From time to time, changes occur in the Mendip scene and the
retirement of farmers Stock and Young is certainly on of them. There must be few cavers who have not over
the last twenty years or so had dealings with at least one if not both of
them. Those of us who remember the
discomforts of the early days in
Lane
difference that the copious supply of hot water provided by Mr. Stock made on
emerging from the cave. When we hear of
the difficulties which cavers in the north of
with some of their local farmers, we can appreciate how lucky we have been on
Mendip to find ourselves amongst friendly folk. We wish both Mr. Young and M. Stock long and happy retirements and would
assure their successors that us cavers are not a bad as we look!
Alfie
Contents
Notices
Charging bank.
The Belfry now has a charging
bank for NiFe cells. Owners of such
cells are also charged. Cost is sixpence
a go.
Saucepans.
So far, in response to our
appeals, ONE club member has donated a saucepan which happens to be no
use. It has been decided not to buy any
saucepans yet. Even in war, members could
be found to donate them, What about it?
Monthly Notes No 2
by Dave Irwin.
other Southern clubs invaded the Dales. Lost Johns, Notts Pot and
visited by B.E.C. party.
LAMPS. Settle Ingleton team of C.R.O. have
purchased the contents of the lamp room of closed Scottish Colliery. Good opportunities to buy reliable alkaline lamps
at 25/- each. Contact. Mr. M. WARREN,
BURNSIDE, GIGGLESWICK, SETTLE,
CAVE FAUNA. Miss Mary Hazelton (Hon. Recorder, C.R.G.)
writes in the March C.R.G. Newsletter
.the most interesting collection during
1966 was the capture of two examples of CRANGONYX SUBTERRANEUS BATE, a male and
juvenile, in Goughs Cave. This rare
crustacean was first described by Bate from a well in the
Forest
found in Pant Canol (Ogof Ffynnon Ddu) by E.A. Glennie and later by Mr. Spooner
in the
Bristol Exploration Club is to be congratulated for obtaining the record.
SWILDONS. Pete MacNab (Snab) found decorated chamber
and fifty feet of passage opposite the twenty Foot Pitch. Way on is blocked by a curtain. (Easter Monday 1967).
should contact Mr. J. Childs,
James Drive
contact Col. I. Fraser,
Holme, Ashburton,
(
U.B.S.S.
WET SUITS. Available from £8 each. Cleveland Marine Products, Prospect Terrace,
Marske-by-the-Sea, Red car,
STOKE LANE SLOCKER. Changing accommodation in shed at back of
farm. Charge 1/-. Vehicles NOT to be parked on farm
premises. Ownership of cave entrance
(and Brownes Hole) retained by Mr. Stock.
St. CUTHBERTS. Sump dug to length of 16 feet. Surveyed length of cave approaches 7,000
feet. Boulders above U tube (Cerberus
Series) believed to have moved. Take
care.
Greece
1966
by Alan Thomas.
I am not sure how long it took us to drive from
the next time we slept was at
apart, I think we must have missed a nights sleep. The next night saw us in Ioninna. German and Austrian roads are of course,
excellent. The Gross Glockner pass is
impressive.
one-lane-in-each-direction Autoput which goes from one end of the country to
the other. The accident rate in
very high, apparently mainly because they seem only to replace tyres when they
burst! You never go many miles without
seeing either an accident or someone changing a wheel. Many minor roads in
are worse than the Belfry track.
Military permits were necessary before we could continue our
journey from Ioninna. The drive to
Papingon afforded some fine views of Astraka which, at first sight, is
reminiscent of the plateau in Conan Doyles Lost World. Papingon has a population of about 200 and is
a kind of Greek Orthodox heaven. Sanitation, television and electricity are totally lacking; so, too are
dishonesty, discourtesy and squalor. We
cooked in the middle of the churchyard and slept in the cloisters. I noticed little things, such as that every
time we sat down to eat, all the children hanging around went discretely away. I wondered if this was for our convenience or
because their parents did not want them to witness a twice daily display of bad
manners. If we left any of our kit lying
about the village, somebody always brought it back to us. Everyone washed and put on a clean shirt in
the late afternoon. And these people are
poor. It cost us three pounds to hire a
man and four mules for a day which began at 4am. and finished at 10pm.
The first day (actually the 7th of August) we went up onto
Astraka carrying all the ladder and rope. We had a fourteen year old guide called Dimitrios and had to keep
calling him to come back because we could not keep up with him. He led us first to what we called the
in it which as we were in great thirst we began to devour by the handful,
despite the bird droppings in which it was covered. After a couple of days we no longer suffered
from thirst.
We soon located the hole we called Provetina. Actually that is the name of the area
proveta means sheep, and soon put five hundred feet of ladder down. Jim Eyre went down about four hundred feet
and said that the ladder did not reach the bottom. Thus somewhat excited, we returned to
Papingon.
The next day was supposed to be a rest day, but Tony and I
left about midday to see the resurgence in the Vicos Gorge. This proved much more difficult than we
thought and we were gone seven hours and when we returned, I was
exhausted. The water from the resurgence
enters the gorge from the North East. Beyond the resurgence, there is a dried up stream bed which continues to
the South east.
Leaving at 4.30am with the mules, we went up to the
Katathygien, or mountain hut that we were allowed to use. It was superb and had only been opened the
previous month. The mules went as far as
towards Provetina as Toderca their owner would let them. Another day was spent lugging the gear the
rest of the way towards the hole.
The winch which we had, proved unworkable, so we never did
get down the hole. We contented
ourselves with going various distances down the ladder. On the 12th, Malcolm Smith and I used the
winch cable to measure the depth of the hole. It proved to be 572 feet to the ledge. There is definitely a second pitch which would seem to be of the order of
three hundred feet, but we were unable to measure it. Malcolm and I spent that night in a rock
shelter that had a dry stone wall windbreak in front of it and was cunningly
constructed because we were very comfortable in spite of a howling gale which
sprang up. Next day, we surveyed the
Getting ourselves and the gear back to Papingon involved a
few more adventures, but that was Provetina for 1966.
Afterward, I spent a few days on
on my own.
is mainly limestone and abounds in holes. I found nothing of any size, but I feel sure that a thorough search would
be rewarding.
In
we visited the magnificent show
afterwards contacted the Karst Research Institute with whom we went
caving. It was called Polaka Jama and it
was the 3,000th cave they had explored since the foundation of their institute.
Two more show caves, and that was the end of August. The Eisriesenwald is too famous to want any
description. To those unfamiliar with
ice, it is a very fine experience. Lastly, in
having seen the magnificent Grotte de Han before we visited the nearby Grotte
de Rochfort. What this lacked as a cave
was made up by a son et lumiere spectacle and a u.v. artificial waterfall.
I understand that two teams are going to attack Provetina
this year. One will be led by Jim Eyre
and the other by Frank Salt. I wish them
both impartially the best of luck. If by
any chance, neither get to the bottom, I shall have a go next year. It is a magnificent shaft, well worth
descending, even if it leads no further.
Vertical Section of Provetina. Scale 1 : 1,500.
Based on sketch by J. Eyre.
From the Hon Treasurer
As members are aware, the club is seriously considering the
erection of a new Belfry. Amongst the
many questions which the Long Term Planners are no doubt considering, the
question as to what sort of sum of money the club can raise must be perhaps the
most important.
By next Annual General Meeting, we shall all know what the
planners have in mind, and will have the opportunity to vote in favour or
against, but meanwhile, some idea of the way in which members are likely to
respond to appeals for loans and/or gifts must be found.
A Deposit account has therefore been opened with Lloyds
Bank at
as a Building Fund. Any contributions
made to this fund will be accepted on the understanding that they will be
returnable to the contributors if the project is not put in hand. It will not be possible to return interest on
individual contributions, however.
Quite a few members of club are paid monthly, by cheque
straight into their bank accounts. Many
people who are paid by this method, do a check against their estimated balance
every time they receive a statement from the bank, and, provided their account
balances within a pound or so, remain reasonably happy.
Such members might be prepared to make out a Standing Order
to credit the
a pound a month. Such Orders from 25
members over three years would bring a sum of £900 to the fund. Members may, alternatively, make a gift or an
interest free loan to the fund.
There will, no doubt, be other methods of raising money in
the Planning Report, and members contributing to the Building Fund need not be
afraid that they will be called on to bear all or even most of the
financial burden. However, by getting
the fund going NOW, we shall be in a better position to gauge the financial
side of the job by the time the A.G.M. comes round. We cannot start a variety of fund raising
schemes at this stage, because the club has not yet voted for the plan. We can, however, start the Building Fund,
because all the money can, if necessary, be returned to the contributors.
Please take this appeal seriously. If the scheme is voted down at the A.G.M., it
will have proved a convenient way for the contributors to have saved up for the
Dinner and for Christmas!
If you are willing to contribute IN ANY WAY, please write to
R.J. Bagshaw, Hon. Treasurer B.E.C., 699 Wells Road, Knowle, Bristol 4,
enclosing your cheque or money and stating whether it is a gift or a loan, and
if you have signed a Standing Order at your local bank (Payable to BRISTOL EXPLORATION
CLUB) at Lloyds Bank, Bristol, please write and tell us how much your order is
for, how often payable and for how long.
Yours Hopefully.
Bob Bagshaw
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G.B. The Caving
Secretary would be glad of any volunteers to take trips down G.B. Please get in touch with Roy Bennett if you
can help.
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Arrangements are being
pursued at making the B.B. more legible by having it printed by a better
process. These arrangements depend on
the editor being able to guarantee a B.B. of adequate size by a deadline date. A reserve pool of articles etc. would be a
great help. How about it?