FCF AA BOX Challenge 2019-Just Jersey left!

[Peter.N.]

Did you see the pseudo old bus that was parked near it? - at Beamish that is. Hope you enjoyed your trip Jim.

Peter

[CitroJim]

Did you see the pseudo old bus that was parked near it? - at Beamish that is. Hope you enjoyed your trip Jim.

Peter

I did Peter and I absolutely loved every second of our visit to Beamish

Here's a bus and the AA Box

Photo take from the top deck of one of the open-top trams

Beamish is just awesome!

[CitroJim]

Hot on the heels of me seeing an AA Box in the wild for the very first time, my daughter Robyn goes and does the same thing

The one near Burnham Market in North Norfolk...

Robyn and family are on holiday nearby.

I've clearly trained my daughter well

[NewcastleFalcon]

Hot on the heels of me seeing an AA Box in the wild for the very first time, my daughter Robyn goes and does the same thing



The one near Burnham Market in North Norfolk...

Robyn and family are on holiday nearby.

I've clearly trained my daughter well

In June 2017 The Falcon's chose Norfolk as a holiday destination, (Wells-next-the-Sea) loosely inspired by AA Box 530 at Brancaster... ...and today sees Richard re-bag the Cappercleugh Box (AA Box 723) near St Mary's Loch in the Borders.

viewtopic.php?p=759861#p759861

Something in the air!
Deliberately horizontal


Neil

[Peter.N.]

That doesn't count, its laying on its side.

Jim

That wasn't the bus when I was there, it was a genuine 1920s-30s made about 5 years ago.

Peter

[momag46]

I remember going in the one at Brancaster Norfolk in the late sixties to look at the map on the back wall. I came out with a paper bag that was provided to members for collecting up car rubbish. The box is still in place and I’m still a member after 55 years.

Maurice

[NewcastleFalcon]

I remember going in the one at Brancaster Norfolk in the late sixties to look at the map on the back wall. I came out with a paper bag that was provided to members for collecting up car rubbish. The box is still in place and I’m still a member after 55 years.

Maurice

Nice extras Maurice, all adds to the interest of the thread

Neil

[furriegurrie]

Can one of you explain the purpose of these AA boxers to a non UK citizen?

[mickthemaverick]

Of course. They were emergency telephone boxes for members of the Automobile Association to use to summon help in the event of a breakdown. Obviously with the advent of mobile phones they became unnecessary and have been phased out of normal use. Each member of the AA was issued with an AA key which gave access to the boxes and allowed them to remain locked against misuse and vandalism. The Royal Automobile Club operated a similar scheme with their RAC boxes.

[furriegurrie]

Ah, Thanks for that. We had the anwb, the Dutch AA equivalent placing telephone poles along the motorways. Free to use for people with car or motorbike trouble. When a member the help or recovery was free of charge. These poles have been removed in recent years as these too had little purpose with everybody having a mobile phone. I guess The Netherlands are too densily populated for boxes like the AA ones to be put in place….

[Paul-R]

This was in the days when even ordinary telephone boxes were not common and these were extra ones for the convenience of members.

IIRC the AA and RAC boxes used the same key to open.

[mickthemaverick]

This was in the days when even ordinary telephone boxes were not common and these were extra ones for the convenience of members.

IIRC the AA and RAC boxes used the same key to open.

Indeed they did Paul, by mutual agreement between the two organisations, which effectively doubled the density of boxes available or, hopefully, halved the walk to one to use!

[Rp0thejester]

Well I didn't know that. I'll keep an eye out for them now

[Paul-R]

There aren't any RAC boxes left in the wild so you'll have a long wait!

https://www.the-telephone-box.co.uk/fur ... entry-box/
(Scroll down the page)

[bobins]

For anyone with too much time on their hands and who wants to try and find where their nearest AA or RAC box used to be, if you know its approximate location (locations available via a quick Google) then you might find the library of old OS maps available via the National Library of Scotland useful*.

Here's one for the AA box above Arundel, West Sussex, up at Whiteways Lodge.

AA Box - OS, NLS

https://maps.nls.uk/view/189258191

*- I might be wrong, but I'm sure I used to be able to get 1970s maps via the NLS, though they're not showing at the moment.