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On Friday 21st September 2009 I was proud to be given the oppurtunity to organise a group discussion with renowned US political lobbyist Steve Bassett. Steve is currently touring Europe and attending a number of different conferences. The discussion was held around my house south of Birmingham. A number of BUFOG members were invited, as well as David Williams, who is involved with the UK Disclosure Project. 📷 Steve Bassett is the director of the Paradigm Research Group, who's website can be found at http://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/, and X-PPAC, the Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Commitee. He has single handedly created a number of key initiatives to hopefully kickstart disclosure of the UFO reality in the USA. These initiatives include the Million Fax on Washington, where he is asking as many people as possible to send letters to President Obama asking for the extraterrestrial presence on Earth to be made known to the American people. He is convinced that disclosure is just around the corner, and that if the US discloses, other countries around the world will shortly follow. The talk lasted for over three hours, during which I directly asked Steve a number of questions about the ongoing UFO cover up and possible disclosure, and others present got to ask questions too. It was very interesting indeed. Steve is clearly a highly intelligent individual, who expresses his views clearly and backs them up with hard evidence. 📷 Below are links to an audio recording of the majority of the discussion. It is split into two wav files, each approximately 1 hour 33 minutes long. It is well worth a listen, especially if you have never heard Steve speak before, and if you do I am sure you will come away convinced that disclosure is a very real possibility and may well happen in the near future. To download each of the files do the following: - Click on the link - On the website page that opens up click where it says "Click here to start download..." - This will open up a  file save box. Click the Save button and choose where you would like to download the file to. - Once downloaded, locate the file and double click it to open it in your default sound playing program. Steve Bassett Talk Part 1 Steve Bassett Talk Part 2 I would like to use this oppurtunity to thank Steve for his time. It was an absolutely fascinating evening and I wish him all the best with his ongoing efforts and endeavours. And when disclosure in the US does come, remember that Steve will more than likely be one of the key individuals who helped bring it about. 📷 If you wish to be kept up to date with latest developments, visit the website and request to be added to Steve's mailing list. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Report In July 1990, Mike Orrell took a photograph at the Inaja Memorial Park, near San Diego, California. This photo appears to show numerous UFOs. It has been analyzed by a number of experts, and both Mike and others believe it to be good evidence for the reality of extraterrestrial visitation. Incident Details On the 1st July 1990, Mike and two friends decided to go hiking at the Inaja Memorial Park. It was about 4.00pm when they reached scenic spot 7 on the loop path around the park. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, and the view of the San Diego river valley was fantastic, so Mike decided to take a photograph using his Canon EOS 650 camera. He did not have a tripod with him so he put the camera down on a memorial rock wall to steady it. Setting it to maximum zoom he then took a single photograph. As it was getting late in the day, the hikers decided to head onward to the exit of the park. A recent photo of Mike at Scenic Spot 7: 📷 A week later Mike got his photographs developed. When he looked at the Scenic Spot 7 photograph something in the upper left corner caught his eye. He could make out what appeared to be nine small flying objects that appeared roughly triangular in shape. On the right of the photograph across the valley, a tenth object could also be seen. At first he thought it was a fault on the photograph, but checking through the others he found no similar anomalies. When he showed the photograph to his friends, one of them suggested that the objects may be a flock of ducks. Mike was not convinced, so he decided to get the photograph enlarged and professionally analyzed. The Inaja UFO photograph: 📷 Zoomed view of the formation: 📷 In an amusing coincidence, two weeks after taking the photograph Mike also found a rock that bears an uncanny resemblance to an alien face in close proximity to Scenic Spot 7. He knew this was a natural formation, but was still interesting. A recent photograph of Mike next to the “alien face” rock: 📷 Photographic Analysis Analysis of the photograph was performed by experts at Chrome Photo Labs in Sorrento Mesa. They first took a look at the negative, and were able to rule out dust in the lens and mechanical defects. When the photograph was blown up, Mike worked out that the nine objects were moving to the right and appeared to be reflecting the setting sun, suggesting that they were metallic. The individual object was moving to the left, as if to join up with the main group. The objects were of a similar size and density, and are irregularly shaped, though roughly triangular. They do not appear to have any appendages or wings sticking out. It was confirmed that the objects were real, but they could not be identified. The individual object appeared to be acorn shaped and has a spike shaped projection on the left side. Close up of the formation: 📷 Close up of the individual object with line added to show shape of left side: 📷 Revelations Mike was convinced that the objects he caught on the photograph were physical craft of unknown origin. Over the following three months he searched for links to his photograph in other UFO sightings, historical artefacts and ancient symbols. He discovered that the acorn shape of the individual object (and some of the others) was similar to the craft seen in the famous 1965 Kecksburg UFO incident. Various images depicting the acorn shape of the Kecksberg UFO: 📷 Mike also discovered that the acorn shape with projecting spike had appeared many times before throughout history/ Below is a selection of pictures illustrating this fact with a description of each: 📷 📷 1) UFO photo by astronaut James McDevitt during a Project Gemini flight over Hawaii on 5th June 1965. 2) Marking on the moon’s surface, named Mare Serenitatis. 3) Large carving at Petra in South West Jordon showing projecting acorn shape. 4) Projecting acorn shaped UFO photograph by Canadian Dorothy Izatt. 5) Egyptian tomb ceiling with projecting acorn shape cut into it. 6) Ancient pictograph shows projection on head pointing upward. 7) Projecting triangle carving in Egyptian tomb. 8) Projecting triangle symbol on the Nazca Plain (photo by Marilyn Bridges). 9) Acorn shaped 150 mile wide crater on the dark side of the moon. 10) The top of Cheops' Pyramid is a projecting triangle. 11) Kachina petraglyph showing walking projecting acorn shape. 12) Mayan artifact once again showing the shape and projection. More information and further revelations can be found by exploring Mike’s official website (Link at end of report). Newspaper Articles National Examiner article: 📷 Slamm article: 📷 Interview Q&A I interviewed Mike via E-Mail to find out more information regarding his photograph and follow up research. Prior to taking the photograph did you have any interest in the subject of UFOs? “As a child growing up in the 1950s and 60s it was my generation that was the first to be grow up with the idea of the existence of aliens and UFOs. Although I wasn't aware at the time about Kenneth Arnolds historic UFO sighting in 1947 followed months later by the now famous Roswell incident, there was enough excitement in the air about the topics to flood the movie theatres and bookstores with many tall tales. Orsen Welles famous War of the Worlds radio broadcast also provided a strong psychological push for more info on UFOs and aliens although I wasn't born yet to share that moment. It was in classic science fiction works by writers like Robert Heinlien, Issack Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert and Robert E. Howard that I really developed my interest in flying saucers as I followed my storybook heroes to exciting adventures on other worlds. Even though their writings were fiction at the time many of their predictions of science and technology have come to pass like the phasers in Star trek which most of us own now in the form of a cell phone. My belief in the existence of aliens and UFOs was cemented in the 1970s when my little league baseball coach, Dennis, introduced me to the science of metaphysics after my father "crossed over" in 1971. When I discovered that three separate authors were writing about the same paranormal realities that were never part of my formal education, I had to accept that there were many unknown truths that I would have to spend my life confirming. To anyone interested in these works I would recommend reading in order the first three books of each of the following authors. T.Lobsang Rampa, a humble monk sent west by his holiness the Dala Lama to describe his remarkable experiences in Tibet. Carlos Castanada, a UCLA Graduate student doing his hypothesis on hallucinogenic plants of native Indians gets more than he bargained for when he's introduced to a real Yaqui Indian Shaman. And what many consider the most important source for "unknown truth" the writings of Poet and Channeler Jane Roberts and her remarkable "Seth Material" where I learned that not only do aliens exist but they seeded our planet and are emissaries from the highest authority who have a lot invested in our development and survival. Of course on that fateful day I photographed the UFOs in 1990 the subject of UFOs or the paranormal was not on my mind while hiking with my two friends.” Do you have any thoughts on why you did not see the objects at the time of taking the photograph? “There is no question that I didn't see the objects at the time because on the negative strip which contains four pictures you can see that the third photo contained the UFOs and the fourth was a completely different scene. I assure you had I seen them I would have taken more photographs of that valley they were hovering over. There was also no chance that my two friends could have seen them because the objects were so far away. Only my zoom lens and camera were there to witness and record the remarkable event. I have, however, always regretted that I did not follow a standard photographers rule and take at least one more photo of the best scenic vista of the entire expedition. That second photo would have shown the same objects in a different position especially the single craft moving to the left on the west side of the valley. It was when I got the film back from Thriftys that I first saw the objects, and had it not been for my earlier training in metaphysics , I would have dismissed them as ‘flying ducks’ like one of my friends tried to convince me they were. Eventually the experts would prove him wrong. The real question is did the fleet of UFOs know I was there and posed for me knowing that I would not dismiss this opportunity because by belief system included the possibility of the existence of UFOs.” When you first saw the objects on the photograph what did you assume they were? “The 4x6 print of the photo that I took at scenic spot #7 at Inaja Memorial Park successfully captured that dreamy blue haze hovering over 18 miles of the San Diego River valley. That was my first impression of the photo. Almost immediately however I noticed what appeared to be a developing error in the upper left corner. Even after examining the strange dots with a magnifying loop I couldn't tell if they were a negative glitch or a flock of birds. Since no other photo in that roll duplicated the dots or captured the valley I decided to enlarge the objects as much as I could in my own Omega C760 enlarger. The results were inconclusive so I went back to that same scenic spot #7 a month later and captured birds and planes in the same area that the objects were and enlarged them. After examining the comparison I was convinced that i had done the impossible and captured UFOs in a one in a billion shot and began by quest for the expert’s opinions.” Who else did you show the photograph to initially and what were their thoughts on it? “My girlfriend was the first but she wasn't a photographer so I showed them to my buddy Jeff who still wants to believe they're flying ducks thanks to our never-ending rivalry. Eventually I became a field investigator trainee for MUFON who instructed me to send my photo and enlargements to Dr. Bruce Maccabee.” After developing the photograph, how long was it till you decided to get it enlarged and analyzed? “It wasn't until I talked to a member of the San Diego UFO Society several weeks later that I realized that I needed to have the objects blown up to grain which I could not do on my own enlarger. After I got the enlargements back from Downtown I was shocked to see how clear the triangular objects appeared.” What were your main reasons for wishing to get the photograph analysed? “Even before numerous experts would eventually authenticate the objects as unidentifiable I was convinced that they were real UFOs after comparing the objects with the birds and planes that I photographed at the same spot. More importantly after the objects were blown up to grain I had discovered a repeating pattern on some of the objects that I also found on other UFOs as well as ancient artefacts. It was a real eureka moment for me stumbling upon this UFO Rosetta Stone but without a professional analysis my theories would not mean a thing.” Who did this initial analysis of the photograph and what was their conclusion as to what the objects were? “The first professional to analysis the photo was Bruce Maccabee who told me over the phone that the objects in the Inaja Photo were unidentifiable and opaque. Although I have never received any written evaluation on the objects it was enough to convince me that I was right about my conclusions. It was Los Angeles Times Bureau Chief Tony Perry who next challenged me to prove my theories to him in person and had his photography department analyze the photo. His headline days later spoke volumes about their conclusions; ‘HEY, YOU THINK IT’S EASY BEING CHOSEN TO SPREAD THE UFO GOSPEL?’. I also had met on two occasions the famous test pilot from Russia Marina Popovich and we exchanged UFO photos. After her delegation analyzed my Inaja UFO Photo she was impressed enough to hold it up during a KGTV Channel 10 interview which was mentioned in my front page Beach & Bay Press article.” Was it this initial analysis that determined the objects were moving and not stationary? “No, in fact I don't recall anyone determining that the objects were moving. It was my own observation of the enlargement of the craft on the right side of the valley that clearly illustrated that the craft was moving right to left. The left edge of the object was a clear and clean acorn shape and the trailing end had left three impressions of itself which accounted for the shutter speed of the camera. One day I hope to get a comprehensive analysis of each of the ten objects.” Did you get the photograph analyzed by anyone else? If so, what were their opinions on it? “The best analysis to date was performed by the experts a Chrome Digital Photo Lab for my CBS Special on KFMB Channel 8. Chrome founder Dennis Reiter declared that “the negative was intact, there was no damage and they appear to be flying objects and they are unidentifiable.” The objects are quite far away on the photograph. What do you feel is the best evidence that they are unidentified craft, and not simply a flock of birds? “It wasn't until the objects were blown up to grain that I became convinced that they really were UFOs. The formation on the left side of the valley was stunning. I could even detect flecks of blue pixels on the underside of some of the craft which accounted for the blue haze in the valley below and a reflection of the sun on the top right which implied that the craft were metallic. Eventually I turned my attention to the single craft on the opposite side of the valley and was not initially impressed. Then as I began to analyze this fuzz ball I realized I could clearly see the left contour was the exact acorn shape that I had just recorded on my VCR of the famous Kecksberg UFO case from December 9th 1965 as portrayed on an episode of ‘Unsolved Mysteries’. The comparisons were identical and just about floored me. I had just confirmed the reality of the Kecksberg incident and it had identified my craft as well. Then there was the unusual projection two thirds up the left side of the single craft. This turned out to be the Rosetta Stone that also appeared in numerous other UFO photos as well as ancient artefacts, crop circles and the Nazca Lines in Peru. Interestingly enough during one of my early presentations to a group of MUFON investigators I asked them all to draw on a piece of paper what they saw in the enlargement of the single craft. Not one of them came close in their drawings to what was actually there so I guess it was a good thing that the aliens chose an artist and photographer to capture their image.” Do you believe that all the objects on the photograph are the same shape and type of craft? “Yes, even though none of the objects in the formation clearly show the acorn contour of the single craft across the valley, it is still easy to see that they are acorn or triangular in shape and that their density is uniform. Also the fact that three of the objects in the formation have formed a triangle which is pointing towards the approaching craft highly suggest that these UFOs were manufactured at the same location.” Was it yourself that determined that the shape of the object/objects was the same as the craft seen in the Kecksburg UFO incident? “Yes I made this connection before I had ever contacted any experts about my UFO photo. I had to be convinced before I could advance further and with the Kecksberg UFO I had the conclusive evidence that I needed. In fact I began to believe and still do that the Kecksberg crash was purposely designed as a recognition event since it altered its course and was seen by numerous eye witnesses before the military covered it up.” Do you believe that the objects are the same craft type as the one from this incident? “Yes and I have seen other videos from NASA astronauts that show the same acorn shape UFO flying around. The best of these was Astronaut James McDivitts UFO photo from a Gemini flight over Hawaii when he captured an acorn shaped UFO with the same projection as my craft.” Do you believe the individual object was flying to meet up with the other formation of objects? “Yes, I also believe there have been other sightings of the same kind of UFO in the area. Years before I took my UFO photo two teenage boys saw a triangular shaped UFO and their drawing of the craft made the front page of the same newspaper that I would eventually be featured in, The Daily Californian. Also a former girlfriend revealed to me years earlier that several times when she spent the night at a friends house which was in an isolated area, they would see a blue light hovering over a distance stand of trees. One night Linda woke up to her friends screams and ran into her room which was flooded by the blue light which was right outside the window. They both ran screaming from the room. Weeks later I visited the same house with Linda and asked her to point out the location of the blue light. After a brief inspection of the area looking for pod marks or damaged limbs and finding none I turned back towards the house and that’s when I saw the downtown lights of El Cajon and imagined that that was the best vantage point for the UFO could see our civilization from. Now I've always wondered did the aliens see that years later I would capture their image and set Linda up for her event just like they did me?” Why was it important to you to find meaning behind what you had photographed? “After I determined to myself that these objects really were UFOs and that within three months of taking the photograph I had discovered a lost sacred pattern linking UFOs to each other as well as ancient artefacts, I realized that I had been set up. My whole experience from the day I was born to my fathers untimely death and my introduction to metaphysics was constructed for this purpose; to "Spread The UFO Gospel"- L.A.Times. Not that I considered myself better than anyone else but no one in my inner circle knew anything about the ‘Unknown Truths’ that metaphysics had revealed to me. Its one of those cases where the more you know the more you owe. Then I noticed that some of the evidence I had collected to prove my theories was being lost forever. The James McDivitt UFO photo was introduced on a program called ‘Secrets and Mysteries’ which eventually was cancelled. Had I not taken a photo of the TV image no one would have that photo which NASA claims is lost. Linked with all this is the doomsday prediction of 21/12/2012 which has been covered in numerous documentaries on TV. I believe that aliens are showing themselves globally to prepare us for a biblical rapture event that they will perform as our earth shifts its magnetic poles and destroys everything on earths service. That’s why it’s important to me to bring this evidence to everyone’s attention.” Was it important to you that other people would also believe the photograph showed unidentified craft? “Yes, because aliens and UFOs have been given such a bad rap in the movies and elsewhere I thought that if everyone else could see the evidence (that’s now on my website) then their thoughts on the subject would shift towards a positive belief system. Metaphysics teaches us that our thoughts have substance and actually create our reality. I have witnessed this truth many times in my own life and am convinced that my story, when properly presented will change the millions of doubting Thomas's.” You found a number of other historical works of art which seem to show a similar shape to the objects on the photograph. What are your thoughts and beliefs surrounding this? “There is no doubt in my mind that these artefacts prove what metaphysics has claimed all along, that aliens seeded our planet and have been instrumental in our technological advances from day one. It is a spiritual quest they are on and we are the result of their endless tireless efforts on behalf of our creator. Their abductions have created a race of in-betweens that will teach the survivors of the coming apocalypse all the realities of our existence that were not included in our formal education.” Do you believe that all of these depictions of this particular shape is proof that craft of this type have been present on our planet for a long time, and that these various depictions actually show these craft? “Yes and the evidence is endless, as my historic amateur videos "UFOs in San Diego" prove, this particular acorn or triangular shaped craft has been depicted in countless rock paintings sculptures and artwork of every kind. And the key has been the projection which is usually depicted in the same position.” Have you read about any meaning behind the shape seen? If so who has written about it and where can this information be found? “Metaphysics claims that the triangular shape contains energy. Now I'm not sure how these craft propel themselves but I have made an interesting observation. According to the original ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ episode on the Kecksberg incident, eye witnesses reported three bands surrounding the craft with two of the bands close together while the third is slightly farther apart. Incredibly I have found this same pattern on the walls at Petra, in rock paintings and most importantly in the wave pattern of the hydrogen atom. They may be using light has a power source.” Do you feel there is any possibility that this repeating shape may be just purely coincidental or have an alternative meaning? “The pattern is real and can be confirmed by anyone doing their own research. I can walk into any bookstore and within minutes find more evidence in other books on rock paintings or ancient artefacts. There is a reason for this; they want us to know they exist.” After seeing all the additional evidence and analysis results, what do you believe you photographed back in 1990? “There can be no doubt that what I captured on film on July 1 1990 are ten Kecksberg type UFOs in the middle of a reconnaissance mission. Similar fleets of UFOs have been captured on video in Mexico and around the world but only the Inaja UFO Photo has provided the detail to conclusively link UFOs to each other as well as ancient artefacts. I believe this is the event that mankind has been waiting for and will propel mankind ultimately into our next evolutionary state.” Do you feel you were meant to witness the objects for some purpose, or do you believe that you just caught them on camera by accident? “I am convinced that it was no accident, that I was meant to be there at that exact time and place and was prepped with metaphysical teachings so that I would understand the significance of the photo and have the ability and courage to share my conclusions with a global audience.” Do you have any thoughts on what the objects may have been doing in the area? “I can only guess that they were continuing their observation of our species. I can't dismiss the remote possibility that they knew I was there and posed for my camera. Or perhaps they didn't know I was there and God himself set it up so that everything aligned perfectly. I have on numerous occasions escaped physical death by what can only be described as heavenly intervention. Was I saved for this purpose? Possibly, and if so I have no intention of failing and will continue until the end to promote this true story.” Did any other witnesses claim either at the time or later to have also seen the objects? “No, but at numerous times after one of my front page articles or after a UFO convention that I attended I have serious individuals describe their own UFO tales some of which relate to my own experience.” Has anyone ever accused you of faking the photograph? If so, what were your main arguments against this? “No one has accused me of faking the photo even though I had my own dark room at the time I took the photo. One of the reasons it would have been hard to fake this is because the objects were so far away and there were so many of them.” Since taking the photograph, have you had any further encounters with UFOs? “Since taking the photograph I have had no further encounters although I wished I had. There was a mass UFO sighting New Years Eve 2008 in San Diego of a fleet of airborne objects captured on video. It may have been them but there is no way to tell. I have, however prepared my girlfriend in case we have a sudden UFO encounter on the road during another scenic hike. She wants nothing to do with them.” Do you have any other comments or points you would like to make about your photograph? “I would very much like a detailed analysis of each of the ten objects and their relationship to each other and whether or not they are reflecting their surrounding terrain. I would especially like to have the object on the right side of the valley analyzed and a written report produced stating the results which I would post on my website. This event happened to me because my belief system manifested it. This could have happened to anyone with the same background and I would encourage everyone reading this interview on UFO World to read up on the three authors I mentioned earlier and prepare yourself for our next evolutionary phase which will undoubtedly include interaction with aliens species from every part of our universe and beyond.” Other Photographs Mike next to a gallery of his own professional photographs: 📷 Mike speaking at Paula Harris’ UFO lecture in San Diego: 📷 Mike presenting a copy of his UFO photograph to Paula: 📷 Internet Links Mike Orrell’s official site: http://www.orreman7.com/BestUFOphotoever.html UFO Casebook page about the photograph: http://www.ufocasebook.com/inaja.html Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Report Recently an online friend of mine from Norway, Lars (name changed for privacy reasons) let me know details about a sighting he had when he was nine years old. The sighting occurred in the town of As, where he lived with his family, and as with many other European sightings describes a triangular shaped craft of unknown origin. It was summer 1997 when the incident occurred. On a very warm still evening his mother decided that she and him would go out for a walk. They took a path they would often use which headed along a very picturesque road lined with planted trees. This road went past the local church. It was about midnight and there was no-one else around. As they were walking along the road away from the church, Lars suddenly felt the urge to turn around. He did so without telling his mother, who didn’t notice and continued to walk along the road away from him. Looking back at the church he saw a strange object hovering above it. The object was triangular shaped with a small cube at the left and right corner, and about 20 feet wide. It was glowing a dull white/grey colour and he could clearly see the defined edges of the object. On each cube was a light, one red, one green. These lights appeared to be slowly blinking. The object was hovering a short distance above the roof of the church and was slowly gliding left and right as if searching for something. It was absolutely silent. Lars stood there amazed at what he was witnessing. He believes he watched the object for between 30-60 seconds. Then his mother noticed he was no longer with her, and called him. He turned back round briefly and when he looked back at the church the object had mysteriously vanished. Running back to his mother he told her about what he had just seen, and rather than assume he was making up stories she believed him. Lars never heard anyone else mention seeing the object that night, but he remembers the sighting vividly. He is convinced that it was an extraterrestrial craft of some kind. Diagram of UFO (Drawn by myself from witness description): 📷 This is quite an impressive sighting as it accurately describes what appears to be a solid craft of defined shape rather than just a light in the sky. The object was performing controlled manouvres so is very unlikely to have been a randomly drifting object, and of course it’s appearance and the circumstances it appeared under does not fit in at all with it being a balloon or other inflatable. The object was much too large to have been a remote controlled model, Lars said it was at least half as long as the church roof. It was also definitely hovering above the roof rather than resting on it. Even though he was young, the witness was old enough to know what a helicopter or other civilian aircraft looked like, so it is unlikely he mistook what he could see. Also the object was completely silent, a fact backed up by the fact his mother did not turn round at all, if there had been a noise she would almost certainly have looked to see what it was and also noticed the object. While this triangular UFO was glowing white/grey rather than black in colour, it could well have been related to other flying triangle craft seen over recent decades. It’s always interesting to hear cases from outside of the UK or USA, they reaffirm the fact that this is very much a worldwide phenomenon. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Report This sighting took place in the early hours of the morning over the town of Coventry. The witness Steve Mills was in his house on North Road. It was 2.45am on Saturday 4th July 2009. As Steve works shifts, he is often awake in the early hours. Suddenly he heard a commotion in his back garden, the sound of a blackbird’s distress call. He went out back assuming that the cat was worrying them. He did not see anything in his garden, but as he looked around he became aware of an object on the horizon with yellow/white lights on it to the south of him. It was travelling from west to east in a perfectly straight trajectory. It was quite low down in the sky, Steve estimates it was about 1000 foot up, much lower than a plane would generally fly. Due to the distance it was not very clear so he went to grab his binoculars from the kitchen. Steve is an astronomer so keeps a pair to hand. Drawing of object showing comparison with light from Jupiter: 📷 He returned outside and found the object through the binoculars. It looked like a large very bright yellow/white light with two smaller lights following after it which were partially obscured by the main light. The three lights were in a triangular configuration. Jupiter was prominent in the night sky, and Steve says the main light was at least a magnitude more than this. At first he assumed the object must be a helicopter. But if it was he would have definitely been able to hear the noise of the rotor blades, or engine sound if it was a plane, as it was a very quiet night. However as the object passed from horizon to horizon he heard another very unusual sound which he assumed was coming from the object. He describes it as a slow whirring sound that seemed to be everywhere at once, it was quite quiet but still noticeable, and once he had lost sight of the object the noise ceased. Sighting location map: 📷 Explanation After checking online, it became clear that the object seen was more than likely the International Space Centre. There was a transit of the ISS at the same time as Steve saw the object, and on the same trajectory across the sky. This obviously means that the noise Steve heard at the time was coming from something else entirely, and is still a mystery. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

In June 2009, the Birmingham UFO Group was treated to a very interesting and varied lecture by “psychic investigator” Jane McCarthy. Her husband Tom who helps with her investigations was also there, as was their highly active pet dog, which apparently has a sixth sense and can detect the presence of ghosts. Tom did not talk during the lecture but was on hand to answer questions. Jane claims to possess clairvoyant abilities which enable her to receive messages from spirits, and also what she believes to be an extraterrestrial intelligence. She also has the ability to sometimes see apparitions or spirit energy in the form of orbs. She is regularly contacted by people who wish to receive psychic readings, and she is also called out to investigate hauntings. Before her lecture, Jane openly admitted to being more interested in ghosts than UFOs or aliens. However over the years she and her husband have had a number of fascinating UFO encounters. The first part of Jane’s lecture concentrated on these incidents, and featured many drawings and photographs. It became clear she had had some very interesting sightings indeed, and had even managed to twice photograph what she believes is a huge unidentified craft. This apparently appeared in response to her asking for proof of their existence. Jane has also had a contact experience, and is possibly an abductee, though she does not wish to pry into this too deep as it un-nerves her. She has a tiny scar in each eye which she believes was caused during an abduction. She also recounted a story where she awoke to see an amphibian-type alien being in her room. Her experiences seemed very believeable and she described them in great detail. During the break I approached Jane to speak with her about her psychic messages. As we were talking, she actually received a message – not for me, but for BUFOG presidents Craig and Mark. Jane and Tom’s pet dog continued excitedly running around the room staring at everyone. In the second part of her lecture, Jane discussed some of her psychic investigations in more detail, and moved away from the subject of UFOs to discuss spirits and orbs instead. Some of her stories were very creepy indeed, there was at least a couple of moments where I felt the hairs on my neck stand up! In particular, she recounted an investigation into a haunting on a stretch of road. When she visited the location she detected the presence of a young man and even drew a picture of him. Later she would learn that this boy had died in a fatal crash, and a relative even recognised him from her picture. Jane also detected the presence of a monk, which she again drew a picture of. She is not the only one to have seen the monk at that location – she read out a newspaper article about a sighting of the monk by a couple of police officers. While everyone was getting thoroughly spooked by her tale, we suddenly began to hear a strange quiet voice calling out. Then the dog let out a loud bark! Was there a presence in the room that was making itself known to us? Not this time…it was just Craig’s mobile phone which he’d left over by the podium! When speaking about the orb pheonomenon, Jane explained how she believes that they are doorways to another dimension through which spirits can manifest. She displayed some interesting photographs showing close ups of orbs to back up this theory. Sadly in the end Jane’s lecture had to draw to a close, but everyone agreed it was both highly enjoyable and interesting. She came across as a very confident person who speaks very openly about her experiences. If you missed the lecture, look out for her speaking elsewhere, I cannot reccomend her enough. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 10/06/2009 Occassionally BUFOG gets contacted by someone from much further afield than Birmingham. As our website is active and can be easily found on the internet, we are sometimes the first point of call for witnesses from elsewhere in the world. On 20th May, Melissa (name changed for privacy reasons) sent a couple of UFO photographs to BUFOG for analysis. The photographs were taken at 3.51pm on 7th May 2009 on Highway 401 close to the Dixon Road exit, Ontario, Toronto, Canada. 📷 The traffic was slow so Melissa decided to take some photographs of a jet plane taking off. It was a cloudy day but quite bright. She did not notice anything out of the ordinary at the time. Upon developing the photographs later, a couple of them showed an unusual black object. The photographs were taken only a second apart, and in previous ones nothing could be seen at all. Below are the photographs showing the object: 📷 📷 Here is a close up of the object: 📷 The witness feels sure that the object is something unexplained rather than mundane. She believes this because of the speed that the object moved at, it appeared to cover a great distance in only a second. Also it was not present in the previous photographs at all. The object in the second photograph is half the size that it is in the first. After analysing the photographs I personally believe that they show a bird in flight. I feel that the reason the object moved such a distance across the photograph is because it was quite close to the camera. I believe that it flew in from the left of the camera diagonally away from the position of the witness. This would explain why it is not present in the previous photos, and also why it reduced in size between the photographs. The shape of the object certainly fits in with it being a bird. It is unsymmetrical with no straight edges. It is interesting that both photographs show a similar shape but I believe that the witness managed to catch two photos of the bird with it’s wings in front of it’s body which is why they are not visible. Below are two other UFO photographs which are more than likely birds. You can see the similarity in the shape with what Melissa has photographed: 📷 📷 It is of course impossible to say for definite, but it seems probable that in this instance the object photographed was a bird flying into the camera shot for a couple of frames. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

The one day conference “Into The Unknown” took place at Garston Manor, Watford, on Sunday 31st May 2009. Due to the impressive speaker line up, I decided to drive down from Birmingham for the conference along with my girlfriend and another friend. We couldn’t have asked for better weather for the drive, it was one of the brightest days of the year and the roads were nice and clear. We arrived at Garston Manor at 9am. The chosen venue was absolutely fantastic. The conference took place in an open function room inside the manor with large windows looking out to the grounds outside. This room was just the right size for the number of people who turned up, so never felt overcrowded and everyone got a seat. In another side room there were a few UFO book and magazine dealers, and a third room was a makeshift café with drinks, cake and biscuits up for grabs. As we had arrived with half an hour to spare we went outside to relax on the grass in the morning sunlight. We immediately bumped into the first speaker of the day, Kevin Goodman. He recognised me straight away, as last year he gave a talk for the Birmingham UFO Group. Kevin’s talk kicked off at 9.30pm. He is a fantastic speaker and is always a joy to listen to. His lecture was essentially the same as what we had heard the previous year, but it was great to hear again. Kevin discussed his and his friends experiences at Warminster from earlier in his life. As you will probably already know, Warminster is one of the UK’s most famous UFO hotspots, especially from the 1970s-80s. After getting interested in the subject of UFOs, Kevin and his friends decided to visit the town on numerous occasions for sky watches on Cradle Hill. After discussing some of the mysterious goings on at Warminster, he described several very impressive UFO sightings that he had personally seen. He also explained how him and his friends became unwilling contactees. Using a method of channelling, his friend Colin would enter a trance like state, during which they seemed to make contact with an extraterrestrial entity. They did this on numerous occasions, but Kevin remains very level headed about this aspect of their experiences. He remains open to the possibility that it was genuine, but also wonders whether it was something else entirely such as ESP between his group of friends. This apparent contact was the subject of most of the questions asked at the end of the lecture. In the short break, we met up with two other Birmingham UFO Group members Zoe and Ian, who had unfortunately missed most of the first lecture. It was then time for renowned ex-Ministry Of Defence researcher Nick Pope to begin his talk. I have seen Nick several times before and he is always a very interesting speaker due to his background. Nick ran the UFO desk for the MOD for a number of years. He started off as a sceptic but after looking into the reports coming in from the public realised that there was a large amount of evidence that some UFOs were physical craft of an unknown origin. His lecture this time was about the recent release of various UFO reports to the National Archives through the Freedom Of Information Act. Nick believes that at least in the UK, there is no cover up, and that now these reports are being released for public viewing neither the government or the MOD are with-holding any further information on UFOs. He went over some of the most impressive cases that have now been released, including a sighting by a pilot of a hovering craft the size of an aircraft carrier which was also confirmed on radar. Nick’s overall message that he was trying to get across was that the MOD are not the bad guys and that they are just as mystified by UFOs as the general public. A viewpoint which he openly admitted may not be shared by some of the audience! After Nick’s lecture there was then an hour’s break for lunch. There was a pre-booked meal at the manor, but instead we opted to drive out to a nearby pub. Several other people from the conference also turned up for a quick drink. It was soon time to return to the manor for the afternoons speakers, beginning with well known speaker Malcolm Topping from Scottish Paranormal Investigations (SPI). Malcolm is a really enthusiastic speaker, you can easily see that he loves his work as an investigator. Over the years he has looked into many things including UFOs, ghosts and the Loch Ness Monster. He has been doing this now for 30 years, which is what his lecture focused on. It was a truly great talk and extremely varied, touching on many different cases he had looked into. The lecture featured many different photos, including his early days with some truly shocking hairstyles on display! He did not go into any one thing in great depth as the lecture was essentially an overview of his investigative career, but this made it very lively and entertaining to listen to. It was certainly one of my favourite lectures of the day. The next speaker was originally Mike Omram but he unfortunately he had to cancel. Instead we got treated to a fantastic talk by repeat abductee Steve Jones. Steve has had contact experiences since an early age, and up until last year he has been too scared to discuss them openly. However he has realised that in recent years there has been a shift in how UFOs and aliens are perceived by the public, and he now feels he can share his experiences without fear of ridicule. He came across as a very confident speaker and was very believable. We were all enthralled as he recounted his story to us. He explained how as a child he saw an unknown lady appear in his room on numerous occasions who he would speak with. This lead on to numerous abductions by Grey beings during which he was subjected to various examinations. At first he was terrified by what was taking place, but has since come to terms with what is happening to him, and now feels he is more a participant than a victim. He also mentioned that he has a number of implants inside him but unlike some other abductees does not wish them to be removed as they are in there for a positive reason. Steve believes that the beings he has been in contact with are from a different dimension rather than from a different planet, and that they are modifying our DNA in preparation for a “shift” which will occur in the near future and affect the whole human race. Unfortunately he did not have time to elaborate on this further, but I for one will certainly be looking into it in more depth. It was fascinating listening to Steve and he should be applauded for his bravery in being so open about his experiences. The final speaker of the day was crop formation researcher Alan Foster. Again this was a lecture I had heard before at one of the UFO Data conferences, but this did not make it any less interesting. Given the subject matter, Alan’s lecture was a very visual one, featuring many photographs of impressive crop formations from recent years, some of which were incredibly complicated in design. He began by discussing the various aspects of the formations which he believes is evidence that some of them are created by an unknown force rather than man-made. He covered the unusual energies that are sometimes detected within the formations, and the apparent military interest in them. He explained how numerous witnesses have seen unmarked military helicopters in the vicinity of crop formations, and have even been “buzzed” by them until they have left the area. While it is clear that some of the formations are hoaxed, there does seem to be a number of aspects linking them with UFOs. The conference ended with a speakers Q&A session. Unfortunately we had to head for home so missed this, but I am sure it was highly interesting and rounded off the day nicely. My only regret is that it was only one day long, I could have easily listened to a second day of speakers! Considering it was the organisers first conference, the whole day went superbly and was highly enjoyable throughout. If it goes ahead, I’ll certainly be back next year. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Report Sighting Details This UFO sighting occured approximately 10.15pm on the evening of 28th April 2009. It was a clear still night and the stars were visible. The witness, Elaine Skidmore, had been out with a friend and was on her way home in her car. As she drove down Braithewaite Street in Kingswinford where she lives, she noticed a glowing object in the sky off to the left above the houses. She estimates that it would probably have been above High Street when she first spotted it. The object was the shape of an ice-cream lying horizontally and was glowing a constant bright orange. It was a round orb of light with a triangular cone shape coming off it to the left. It was low down in the sky below the cloud layer, about the height a helicopter would fly at. Elaine had no idea of its size but said that it looked quite big as she was viewing it at a distance. The object was moving very slowly to the right on a straight path. Drawing of the UFO (Drawn by myself from witness description): 📷 She arrived home and got out of the car to continue watching the object from her drive. It was at this point that she realised it was completely silent. She watched it for over 5 minutes as it passed slowly across the end of the road. Once it had reached the side she was on, it suddenly appeared to stop moving and the cone shape completely vanished. It now looked just like a round orb of orange light. This remained stationary for several minutes and then appeared to slowly get smaller and smaller until it had completely vanished. Elaine waited several more minutes to see if the object would reappear but it did not. Map of sighting location: 📷 Sighting Analysis The unusual shape of the object seen in this incident is very interesting. The sighting does have some aspects that fit in with the object being a Chinese lantern. It moved very slow and on a straight path so could well have been drifting in the wind (The witness informed me it was a still night but there could still have been a light breeze higher up). Certainly the colour of the object fits the lantern theory, and when the object got smaller and smaller this could have been it burning out. However usually lanterns are seen just as round orange/white glowing orbs, they do not have other shapes sticking out of them. Elaine insists that the cone shaped part of the object looked solid rather than a trail of light or fire behind it. It is also common for numerous lanterns to be launched together rather than solitary. There is the possibility that it was not a lantern but instead some sort of lit up balloon. Other explanations do not really fit what was witnessed – it is unlikely to have been an aircraft, and was moving much too slowly to be a meteorite or space debris burning up. Elaine said it was a very quiet night but perhaps someone else also witnessed the object. Due to the distance of the sighting it is hard to say exactly what it was, so at this point it remains unexplained. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Philip Mantle is one of the UK’s most well known and experienced UFO researchers. On 24th April, BUFOG investigator Dave Hodrien interviewed Phil on his research work and beliefs. Background How did you first get interested in the subject of UFOs? I was always interested in the paranormal as far back as I can remember. I used to do talks at school about ghosts and visit the local spiritualist church. In the late 1970’s I read a book, the title of which I cannot remember and was intrigued. A friend and I were in Warminster and we’d heard that UFOs had been seen there on Cradle Hill, so we went and took a look for ourselves and we saw some strange lights. I wrote a few letters to various places asking a few questions thinking I’d get all the answers I needed, but here I am 30 years later still looking for a lot of those answers. Have you ever seen a UFO / had a contact experience, and if so what are the details of this, and did it increase your interest in the subject? The only thing that I have seen that I could not identify were two large bright lights over a suburb of Leeds on July 23rd l984 just before 10.00 pm. I was driving home from work when I saw them. Fortunately a lot of others across the north of England that night saw the same thing. Despite a lengthy and intensive investigation we were never able to come up with a satisfactory explanation for these lights. When and how did you decide to start looking into the subject? Just after I saw the lights in Warminster I saw a small advertisement in the Yorkshire Evening Post newspaper. It announced a meeting in Leeds about UFOs. I went along out of curiosity. The meeting was organised by Graham & Mark Birdsall who had recently formed the Yorkshire UFO Society. I was hooked. WE had monthly meetings and I just took everything in and soaked it up like a sponge. Slowly but surely I became more interested and more involved. Your Research How did you initially become recognised as a UFO researcher/investigator? I just wanted to find out what the hell was going on. I wasn’t interested in letting other people tell me what they thought. The only way to get the answers I was looking for was to try and investigate the subject myself. I was fortunate as the Yorkshire Dales in the late 70’s and through the 1980’s had a lot of UFO sightings so it was easy to get involved. When did you become affiliated with UFO Magazine, and how did this come about? Before it was UFO magazine it was Quest Magazine and before it was Quest Magazine it was the YUFOS JOURNAL. In the early days the YUFOS Journal and Quest Magazine were hand printed at Mark Birdsall’s flat on the 7th floor of a tower block. Graham Birdsall was the editor. So I was involved right from its initial inception as the YUFOS JOURNAL which eventually evolved into UFO MAGAZINE. How many years have you been researching UFOs for? Too many (laughs). No really, it’s now been 30 years. Boy that makes me sound really old. Do you know roughly how many incidents you have looked into? Not got a clue. There have been a lot I can assure you. I simply could not hazard a guess. Sorry. What is the most impressive case/sighting you have personally looked into? In the early 1980’s me and Mark Birdsall investigated the landing of a UFO at Normanton in West Yorkshire. It was in broad daylight and involved one adult and several children. They saw a UFO land in nearby field and went to look at it. Out side of it were 3 tall humanoid beings. They walked to the back of this object, which was silver and shaped like a ‘Mexican hat’ and it took off without making a noise. There is a lot more to this case but it really made an impression on me. How often do you get recognised by the general public while out and about? I can think of only 3 occasions when this has happened over the 30 years. It is a very uncomfortable experience for me. I’d have no problem being rich but would never want to be famous and recognized in public. How does it feel to be one of the most recognised faces of ufology in the UK? I’d never thought of that at all. I take it as a compliment and count my blessings that I’ve been lucky to be involved in so many different things. Have you ever had any warnings or threats from any individuals about the information you are releasing? Never. What is your favourite aspect of your research work? When I’ve received a thank you from a witness for taking the time to listen to them without passing judgment. What has been your best experience working as a UFO researcher? Perhaps visiting Roswell in 2007. I was recognized here by someone in a café but the whole week there was just great. I was able to visit many of the sites that I had previously only read about and Roswell is a great place in its own right and the desert scenery is quite spectacular. What has been your worst experience? Resigning from BUFORA. It’s a long story so I won’t go into it but I still support BUFORA and my resignation and that of others could and should have been avoided. Its history now but it still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. Have you lectured at the world UFO congress or been to it? If you mean the one in Laughlin, Nevada then yes, just the once. It was a great experience as I was able to meet up with quite a few old friends including Budd Hopkins, John Mack and Roberto Pinotti to name but a few. Your Viewpoints Looking at the subject as a whole, what do you believe represents the most compelling evidence for the reality of UFOs? A very hard question to answer if not impossible. There is some physical evidence that is hard to ignore and I include in that photos and film plus radar. The testimony of certain witnesses is also very compelling, like the landing case in Normanton that I mentioned earlier. What do you believe are currently the most impressive/important UFO cases? Again, almost impossible to answer. Top of the list would have to be Project Hessdalen in Norway. If you’ve not heard of this then ‘shame on you’. The landing in Normanton that I personally was involved in. The Rendlesham Forest events still intrigue despite the best efforts of the skeptics to debunk it. These would be my top three. What are your views on the alien abduction phenomenon? I think it is something best left to medical professionals to deal with. I have interviewed a number of abductees and I have no doubt they have had a highly unusual experience but whether or not it has any connection to ufology is a different thing. The abduction experience may well be another form of altered state of consciousness yet not understood by science. This does not detract from the experience at all. I left this field of research some years ago as I was way out of my depth and I felt it should be handled by professional people and not UFO researchers. Do you believe that at least some of the alien implants removed from contactees are real? If so, do you have any theories about what they are for? They are real in the fact that they are physical objects. If you are asking me if I believe that these are implants put there by beings from another world then I would have to say no I do not. It is an interesting area to study but despite claims by some researchers whom I know and like very much and have met, the implants do not seem to represent any kind of technology. Added to that I do not feel that the abduction experience has anything to do with ET’s therefore any alleged implants cannot be either. What are your views on the usage of hypnotic regression in regards to recovering hidden memories? Leave it to the professionals and keep well away. You are messing with people’s minds and you should not get involved. This was something that BUFORA stood up for and something I entirely agree with. Have you ever witnessed a regression first hand? Several and I was not impressed. What are your views on animal mutilations? They have nothing to do with the UFO subject at all. Period. Have you ever seen an animal mutilation first hand/investigated a mutilation case? No. And if I was presented with one I’d tell them politely to bugger off and seek professional help from someone with expertise in the field of animal deaths. What are your views regarding crop formations? They are all fakes. Have you been to the gate of Area 51? Do you believe that UFOs/extraterrestrials are kept there and that craft are being back engineered? I’ve not been anywhere near Area 51 but I do not believe it houses UFOs or aliens and never has. It is a top secret testing facility and that just about says it all for me. What are your thoughts on the star child skull? Fascinating stuff and Lloyd Pye is to be complemented on his investigation and his patience. However, I would bet that it still turns out to be a deformed human. No offence Lloyd, I hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it. Do you believe that NASA are fully aware of the reality of UFOs and cover this up from the general public? No. NASA is too bog with too many civilians involved to keep the lid on such a secret. Do you believe that people involved with the SETI project know full well that extaterrestrials are already visiting earth? No. SETI is a waste of time and money and most of those involved cannot see further than the end of their dish and wouldn’t know anything about UFOs if you asked them. I know that you played a key part in lifting the lid on the Roswell alien autopsy video. Do you believe that any of it is genuine? If so, which parts do you believe are real? It is ALL a complete fake made for money and nothing else. It took me 14 years to prove this but I did. Spyros Melaris is the man who led the team that faked the whole thing. Where do you believe the apparent various species seen actually come from? (Do you believe they are from different star systems, a parallel dimensions, time travellers from our future, bio-engineered on earth or something else entirely?) The ETH is just one theory to try and explain the UFO subject and one that is not yet proven. I am not convinced that we are dealing with ET’s from anywhere. Instead I feel that the U in UFO still stands for unidentified and although I would not rule out the ETH it might not make my top 3 list of theories if I were to be honest. Top 10 yes, but not top 3. In regards to the Greys, do you believe they are artificially created to do work for another “alien” species or a biological species in their own right? See previous question. After looking into the subject for such a long time, I assume you must have views on what the “alien” agenda is on earth. Can you share these views with us? See previous question. Do you feel that UK interest in the subject is waning? What do you think are the reasons for this decline? No I don’t I just think it has changed. People still report their sightings, UFO groups still exist, and UFO publications are still in print. Today will live in a virtual world and more is done online than anything else. What, do you believe, are the main reasons for the ongoing UFO cover up? There is no cover-up as far as I’m concerned. That is if you mean the cover-up of proof that we are being visited by ET’s. Remember, it is the nature of governments to keep secrets but it doesn’t always mean that what is kept secret is of any interest to anyone. Do you believe that this cover up is global or only present in certain countries? There is no cover-up. Do you believe that worldwide disclosure of the UFO reality is necessarily a good thing? If we ever have 100% proof of an ET visitation you would have politicians running to associated with it and not cover it up. It would be THE most momentous occasion in human history and most world leaders want to cement their own place in history by being associated with it. Do you believe that disclosure will occur at any time in the near future? If we ever have a bona fide ET visitation Obama would be on TV now I can assure you. If you came face-to-face with an alien being, what would be the first thing you would ask? A good question. I’d probably ask something really dumb but I’d like to ask a really selfish question. I’d ask if they had a cure for heart disease as I had a near fatal heart attack ten years ago and it’s plagued me ever since. Selfish and probably dumb I know but you did ask. I trust I’ve not upset anyone with my answers. I have a few articles published on my web site at: www.philipmantle.com if you are interested. All I would say is that don’t listen to me find out the answers for yourself. Join a group like BUFOG and get involved. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Report Sighting Details It was the evening of Friday 20th March 2009. The two witnesses to this sighting, Kerry and Matt (Names changed for privacy reasons), were at their home in Sutton Coldfield. It was 10.00pm and Kerry had just sat down to watch some TV. Their lounge window looks out to the road outside. It is ¾ covered in a blind, but through the uncovered section Kerry noticed an unusual moving light. Intrigued, she went to the front door and also called her husband Matt. It was a clear and still night, and the stars were visible. In the sky behind the houses on the opposite side of the road and off to their right, they saw what looked like a glowing sphere of very bright white light, which faded to orange light on the outer edge. It looked like a solid orb-shaped object rather than just a light with a glow around it. It was hard to judge how far away it was from them but it was certainly within a mile. They estimated it was between 60-100 feet high. The object was moving at least the speed of an aeroplane and from their perspective was moving to the left across the night sky on a very straight course. They could hear no sound coming from it. The witnesses watched it cross the sky for about 30 seconds. It was then hidden by a tall fir tree in their front garden, but they could still see the light from it through the branches. The object re-emerged and then suddenly turned at 90 degrees and began moving away from their position. They watched it get smaller due to distance, and within 10 seconds it had completely vanished from sight. Drawing of object seen: 📷 Conclusion There are a number of impressive aspects to this sighting. Firstly the witnesses are certain that what they saw was not a Chinese lantern. They lived in Thailand for a number of years, and regularly saw lanterns in the sky. They have even lit and launched some themselves. The object seen was too bright, too spherical and did not flicker at all. Its trajectory looked far too controlled and fast to be a balloon and it did not appear to be drifting. Also why would a balloon have a constant bright white light in the first place? Hot air balloons glow orange and only intermittently. However, the fact that it performed a sudden right angle turn in still weather conditions suggests that it was under intelligent control. The description given does not fit in with any other explanations such as a meteorite or earth light. The witnesses are convinced that what they saw was some kind of unidentified craft rather than a conventional object. It is currently unknown whether anyone else saw the object, but it would have certainly stood out against the night sky. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Report Late in the evening of 10th January 2009, Steve Kitts called a taxi to his house to pick up himself and a friend. The witnesses headed outside to wait for its arrival on Cottage Street, Kingswinford. It was a clear and still night, and about 10.30pm. Steve noticed a glowing orange orb of light in the sky above the houses on the opposite side of the road. It was about as high as a plane would be in mid-flight, but appeared to be moving faster than a plane. The object was travelling in a Southerly direction from the right to the left of their vision. Both the witnesses took out their mobile phones and managed to capture video of the object (Watch the video footage at the base of this report). They watched it cross the sky in a straight path for about 70 seconds until it was out of sight. They heard no noise at all during the sighting and were convinced they were not observing a normal aircraft. In the morning Steve watched the video footage and realised that he had managed to film something unusual. He decided to then look into the subject of UFOs on the internet and find out about other local sightings that had been taking place recently. A still from Steve’s mobile phone video footage: 📷 Map showing location of witnesses: 📷 There is the possibility that the object that was filmed was an individual Chinese lantern in flight. These appear as orange orbs of light and tend to drift through the sky for up to half an hour. However to counteract this argument, Steve did mention that the object appeared to be travelling quite fast and on a straight path, which tends to suggest it was powered rather than just drifting in the wind. It certainly doesn’t look like it can be explained by a normal aircraft or helicopter as they do not display lights of this colour. It could possibly have been a radio controlled model with an orange light but this seems unlikely. For now it looks as if this particular sighting will remain unexplained... The video footage: Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 08/01/2009 Occasionally BUFOG is contacted by people who have seen a UFO many years ago and feel they now wish to get it down on record. This is the case with this particular sighting where two "classic" Flying Triangle UFOs (FTs) were observed by two witnesses, Jamie and his father Steve. It was summer time of 2000, and a clear, dry evening. The witnesses were out walking their pet dog on a local field in Shrewsbury. It was around 9pm, the sun had gone down and the stars could be seen. Suddenly two objects in the sky caught their attention. They watched as two triangular shaped craft flew in a south-westerly direction in front of them. Both of the craft had a red light underneath at each corner, and emitted a blue haze from the rear. They were black in colour, with a reddish glow possibly from the lights on them. But also they appeared to be translucent. Jamie remembers seeing the stars through them. He estimates that the craft were flying quite high (under 35000 foot), and were extremely large, perhaps five times the size of a normal aircraft. It looked as if one craft was being chased by the second. The first one started moving erratically side to side, as if trying to shake off its pursuer. But the following one would react extremely fast and turn to follow. Jamie describes it’s movements as astonishing, he says that with any normal aircraft it would take several seconds for the pilot to react and change course, but the craft was performing these manoeuvres almost instantaneous. At no point during the sighting did the witnesses hear any sound coming from the craft, they were completely silent. Within ten seconds the craft had travelled the entire skyline and vanished from sight. Witness drawing of the craft seen: 📷 Location map showing position of witnesses and path of UFOs: 📷 This is a very impressive sighting as the objects certainly looked like Flying Triangles, which have been reported many times before all around the world. There are many aspects of the incident which simply cannot have a mundane explanation. The appearance, size, speed, silent flight, and movement patterns observed dismiss most alternative possibilities. The fact that the objects were semi-transparent suggests that they were using advanced technology to provide a form of camouflage. It certainly seems that Jamie and Steve witnessed two unexplained craft which performed both intelligent and complex manoeuvres in the skies over Shrewsbury. Jamie believes that the craft that they saw, and others which have been reported over the past decade, are not extraterrestrial but instead are secret military aircraft. He says that considering the F-117A Stealth Fighter was in use for 6-8 years before the public even knew about it, he sees no reason why Flying Triangles are the same but with more advanced technology. There is certainly logic in this argument, though I personally believe that Flying Triangles are extraterrestrial. If they are secret military craft that the general public is not meant to know about then surely they would not be flown across heavily populated areas? Also I have read numerous cases where alien entities have been seen at the same time as this type of craft. They have also been seen to reach speeds and perform manoeuvres which, to our current knowledge, a human pilot would not be able to withstand. This case certainly appears to be a genuine Flying Triangle UFO sighting, and one which may have been observed by other witnesses elsewhere who have not yet come forward. If you have any further information about this incident, please get in touch with BUFOG. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009