, since it (occasionally) would mean that we had a summer sea fret that would quickly burn off to reveal a glorious sunny day. I did say occasionally.


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## Barrie Youde (May 29, 2006)

#5 

As to fitting lyrics to sound, have you ever tried it with Morse code?

The King and I has the well-known "March of the Siamese Children (or is it Soldiers?)"

Be that as it may, at that time I lived much of my life in the slow rhythm of visual morse and the clacking of an aldis lamp; and the thought once occurred that the opening notes of The King and I music sound as:-

Dit, dit, dah,
Dit, dah, dah, dit,
Dit, dit, dah!

Or, in plain English

"Up you!"


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## Pat Kennedy (Apr 14, 2007)

Here's a clip of the lighthouse at Portland sounding its foghorn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mheWnTYT7g


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## ninabaker (May 4, 2012)

There was a piece about this on radio 4 Today progamme this morning and it sounded fascinating.

We have a lovely recording predominantly of the various species of birds and seals on the Isle of May, but which also includes very atmospheric recordings of its long-silent north and south foghorns. One of the key parts of that sound, as experienced from the island itself, is the sound of the compressed air rushing through the cast iron pipes along the length of the island from the centrally located compressors.


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## cleansweeploch (Nov 13, 2010)

Thought you all may appreciate this. I was a lightkeeper for over 20 years, so have experienced quite a large number of foghorns.
[URL="http://www.alk.org.uk/archive/archive.


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## cleansweeploch (Nov 13, 2010)

Thought you all may appreciate this. I was a lightkeeper for over 20 years, so have experienced quite a large number of foghorns.
[URL="http://www.alk.org.uk/archive/archive.


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## Robert Durrant (Nov 3, 2007)

Did some time in Trinity House light vessels out of Gt.Yarmouth.Fog horn was positioned above the look out cabin on boat deck.When I first joined I was surprised how loud they were but soon got accustomed to them.The two of us on watch would spend our time during the nighttime watches yarning in the look out and in mid sentence we would sub consciously pause without warning a second before the two deafening blasts.We were paid a bonus of "fog money" on top of our wages,but if I remember correctly this was paid during our leave irrespective if the fog horn was used or not...older hands could put me right on his.


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