My fix was this
--- /usr/share/openvswitch/scripts/ifupdown.sh~ 2016-09-30 17:27:55.000000000 +0200 +++ /usr/share/openvswitch/scripts/ifupdown.sh 2017-07-24 20:22:21.000000000 +0200 @@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ exit 0 fi -if /etc/init.d/openvswitch-switch status > /dev/null 2>&1; then :; else - /etc/init.d/openvswitch-switch start -fi +#if /etc/init.d/openvswitch-switch status > /dev/null 2>&1; then :; else +# /etc/init.d/openvswitch-switch start +#fi if [ "${MODE}" = "start" ]; then eval OVS_EXTRA=\"${IF_OVS_EXTRA}\"