Hon. Sec: A.R. Thomas. Allens House,

Nine Barrows Lane, Priddy, Wells,

Somerset.
Hon. Editor: – S.J. Collins, Lavender Cottage, Bishop Sutton,

Bristol

Editorial

Annual General Meeting

As members – apart from those who have just joined the club
– should know, our A.G.M. is held each year on the first Saturday in October,
and is followed by the club dinner on the same day.  This year, the first Saturday falls on the
2nd and the A.G.M. will be held in Oliver’s Bar,

Victoria Street,
Bristol.

It should go without saying that everybody who possibly can
ought to turn up for the A.G.M.  It is
the occasion when every member’s views and votes count as much as every other
member’s.  It is YOUR annual chance to
instruct the committee how YOU want them to run the club.  It is your chance to question the club
officers about the way they have been running things during the year.  Unless you are prohibited by circumstances
from turning up, you have very little argument left if things do not go as you
would want them to go.  Please turn up
and keep our club democratic – besides, the meeting is on licensed premises!

The B.B. in 1972

In our opinion, the question as to whether the B.B. ought to
cease monthly publication is not one that should be decided by the A.G.M.  It might well be discussed, but the people
who would be most affected by a change to a quarterly are those very people who
are not able to get to the meeting.  We
have not so far heard a single word from any reader who is in this
position.  We will soon have to take a
decision.  Doesn’t anybody care?

“Alfie”

*****************************************

DON’T FORGET THE A.G.M. IS AT OLIVER’S BAR –

VICTORIA STREET,
BRISTOL
AT 2.30 PM ON SATURDAY OCTOBER THE SECOND 1971.

OLIVER’S BAR.  OCTOBER
THE SECOND 2.30 PM.  SATURDAY..,

VICTORIA STREET  2.30 PM.

BRISTOL. SATURDAY.  OLIVER’S BAR. 2.30 PM. OCTOBER THE SECOND. 

VICTORIA STREET.

BRISTOL.  2.30 PM. OLIVER’S BAR. SATURDAY.

Tie a knot in something! Don’t forget the A.G.M. and dinner are on Saturday, 2nd of October.  The A.G.M. is at OLIVER’S

BAR VICTORIA
STREET (almost opposite the

Robinson
Building).  At 2.30 pm. The Dinner is at Wookey Hole Restaurant. Please try to get to BOTH if you can!

An open meeting of the M.R.O. will be held at Priddy Village
Hall at 2.15 pm on Sunday the 7th of November. All club members are invited. Speakers will include Howard Kenny, Brian Prewer and Oliver Lloyd.  There will also be a speaker to present the
police angle on cave rescues.

Minutes of 1970 A.G.M.

It has recently been the custom
to publish the minutes of the last A.G.M. in the B.B., to save time in reading
them at the next meeting.  Ed.

The 1970 Annual General Meeting of the Bristol Exploration
Club opened at 2.40 pm at the seven Stars, with 35 members present.

Election of Chairman.  It was proposed by Alfie and seconded by Tim
Hodgson that ‘Sett’ be elected Chairman. There were no other nominations. The chairman asked for members resolutions.  There were none.  The minutes of the last A.G.M. had been
published, and Bob Bagshaw proposed that they be taken as read.  This was seconded by Mike Palmer and carried.

Hon. Secretary’s
Report.  This had previously been
published in the B.B.  The Chairman asked
for comments, but there were none.  John
Riley proposed the adoption of the report. This was seconded by Tim Hodgson and carried by the meeting.

Hon. Treasurer’s
Report.  In addition to his
previously published report, the Hon. Treasurer announced that the accounts had
been audited.  The Chairman asked whether
the Hon. Treasurer could go through the accounts for the benefit of members
present.  The makeup of the accounts was
then explained.  The Chairman asked where
the I.D.M.F capital appeared in the financial statement.  The Hon. Treasurer said this was an asset and
hence not shown.  The Chairman asked how
much we had in the kitty after all debts had been paid.  The Treasurer said this amounted to about
£340.  Alan Thomas asked whether we were
satisfied with the new Belfry, and reminded the meeting that there was an
outstanding amount of £160 which did not get paid unless the Belfry Engineer
said that all was well.  The Hon.
Treasurer said that the amount quoted included this sum and that we would have
£500 in the kitty if this sum were not paid. Jok Orr asked about the cattle grid, but the Hon. Treasurer said this
did not apply.  Mike Palmer suggested an
inspection by Pat Ifold before the remaining £160 was paid.  The Hon. Treasurer said that Pat had, in
fact, carried out the inspection, and Jok said that in that case he was
satisfied.  The Chairman then asked
whether we could put forward a proposal to pay the remaining sum.  This was proposed by Jok and seconded by
Alfie, and carried nem. con.  Bob said
that, since the published account, he had paid the insurance and also money to
Brian Prewer.  The Chairman asked if we
could expect to have £200 in hand after all contingencies have been met, as a
working amount for the year to come.  The
Treasurer replied that there would be adequate funds, and that he was satisfied
with the club’s liquid position.  This
statement was cheered by the entire meeting. Alfie suggested that the meeting should formally congratulate the
Treasurer.  Mike Palmer moved a formal
vote of thanks, and this was seconded by Alan Thomas and carried unanimously.

Alan Thomas proposed that Doug Parfitt be given a Life
Membership for services rendered.  This
was seconded by Tim Hodgson and carried nem.con.  Alan also proposed that the Treasurer pay
back the outstanding loan so that the Belfry account would be cleared.  This was seconded by Mike Palmer and carried
nem. con.  Tim Hodgson asked whether the
club funds would now be enough to cope with any reasonable demand on them.  Alan asked Tim what he thought a reasonable
demand might be, and said that the only reasonable demand he could foresee
would the buying the entrance to Cuthbert’s, which was being negotiated.  It was proposed by Alfie That the Treasurer’s
report be adopted.  This was seconded by
Andy MacGregor and carried unanimously.

Caving Secretary’s
Report.  Further to the published
report, Mike Palmer asked whether the Caving Secretary was of the opinion that
all club meets had been poorly attended. Dick Wickens replied that it was a caving meet – not all of them.  The adoption of the report was proposed y
Andy MacGregor and seconded by Mike Palmer, and carried nem.con. by the meeting.

Climbing Secretary’s
Report.  The Chairman noted that no
report had been published, and that the Climbing Secretary was not present at
the meeting.  Alan said that he
understood that the Climbing Secretary would not be standing again.  The Chairman asked whether the meeting felt
he had been a good Climbing Secretary. Kangy said that the meeting might care to express its disappointment at
not having any climbing report.  Tony
Meadon said that perhaps something would yet appear in the B.B. and, on the Chairman’s
suggestion, made a formal proposal that the Climbing Secretary be asked to
produce a report for the B.B.  This was
seconded by Roy Bennett and passed by a vote of 23-1, Phil Coles voting
against.

Tacklemaster’s Report.  Arising from this, Mike Palmer asked if we
were still losing tackle and reminded the meeting that tackle should always be
booked in and out.  He asked whether this
was still being done and whether any offenders were being actively chased up to
return tackle.  The Tacklemaster replied
that the book was still in existence and was being taken seriously as far as he
could tell.  Mike Palmer proposed that
the new committee look into the subject of tackle losses and the mislaying of
tackle.  Pope proposed that some
lightweight tackle be kept in the Belfry. Alfie said that there was a danger of lightweight tackle being damaged
in the hands of inexperienced cavers. This was agreed by Roy Bennett. Alan Thomas said that he also agreed with the last two speakers and
pointed out that lightweight tackle deteriorates much more rapidly that normal
weight.  Brian Prewer said he accepted
all these arguments, but thought that some of this tackle should be available
to members.  He wondered whether Dave
Searle would be prepared to store some at Dolphin Cottage.  Kangy asked how we would stand for
liability.  He suggested that we might be
increasing our chances of a claim.  Tim
Hodgson proposed a formal resolution, which was seconded by Pope that about
sixty feet of lightweight be kept on Mendip in charge of a suitable
person.  The proposal was defeated by a
vote of 7-14.  It was proposed by Tony
Meadon that the Cuthbert’s entrance ladder be kept in the Belfry rather than
the tackle store.  This was seconded by
Brian Prewer.  Dave Turner suggested that
the ladder be locked with the same key as that for Cuthbert’s.  A discussion followed and the Chairman
finally accepted a proposal that ‘The Cuthbert’s entrance ladder be kept in the
Belfry and made available to Cuthbert’s leaders only by the most suitable
method to be devised by the committee’. Voting in favour of this proposal was unanimous.  It was then proposed by Tim Hodgson and
seconded by Kangy that the Tacklemaster’s report be adopted.  This was carried. nem. con.  John Riley proposed a vote of thanks to the
Hon. Tacklemaster for keeping the tackle in such good order.  This was duly seconded by Kangy and carried
with one vote against.  The Chairman,
winding up this discussion on tackle, suggested that the new committee might
well chase up the tackle position at regular intervals throughout the coming
year.

Hut Warden’s Report.  It was proposed that the published report be
accepted by Bob Bagshaw.  This was
seconded by Jok and carried nem. con.

Belfry Engineer’s
Report.  The Belfry Engineer was
asked to read his report amid general acclaim. Brian Prewer suggested that the matter of the cattle grid and Walt’s
continuing use of it should be left to next year’s committee to deal with.  This was seconded by Andy and carried nem.
con.  The Chairman proposed a vote of
thanks to the Engineer.

Hon. Librarian’s
Report.  In the unavoidable absence
of the librarian, his report was read to the meeting by Alfie.  Alan Thomas said that the plan was to move
the library to the new Belfry as soon as possible.  The Chairman directed the committee to look
into this matter.  The adoption of the
report was proposed by Dave Turner and seconded by Mike Palmer.  It was carried nem. con.

B.B. Editor’s Report.  Alan asked the Hon. Editor what was being
done about the postal department.  Alfie
replied that John and Val Ransom had volunteered to take it on.  The report was adopted by the meeting, the
proposal being by Mike Palmer and seconded by Tim Hodgson.  It was carried unanimously.

Caving Publications.  Bob Bagshaw read the report.  It was proposed by Alan Thomas that the
report be adopted and this was seconded by Bob. The proposal was carried nem. con.

Other Business.  Brian Prewer proposed that since the cost of
electricity had risen so much, the committee be instructed to look into the
provision of a tariff meter.  This
proposal was seconded by Mike Palmer and carried nem. con.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the
meeting closed.

Lewis Railton

It is with regret that we record the passing of Lewis Railton.  A founder member of the cave research Group
of Great Britain, he did much in the early days of caving to transform it into
a respectable scientific field of study, and is probably best known amongst
B.E.C. members for his work on surveying in collaboration with Butcher.  He was associated with caving in
South Wales right from the beginning and was one largely
responsible for fostering interest in the region.  We extend our sympathy to his friends and
relatives.

Hon Sec’s Report

Again this year I have carried out the usual amount of
routine work of administration – enquiries from new members, liaison with other
clubs and so on.  The committee has met
12 times since the last A.G.M. and there has been no difficulty in obtaining
the required quorum.  We were handicapped
by the resignations during the year of Norman Petty and Pete Ham. 

Norman
had, for many years, been the mainstay of the club, and Pete had done much
useful work during his short time in office. As a result, there were more that the usual number of co-options during
the year – with Attwell, Cooper, Irwin and Stobart being involved.  Finally, as the club year drew to an end, we
were extremely sorry to receive the resignation of Pete Franklin from the post
of Hut Warden, which he has discharged very well under difficult circumstances.

The B.E.C.’s social highlights during the year were probably
the presentation of a solid silver tankard to Norma Petty and the binge which
accompanied it; and the first ever indoor barbecue – we have never had a Belfry
big enough to hold it in before and have always been dependant on the weather.

On the political side, the most important event was the
formation of the Council of Southern Clubs Limited, of which I am a
director.  Policy precludes publishing
details, but anyone who wants to know what is going on can ask in person.

The acquisition of more land from the paper mill is
proceeding, but is of necessity a slow process as their head office naturally
does not give it a high priority.  We
have had more trouble over Mr. Foxwell’s right of way, but I do not think it is
beyond the capacity of the new committee to sort it out.

After protracted negotiations, the M.R.O. has established
its store at the Belfry.  Part of the old
stone building has been fitted out as the rescue store.  The door is secured by a combination lock the
number which is known by all M.R.O. Wardens and myself, from whom it can be
obtained in an emergency.  The M.R.O. has
also paid for the installation of the telephone in the Belfry and they pay two
thirds of the rent.  The store, phone and
notice board may be visited by the duty wardens each month, and they should
always be made to feel welcome at the Belfry, which is now effectively the
rescue centre for Mendip.  On the event
of a call-out, ring WELLS 3481 as before – NOT the Belfry.

Hon Treasurer’s Report

The most disturbing feature of the financial statement is
the very low figure of £137-52 for subscriptions.  Although last year’s figure of £236/17/6 was
inflated by 3 life memberships and one joint life membership, THERE ARE ABOUT
SEVENTY “MEMBERS” WHO HAVE NOT PAID AS AT 11.9.71.  There are only 164 members of which 54 are
life members.

The deficit of £333-16 for the year was, of course, caused
by non-recurring expenditure of £400 on the Belfry.

Since the accounts were prepared, I have applied for and
received the sum of £21-70 recoverable from the M.R.O. towards the telephone.

There is a further six month’s interest due to the Ian Dear
memorial Fund but this has not yet been entered in the pass book by the
National Savings Bank.  I am at present
trying to convince the inspector of taxes that the club is not liable for
income tax.,  When this has been resolved
I shall be able to re-consider investment of the fund.

In conclusion, I should mention that I have plenty of club
ties in stock and I have ordered twenty car badges.  Do you want one?

B. B.  Editor’s Report

The B.B. has, unfortunately, had a typical year in
1971.  Post Office strike; shortages of
material, printing and postal department troubles have all contributed to the
familiar sorry pattern.  Two issues had
to be telescoped.  We stagger, as usual,
from one crisis to the next.

Next Year, in spite of all this, the B.B. celebrates its
quarter century of publication.  I would
like to see a real effort made to rise to this occasion.  Firstly, we must get rid of the crisis.  I am prepared to continue the editorship and
preparation of the stencils, which has not been a holding factor.  It would be a good thing to go over to the
use of offset lithography.  We have the
machine but we want THREE volunteers, each of which would be prepared to print
the B.B. if the other two were sick or away. I sincerely hope that Kay Mansfield will continue to distribute the
B.B., and there are plans for making her job less of a burden.  These moves will only leave one source of
trouble – that of a lack of material. This can be best overcome by publishing quarterly – and a lot of behind
the scenes discussion has been going on about this move.  However, it is recognised that a quarterly
would largely remove the up to date aspect of a club served by a monthly
publication, so a compromise has been hammered out in true British
fashion.  Another point which must be
faced is that of rising costs.  We must
remember that one of the prices we have had to pay for the new Belfry is the
large proportions of life members now in our club.  These all get B.B.’s but no longer
contribute.  Yet another thing to bear in
mind is the need to go eventually to A4 size paper.  We need a solution to all these factors, and
we need it NOW – to start the second quarter century properly – rather than to
have them forced piecemeal upon us.

How I propose to get round all these points in an acceptable
manner is as follows.  In each year,
starting next January, the January and February B.B.’s will be simplified
newsletters, with notices, dates of meets etc., and some brief matter as to
what is going on.  They will be sent to
all members on a list of people not normally in touch (i.e. members who cannot reasonably
be expected to pick up a copy at club or at the Belfry).  Other members will be able to obtain these at
club or Belfry, and there will be a copy posted up on a special board at the
Belfry each month.

Each third month, starting in March, a large B.B. will be
produced and sent to all members.  This
will be AT LEAST SIXTY PAGES IN SIZE and will contain reprints of such notices
that are still of interest from the January and February B.B.’s plus the short
newsletters.  The January and February
B.B. issues will not be numbered, but the March one will be (in volume order as
at present).  Thus, collectors will only
have to bother with the four large issues for permanent retention.  The March issue will be available some two
weeks BEFORE publication date, and members on the ‘Locals list’ will be asked
to try to pick up their copy from the Belfry or club to save postage.  If they cannot do this, then their copy will
be sent to them automatically on publication day.

This scheme will enable members who live away to stay in
touch and the club to publish news items while they are still news; it will
also enable a sensible sized magazine to be enjoyed by members.  It will also enable the newsletter issues to
be considered as ‘throw away’ matter while keeping the large issues.  Members who pick up their large issue will
get it slightly earlier.  A specimen copy
of both types will be on display at the A.G.M.

Finally, the Editor would like to draw the attention of the
club to the fine work done behind the scenes by Barry Wilton – our printer, by
Kay Mansfield – our Postal Department, by Steve Grime – our ‘writer of the
year’ and by all those who help with articles, advice etc.  The post-box scheme has, after the first
outburst of anonymous filth, been a success. Please support the B.B. even more next year and help us to set the pace
in the field of caving journals.

Financial Statement for the Year to the thirty first of July 1971

Subscriptions			£137.52
Seven Stars Levy			£3.64
Sales:	Carbide	£3.70
	Car Badges	£0.00
	Ties	£0.87	£4.57
Post Office Savings Bank Interest			£5.81
Annual Dinner:	Receipts	£182.50
	Less Costs	£181.25	£1.25
Spaeleodes:	Sales	£12.95
	Cost	£8.00	£4.95
Bankers Orders			£38.00
Interest on Deposit account			£12.31
Sundries			£6.73
			£214.78
DEFICIT FOR THE YEAR			£333.16
			£574.94

 

Belfry	Final payment on building	£160.00
	Final loan repayment	£100.00
	Plumbing, electrics, gas etc	£101.41
	Cattle Grid	£45.50
	Expenses	£225.47
		£632.38
	Less Receipts	£300.96	£331.42
Postages and Stationery etc.		£56.53
B.B. Postage		£35.36
		£91.89
	Less sales	£18.43	£73.46
Tackle:	Expenditure	£42.80
	Less fees	£8.50	£34.50
Public liability insurance			£28.00
Income Tax			£17.70
Exhibition Photographs			£8.00
Cambrian Caving Congress	(2 years)		£1.00
Cave Research Group	(2 years)		£6.00
Charterhouse Caving Committee			£3.00
Telephone (£21 – 70 recoverable)			£32.55
			£547.94
GENERAL ACCUMULATED	FUNDS @  31.7.70		£565.41
Less deficit for the year			£333.16
GENERAL ACCUMULATED	FUNDS @  31.7.71		£232.25
I.D.M.F. accumulated income to	31.7.71		£39.40
			£271.65
National Savings Bank Account			£70.23
Lloyds Bank Ltd Deposit Account			£157.73
Cash in hand			£43.69
			£271.69

IAN DEAR MEMORIAL FUND

Accumulated income to 31.7.70			£30.88
Interest on £310 5½% National	Development Bonds 15.1.71		£8.52
Accumulated Income @ 15.1.71			£39.40

Caving Publications Report

Little movement in the direction of new reports was made until
my return to this country during June this year – although the Roman Mine
manuscript was edited whilst I was in the

U.S.A.

During the last few months, preparation of the Cuthbert’s
report is under way again.  Rabbit  Warren has been published and three other parts are almost ready for the
printers (September, Cerberus and Maypole & Rabbit Warren extension.)

Roma Mine is to be published at the A.G.M., 1971 and should
prove to be an important addition to the B.E.C. Caving Report Series.  Future publications include the remaining
sections of the Cuthbert’s Report which will all be out within the next year.

Two more reports are in the state of preparation – the
Burrington Atlas and John Etough’s magnificent collection of photographs of

Balch
Cave.  Although the cave has been destroyed, it
remains a valuable pictorial record.  The
cost will be about 50p and if anyone is interested in a copy, please contact
me.

Printing standards have been improved and will continue to
do so.  It is hoped that shortly the
caving reports will be produced commercially and this will result in
improvements to the type face and general appearance.  A change of format and front cover is being
studied and in all probability, it will result in the series having
photographic covers and becoming A4 in size.

I would like to thank Gordon Tilly, Barry Wilton and the
many others who are involved with the production of the caving reports.

Don’t Pay Bob

…..at the dinner.  He
would rather enjoy the dinner like you will – without having to run around
getting money out of YOU.  PLEASE pay him
your sub (if outstanding) or next years (if you want to give him a real fright)
AND your dinner money at £1.30 (or 26/- in old money) per head.  Send it to Bob at

699 Wells Road,
BRISTOL 
BS14 9HU

Letter

Finally a new slant on the fixed
tackle controversy from our Hon. Sec. Alan Thomas…..

The Editor, Belfry Bulletin.

Dear Sir

Why should a distinction be made between fixed and other
tackle?

I am not brilliant at climbing on the rock, but if I need a
ladder it makes little difference to me if it is suspended from above or
resting on the ground.  But it makes a
big difference to the Tacklemaster!!  A
fixed iron ladder cost virtually nothing and lasts for years.  An electron ladder costs a great deal; takes
hours to make; needs constant care and is short lived.  Why not, if we are visiting the same places
frequently, leave the iron ladders in position.

                        Alan
Thomas

Monthly Crossword – Number 14.

 

Across:

3. The way back. (1,4)
6. Cave pearls, for example. (4)
7. First and last in me down Goatchurch. (4)
8. Upper end of last part reversed. (3,3)
12. Artificial aid for red lad. (6)
14. Backwards detailers adorn caves. (4)
15. Lound and low stal deposit. (4)
16. This dry? (5)

Down:

1. A tree in Cuthbert’s. (5)
2. Inexpensive type of climb. (4)
4. Gone to II? (6)
5. Backward eastern animal collection in G.B.. (4)
9. One of the annual trio in the B.E.C. (6)
10. Getting louder boring device makes slow progress in a cave (5)
11. Cider can this metal. (4)
12. Taken to, well soused, in song. (4)

Solution to Last Month’s Crossword