Belfry Bulletin No 325, November 1974

QUODCUMQUE FACIENDUM : NIMIS FACIEMUS

Editorial

Membership

November is, of course, the time when the annual
list of paid-up members is issued. In
spite of fears to the contrary, the current list in this B.B. shows a total of
206 members – a gain of 2 on last year. While this is nothing to get wildly excited about, it is at least not
the loss in membership that was predicted earlier on this year.

There is a danger when looking at membership
figures of trying to read too much into them. However, on the principle that fools rush in where angels fear to tread,
your editor will – perhaps foolishly – draw a few conclusions which may give
the new membership secretary (when he or she has been appointed!) some food for
thought.

There is no point, in my opinion, in having a vast
drive for new members for its own sake. All this is most likely to do is to produce an unwieldy club full of the
wrong sort of people. On the other hand,
the legacy we have with us as part of the price of getting the Belfry built is
a large number of life members (27% of our total membership) who pay no further
subscriptions – and a way to improve this ratio might not come amiss.

Incidentally, judging by the voting figures, the
life members do not show up very well since only 34% of them voted – against
56% of the ordinary members. This may,
in some cases, be due to the fact that some life members, although still
interested in the club, feel too out of touch to be able to vote. On the other hand, it may be that some life
members are no longer particularly interested.

If you look at the way in which club membership
has grown over the years, you will find that the intake of new members has
remained almost constant every year, at average of 27 per year since the end of
the last war. This year, with 24 new
members, is quite typical – and there have been very few years which have not
been.

The variation lies in the pattern of those who
leave. About half of these in a normal
year are made up of people who have recently joined and – presumably – have not
found caving, or climbing, or the B.E.C., to their liking. Again this year is no exception – and there
is little we can do about it. The other
half is made up of members of some years standing who, again presumably, find
that they are losing interest or contact with the present club. This is where I believe we could – and should
– make some effort.

Many people have said to me that we should try to
provide more for our older members. Perhaps gentler caving trips followed by social evenings from time to
time. It has even been suggested that we
hold an older members dinner. Other
suggestions I have heard are that we should try to get older members up in the
Belfry so that they could again get to know the present members of the club.

Looking at the present membership list, it is
pleasant to see once more names like Arthur Ball, Stan Gee, Norman Petty, Phil
Townsend and Mike Wheadon who, amongst others, have all re-joined this
year. With a bit of imagination and a
little work, we could turn this trickle into a flood.

I must repeat that the above represents my
personal view. Perhaps you do not
agree? Perhaps you do? In either case, why not write in with
suggestions; offers, condemnations etc – so that we can all give the new
membership secretary something to think about!

Alfie

Access to St. Cuthberts Swallet

Access to St. Cuthberts Swallet is controlled by
the B. E. C. and all parties visiting the cave MUST have a B.E.C. leader or a
guest leader from another club. A party
wanting a trip in the cave should write to the Caving Secretary c/o The Belfry,

Wells Rd,
Priddy, Wells,

Somerset. The Caving Sec. will then find them a leader,
but MUST be given:-

1. The name of the visiting
Club.

2. The date and time of the
proposed trip.

3. The number in the party.

4. A stamped addressed envelope.

5. ONE MONTH’S NOTICE.

It is always possible, of course, for parties to
arrange trips independently with leaders they know, or to take a chance on a
leader being available when they visit the Belfry. The system of guest leaders allows clubs who
regularly visit the area to get their own leaders for St. Cuthberts. To become a guest leader, you need to have a
thorough knowledge of the cave (there are five specified routes which must be
known) and “a responsible attitude to caving and cave preservation.”

All parties visiting the cave with B.E.C. leaders
are automatically covered by the B.E.C.’s insurance up to £100,000 – so all
guest leaders are required to have insurance up to the same amount which will
cover their party and indemnify the B.E.C. Potential guest leaders can get application forms from the Caving
Secretary, who will arrange trips to cover the specified routes. On all trips, the leader or guest leader has
the ultimate say, and will refuse to begin or continue a trip if he thinks the
party is inadequately equipped or incompetent.

These access conditions for St. Cuthberts have
been published at the request of the Caving Secretary, Andy Nichols – who would
like them made as widely known as possible, to avoid any misunderstanding from
visiting clubs.

Maypole Dance

Another account of the
Club’s doings in the
Pyrenees this year. This time by Malcolm Jarrett

As may be imagined, mush of our time was spent
while in the
Pyrenees – in cases with French
speleologists. Notable amongst those was
the infamous Ruben Gomez, expeditions controller of ARSIP, and founder member
of Karst. ARSIP (Association des

Rescherches Spelaeologiques Internationale de
la Pierre St. Martin) is responsible for all
aspects of caving within the area. KARST. (Kommittee d’Action Revolutionaire de Spelaeogogie et Terrorisme) is the
nearest thing to the Elsan Club in

France. Amongst their aims are the destruction of the
thirteen stations of the Cross at

Lourdes
and the complete removal of stal from show caves. They produce a clandestine news sheet which
we hope to obtain soon.

Ruben did much to help us, and we felt that we
ought to repay the debt. He seemed quite
pleased to have half a dozen tame English cavers available. The first idea to come to his mischievous
mind was the de-rigging of the Annialarra. Before we said anything, we asked Dicky from Eldon what he thought of
Annialarra. “Well, it’s like a
1,400 foot pitch with a few sparse ledges. Oh, yes! It’s damp and about 5OC.” Tactfully, we forgot about Annialarra and
asked Ruben what else we could do. He
mused for a while and then said we could go and see his employer, Max Cosyns,
who had a few jobs to do.

Max Cosyns has a vast range of interests, from
nuclear physics to latex making. He had
been maypoling in the Grotte des Statactites Deviees some years ago, and wanted
his pole back.

The G. des S.D. is situated in the Kakouetta
Gorge. Kakouetta is excellent with 600
foot cliffs on either side of a fair sized river and some fine speleological
features. The first mile or so of the
gorge has been equipped with – bridges and hand wires to improve access. The remainder of the gorge becomes wider, but
very heavy going and there is no safe exit at the top end – as four of us found
out when our pioneering spirits overwhelmed us. Another aspect which delighted us was the lack of
commercialisation. The gorge is owned by
the local people who levy a very reasonable 30p charge for the use of their
bridges.

One mile up the gorge is the Kakouetta cascade,
emerging from about 40 feet up on the left hand side, looking upstream. Little is known about the cave beyond this
resurgence, except that in the fifth sump the cave plunges downhill, and that
somewhere beyond here is a reservoir of huge proportions. A few feet further up the gorge is the G. des
S.D. There are two ways into the cave.
The first involves a 120 metre abseil (393 feet 6 inches as it used to be)
passing an entrance 60 metres (197′) up the cliff. The second involves a short climb into a
large but fairly well hidden entrance. The first method would have been preferable, as it avoids the 30p
charge, and makes all the caving downhill. Unfortunately, we had only a 90 metre (295) rope and the prospect of
six or seven of us swinging on the end of it to stretch a further 30 metres out
of it did not appeal. Furthermore, we
did not trust Maxs ten year old memories of where in the cliff top jungle the
correct abseil point was. A third
problem was the possibility of playing Aunt Sally with ten ton boulders falling
in tourists mouths as they gaped in awe (this is really an excuse for
chickening out, but I’ve just thought it up). This left the alternative lower entrance. Max said that it should be fairly easy, as
there were some old wooden ladders in place.

And so Sue Holmes; Graham Wilton-Jones; Mike
Palmer; John Dukes and I scrambled up the 3 metre (10′) climb into the
entrance. Despite the grandiose
proportions of the entrance, the only way into the rest of the cave is through
a letter box ten feet off the ground. Fortunately there was a nearby sapling and we used this to stuff the
ladder through the entrance. Mike
climbed the ladder and made it safe for the rest of us. Inside the windy entrance, the cave opens out
into a frost-shattered zone, which gently rises into a 12′ D section
stal-lined tunnel. This rises steadily
via a short climb to a windy constriction, after which the cave resumes its old
proportions. Here we met the first of
the fixed ladders. They must have been
frail when built in 1955, but with an eighth of an inch of stal cement all over
them, they were just comical. Kicking
them aside, we rigged electron ladders in their place. After another joke ladder, we climbed a few
more feet into the final chamber, where a 12 metre (39) climb awaited us. This was the main obstacle between us and
Max’s maypole. A 12 metre nylon bootlace
hung tantalising from the void, but was not available for tackle hauling. The remains of a tree lay rotting on the
floor, after a previous party’s climbing attempts. This improvised maypole later broke under its
own weight.

Unfortunately, we had no bolts or nuts for
artificial climbing. We had left this
gear behind; thinking that we would do only sporting trips. Ruben helped us borrow a few Simond pegs and
we had to make do with these. Mike and I
ferreted around for a safe belay point to drive a peg in. This proved fairly difficult, as most of the
cave was stal’d over, and smooth. Eventually we managed to find a safe anchor and set about the
climb. An interesting experiment was the
use of a well-known clog figure of eight the belay the ladder. John and I had practised the idea up trees
and found it successful. Underground it
was reasonable, but we were using 12mm 3-strand rope, and this tends to drag
excessively.

After belaying the second, Mike set out up the
climb, making reasonable progress as far as a ledge, and getting several
runners in. By this time, Sue had
produced cups of piping hot tea, and this enticed Mike back down. Next, John took over, and managed to get a
few metres above the point that Mike had reached, over a slight overhang. Progress was necessarily slow, so we had to
leave at this point in order to get out of the Gorge in daylight.

Next day, bright and early, John, Graham and I
returned to the cafe at the head of the gorge. The weather was steaming hot, so we lingered in the cafe as long as we
dared. After we had exhausted all the
excuses for staying there, we staggered off up the gorge at mid day. This time, we were much better equipped –
sandwiches; soup; chocolate and sweets augmented our diet of tea.

I climbed into the letter box and wandered off
into the cave. Whilst I was playing with
my stinky, Graham and John had decided that the sapling which we had used to
stuff the ladder into the letter box might be a healthy addition to our
collection of gear, so I lurched off into the cave covered in food parcels and
primuses, while the others dragged their trophy into the cave. Back at the scene of the crime, we decided
that the previous line of approach led to a nasty blank section of wall, and
that it would be better to alter the line of attack. John removed all the runners from the
previous climb, and we turned our attention to a greasy stal slope
instead. John made good progress to a
point halfway up the climb, protecting himself well with pegs. From this point, the climb became steeper and
the holds fewer. John returned to ground
level and we passed a good time chatting. I then re-climbed and started to place a peg at a point where we could
use caving ladders as etriers. I started
tapping the peg into its hole. The peg
did not produce the correct noises, but none of them had so far. I put this down to the rock being different
from normal outdoor specimens. The peg
went in a good way, and I was just giving it the finishing taps when it broke
in two. This was not too funny at the
time, because we had been hanging on these pegs – and hanging on to them for
some considerable time. Obviously, we
had to review the situation, and after looking at the way ahead, and the lack
of protection, we decided to abandon the attempt.

In order to clear up quickly, John lowered me down
the climb and I knocked out the runners as I passed them. We had to leave a runner at the top of the
climb, but this was preferable to climbing down. The peg on which I had rested while placing
the ill-fated one had split and came out looking like Britannias trident!

So we had to give up, purely for lack of safety
equipment. This was a shame, after Mike
and John had tried so hard. Next time,
well take an armoury of gear. One small
compensation was being allowed into the gorge free of charge. The local community regards its limestone and
caves as an asset. Perhaps a few people
over here should take note!

Editor’s Note: The above article came complete
with a message from the typist – Graham Wilton-Jones.

Just in case it sounds as though I went along
simply to make up the numbers; carry tackle; drink beer at the cafe and cast
aspersions at the climbing abilities of my fellows, that’s right! Yes, to all four reasons! I also have a complete photographic record of
the climb which will go with photographs to be taken next year during the
successful completion of the climb. And,
while on the subject of next year.

John and I are already making plans for a return
visit to the
Pyrenees. We will be away from Saturday, 19th July
until Sunday the 31st August. Some of
the agenda is already planned, and there will be opportunity for sporting
caving; scientific work of a limited nature original exploration and surveying,
walking, sightseeing, imbibing and socialising. We shall be staying behind the Hotel des Touristes at Licq (some 60km
out of

Pau, not
far from the Franco-Spanish border and equally close to the P.S.M.) For about three weeks this will be our
base. John and I will also spend a week
or more camped on the lapiaz – the vast, bare, limestone plateau between
France and

Spain. Several members of club have shown an
interest in this visit, and a number of these are definitely coming for periods
of two to three weeks. THIS TRIP IS OPEN
TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE CLUB, AND ANYONE INTERESTED IS CORDIALLY INVITED ALONG. Please get in touch with us as soon as you
can, even if you cannot be certain of your arrangements so far in advance.

And don’t anybody DARE say they didn’t know early
enough!

Anyone else who might be planning a trip – either
in this country or abroad and who would be prepared for others to join in,
should send in details to the B.B., so that the trip can be publicised and
members given plenty of notice to join in.

Bristol Exploration Club – Membership List 1974

828	Nicolette Abell	Ardtraskart, Greenway Lane, Bath
741	J.M. Bacon	12 Marine Road, Pensarn, Abergele, Wales
20 L	Bob Bagshaw	699 Wells Road, Knowle, Bristol, Avon
392 L	Mike Baker	22 Riverside Walk, Midsomer Norton, Bath, Avon
295	Arthur Ball	4 Charlotte Street, Cheadle, Cheshire
617	R. Bater	4 Butterfield Close, westbury-on-Trym, Bristol
618	Mrs Bater	4 Butterfield Close, westbury-on-Trym, Bristol
818	Chris Batstone	8 Prospect Place, Bathford, Bath, Avon
390 L	Joan Bennett	8 Radnor Road, Wesbury-on-Trym, Bristol
214 L	Roy Bennett	8 Radnor Road, Wesbury-on-Trym, Bristol
731	Bob Bidmead	63 Cassell Road, Fishponds, Bristol
720	Martin Bishop	Bishops Cottage, Priddy
734	E. Bishop	Bishops Cottage, Priddy
145	Sybil Bowden-Lyle	PO Box 15, Iganga, Busoga, Uganda
364 L	P. Blogg	5 Tyrolean Court, Cheviot Close, Avenue Road, Banstead, Surrey
336 L	Alan Bonner	Crags Farm Close, Little Broughton, Cokermouth, Cumberland
751 L	T.A. Brookes	87 Wyatt Road, London, SW2
707	R. Brown	26 Cranleigh Gardens, Luton, Beds.
732	Mrs Brown	26 Cranleigh Gardens, Luton, Beds.
687	Viv Brown	3 Cross Street, Kingswood, Bristol
819	G. Buckham	13 Grosvenor Place, London Road, Bath
756	Tessa Burt	66 Roundwood Lane, Harpendon, Herts.
777	Ian Calder	Plas Pencelli, Pencelli, Brecon
778	Penelope Calder	Plas Pencelli, Pencelli, Brecon
679	R. Chandler	6 Blackcap close, Southgate, Crawley, West Sussex
655	Colin Clark	186 Cranbrook Road, Redland, Bristol
211 L	Clare Coase	5 Mandalay Flats, 10 Elsiemer Street, Long Jetty, N.S.W. 2262, Australia
780	J. Coleman	Little Green, Bunwell, Norfolk
89 L	Alfie Collins	Lavendar Cottage, Bishop Sutton, Nr Bristol, Somerset
821	J. Cooke	Lancaster house, Tondu, Nr. Bridgend, S. Wales
377 L	D. Cooke-Yarborough	Lot 11 McKay Crescent, Orange, New South Wales, Australia
585	Tony Corrigan	48a Talbot Road, Knowle, Bristol 4
827	Mike Cowlishaw	Hilston, Cleveland Walk, Bath
680	Bob Cross	122 Pearson Lane, Bradford 9
609	I.M. Daniels	Handsworth, Pilgrims way, Chilham, Canterbury, Kent
405 L	Frank Darbon	PO Box 325, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
423 L	Len Dawes	The Lodge, Main Street, Winster, Matlock, Derbyshire
449	Garth Dell	8 Portway, Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire
815	J. Dibben	17 Nevill Road, Bramshall, Stockport, Cheshire
710	Colin Dooley	497A City Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham 17
829	Angela Dooley	497A City Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham 17
164 L	Ken Dobbs	85 Fox Rd., Beacon Heath, Exeter, Devon
830	John Dukes	4 Springford Crescent, Lordswood, Southampton
812	S. Durston	7 Estuary Park, Combwich, Bridgwater, Somerset
779	Jim Durston	7 Estuary Park, Combwich, Bridgwater, Somerset
771	P. Eckford	80 Wilton Gardens, Shirley, Southampton
322 L	Bryan Ellis	7 School Lane, Combwich, Bridgwater, Somerset
232	C. Falshaw	23 Hallam Grange Crescent, Sheffield
831	R.J. Fisher	19 Alma Road, Portswood, Southampton
269 L	Tom Fletcher	11 Cow Lane, Bramcote, Nottingham.
783	D. Foxwell	870 Kebourne Road, Brentry, Bristol
404 L	Albert Francis	22 Hervey Road, Wells, Somerset
569	Joyce Franklin	12 Avon Way, Portishead, Bristol
469	Pete Franklin	12 Avon Way, Portishead, Bristol
468	Keith Franklin	3 Kinsley Road, Easton, Bristol
765	R.T. Gage	36 Woodland Road, Nailsea, Bristol
759	C. Gage	36 Woodland Road, Nailsea, Bristol
835	Leonard Gee	15 Warren Close, Denton, Manchester
265	Stan Gee	26 Parsonage Street, Heaton Norris, Stockport.
836	Bob Givens	Newstead Lodge, 1 Fields Green, Crawley, Sussex
459	Keith Gladman	29 Shenfield Road, Brentwood, Essex
752	E.M. Glanville	Jocelyn House Mews, Chard, Somerset
790	Martin Grass	14 Westlea Road, Wormley, Broxbourne, Herts
582	Chris Hall	65 Valley View Road, Paulton, Bristol
432 L	Nigel Hallet	144 Stockwood Road, Bristol 4
735	P. Hamm	Address unknown
104 L	Mervyn Hannam	14 Inskip Place, St Annes, Lancashire
304 L	C.W. Harris	The Diocesan Registry, Wells, Somerset
581	Chris Harvey	Byways, Hanham Lane, Paulton, Nr. Bristol
4 L	Dan Hassell	Hill House, Moorlynch, Bridgwater, Somerset
773	Rodney Hobbs	Rose Cottage, West End, Nailsea, Bristol
373	Sid Hobbs	Hokerstone Cottage, Townsend, Priddy, Wells, Somerset
736	Sylvia Hobbs	Hokerstone Cottage, Townsend, Priddy, Wells, Somerset
743	J.G. Hodgson	72 Chesterfield Road, Bristol 6
744	Mrs Hodgson	72 Chesterfield Road, Bristol 6
793	Mike Hogg	32 Birchley Heath, Nuneaton, Warks
834	Miss S. Holmes	32 Birchley Heath, Nuneaton, Warwickshire
833	J.H. Hookings	32 Churchill Road, Catshill, Bromsgrove, Worcs.
387 L	George Honey	Droppsta, 19044, Odensala, Sweden
770	C. Howell	131 Sandond Road, Edgebaston, Birmingham
631	P. Hudson	22 Glantawe Park Estate, Wind Road, Ystradgynlais, Wales
808	J.A. Hunt	35 Conygre Road, Filton, Bristol
97	J. Ifold	5 Rushgrove Gardens, Bishop Sutton, Nr. Bristol
150	P. Ifold	The Cedars, Blackford, Nr. Wedmore, Cheddar
363	Maurise Iles	Waterworks Cottage, Gurmney Slade, Bath
540 L	Dave Irwin	Townsend Cottage, Townsend, Priddy, Somerset
753	N. Jago	27 Quantock Road, Windmill Hill, Bristol 3
792	Ken James	5 Bay Tree Road, Weston-super-Mare
814	M. Jarrett	12 Edgecombe Hill, Hall Green, Birmingham
51 L	A Johnson	Warren Cottage, Station Rd., Flax Bourton, Bristol
560 L	Frank Jones	8 York Gardens, Clifton, Bristol 8
438	Mrs. P. Jones	50 Louisville Avenue, Aberdeen
285	U. Jones	Marsh Farm, Askem in Furness, Lancs.
567 L	Alan Kennett	92 West Broadway, Henleaze, Bristol
316 L	Kangy King	22 Parkfield Rank, Pucklechurch, Bristol, Avon
542 L	Phil Kingston	Address unknown
413 L	R. Kitchen	Overcombe, Horrabridge, Yelverton, Devon
762	J.M. Knops	5 Kingsfield, Kingsway, Bath
811	D. Knowles	35 North Road, Watleys End, Winterbourne, Bristol
667 L	Tim Large	4 Albion Terrace, Upper Bristol Road, Bath
795	Peter Leigh	17 Northampton Road, Ecton, Northampton
656	P. Littlewood	22 Brockhurst Avenue, Burbage, Hankley, Leics.
657	Mrs Littlewood	22 Brockhurst Avenue, Burbage, Hankley, Leics
846	I. Livermore	9 Leystone, Close, Frome, Somerset
574 L	Oliver Lloyd	Withey House, Withey Close West, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol
58	George Lucy	Pike Croft, Long Lane, Tilehurst, Reading, Berks
495 L	Val Luckwill	8 Greenslade Road, Sedgeley hill, Dudley, Worcs.
838	D. McFarlane	24 Greenbank Gardens, Wallington, Fareham, Hants.
550 L	R A MacGregor	12 Douro Close, Baughurst, Basingstoke, Hants
591	J. Manchip	c/o/ Eticon Ltd., Bankhead Avenue, Sighthill, Edinburgh
845	A. Marchant	Manor Farm Cottage, Chilcote, Wells
788	I.K. Marshall	4 Kings Drive, Bishopston, Bristol
662	I. Marshall	7 Fairacre Close, Lockleaze, Bristol
106 L	E.J. Mason	33 Broadleys Avenue, Henleaze, Bristol
558 L	Tony Meaden	Highcroft, Westbury, Bradford Abbas, Sherborne, Dorset
704	D. Metcalf	52 Northfield Road, Peterborough. Northants.
308	K. Murray	17 Harrington Gardens, London SW7
794	A. Nichols	121 Wyndhams Court, Commercial Road, Southampton
842	M. ONiell	21 Wickford, Drive, Harrow Hill, Romford, Essex
624	J. Orr	Flat 2, Dorset House, Basingstoke District Hospital, Basingstoke, Hants
798	P.A. Palfree	10 Maynard, Clutton, Nr. Bristol
557	D. Palmer	29 John Wesley Road, St. George, Bristol 3
396 L	Mike Palmer	27 Roman Way, Paulton, Nr. Bristol
722	J. Pearce	22 Tiverton Drive, New Eltham London, SE9
637	A. Pearce	5 Colmer Road, Yeovil, Somerset
22 L	Les Peters	21 Melbury Rd., Knowle Park, Bristol Avon
160	Norman Petty	Bankside Road, Brislington, Bristol
499 L	Tony Philpott	3 Kings Drive, Bishopston, Bristol, Avon
724	Graham Phippen	Rock Cottage, Rock Road, Wick, Bristol
820	P. Preece	c/o Dept. of Chemical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds
337	Brian Prewer	East View, West Horrington, Wells, Somerset
622	Colin Priddle	10 Franklyn Flats, Kopje Road, Gwelo, Rhodesia
481 L	John Ransom	21 Bradley Rd., Patchway, Bristol, Avon
452 L	Pam Rees	c/o The Belfry
343 L	A Rich	Box 126, Basham, Alberta Canada
672 L	R Richards	PO Box 141, Jacobs, Natal, South Africa
844	J. Rigler	239 Highlands Road, Catisfield, Fareham, Hants.
682	J. Riley	67 Alfred Hill Drive, Melba, Canberra, Australia
712	Mrs Riley	67 Alfred Hill Drive, Melba, Canberra, Australia
787	I.P. Rogers	56 Charlton lane, Brentry, Bristol
816	P.G. Rodgers	56 Charlton lane, Brentry, Bristol
832	Roger Sabido	1 Yeaomans Close, Stoke Bishop, Bristol
784	C. Sage	17 Westbourne Road, Downend, Bristol
240 L	Alan Sandall	43 Meadway Ave., Nailsea, Avon
359 L	Carol Sandall	43 Meadway Ave., Nailsea, Avon
747	D.R. Sanderson	23 Penzance Gardens, Harold Hill, Romford, Essex
237 L	B. Scott	Merrymead, Havestock Road, Winchester Hants
577	Dave Searle	Dolphin Cottage, The Beeches, Priddy, Wells, Somerset
578	Kathy Searle	Dolphin Cottage, The Beeches, Priddy, Wells, Somerset
482	Gordon Selby	2 Dodd Avenue, Wells, Somerset
78 L	R.A. Setterington	4 Galmington Lane, Taunton, Somerset
213 L	R. Setterington	4 Cavendish Road, Chiswick, London W4
839	A.O. Sharp	102 Sydney Place, Bath
789	N.K. Shaw	Queens Head Walk, Wormley, Broxbourne, Herts
764	M.B. Slade	230 Southampton Road, Reading, Berks.
473	Dave Smith	14 Severn Way, Tilehurst, Reading, Berks.
823	Andy Sparrow	6 Downsway, Salisbury, Wilts
276	J.M. Stafford	Back Plaidy, King Edward, Nr Turriff, Aberdeen.
1 L	Harry Stanbury	31 Belvoir Road, St. Andrews, Bristol
38L	Mrs I Stanbury	74 Redcatch, Knowle, Bristol
840	G. Standring	71 Vienna Road, Edgeley, Stockport, Chester
575 L	D. Statham	The Bungallow, North Barrow, Yeovil, Somerset
365 L	Roger Stenner	38 Paulton Road, Victoria Park, Bristol 3
381 L	Daphne Stenner	38 Paulton Road, Victoria Park, Bristol 3
837	Richard Stevenson	554 Bifield Road, Stockwood, Bristol
650	D. Stuckey	147 Blaisdon, Yate, Bristol
572	P. Sutton	75 Bredon, Yate, Bristol
826	J.G. Talbot	52 Galley Lane, Barnet, Herts.
583	Derek Targett	16 Phillis Hill, Midsomer Norton
800	M.D. Taylor	15 Kennington Avenue, Bishopston, Bristol
772	Nigel Taylor	Whiddon Farm, Chilcote, Nr. Wells, Somerset
284 L	Allan Thomas	Allens House, Nine Barrows Lane, Priddy, Somerset
348 L	D Thomas	Mantons, 2 St. Pauls Road, Tupsley, Hereford
571 L	N Thomas	Holly Lodge, Norwich Rd., Salhouse, Norwich, Norfolk.
711	M. Thomas	5 Woolcot St. Redland, Bristol 6
699	Buckett Tilbury	256 Cressex Road, High Wycombe, Bucks
700	Anne Tilbury	256 Cressex Road, High Wycombe, Bucks
692	Roger Toms	18 Hoton Road, Wysemold, Leicester
803	R.S. Toms	18 Hoton Road, Wysemold, Leicester
80	J.M. Postle Tompsett	11 Lodge Avenue, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex
74 L	M.J. Dizzie Tompsett	11 Lodge Avenue, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex
544	Phil Townsend	20 Lime Close, Prestbury. Cheltenham, Glos.
157 L	Jill Tuck	48 Wiston Path, Fairwater Way, Cwmbran, Gwent, Wales
328	Steve Tuck	3 Colles Close, Wells, Somerset
768	Tony Tucker	36 Norton Road, Knowle, Bristol
769	Sue Tucker	36 Norton Road, Knowle, Bristol
678	Dave Turner	Moonrakers, Brewery Lane, Holcombe, Bath
912	John Turner	Orchard Cottage, 92 Church lane, Backwell, Avon
646	P. Turner	11 Harper Court, Honnington, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire
843	M.F. Turley	13 Cresham Walk, Tilgate, Crawley, Sussex
635 L	S. Tuttlebury	28 Butts Road, Alton, Hants.
775	J. Upsall	82 Eastland Road, Yeovil, Somerset
776	Mrs Upsall	82 Eastland Road, Yeovil, Somerset
175 L	Mrs D. Waddon	32 Laxton Close, Taunton, Somerset
592	Eddie Welch	18 Station Road, Filton, Bristol
397	Mike Wheadon	91 The Oval, Bath
817	C.D. Wheeler	13 Greywell Avenue, Aldermoor, Southampton
553	Bob White	Mineries Cottage, Priddy, Wells, Somerset
559	Barry Wilton	27 Venus Lane, Clutton, Bristol
568	Brenda Wilton	27 Venus Lane, Clutton, Bristol
721	Graham Wilton-Jones	17 Monkhams Drive, Watton, Thetford
813	Ian Wilton-Jones	17 Monkhams Drive, Watton, Thetford
594	P. Wilkins	55 Eighth Avenue, Northville, Bristol
549	Alan Williams	Hendrew Farm, Llanderaied, Newport, Mon.
841	C.K. Williams	Whitestown Farm, Cheddar Cross Roads, Compton Martin, Bristol
738	R.F. Wing	Penzance Gardens, Harold Hill, Romford, Essex

The above addresses are those on the card index
from which the B.B. is sent out. If any
member notices any discrepancy in the address shown with his real address, he
is advised to get in touch with the Hon. Sec. (later, the Membership Sec. when
appointed) so that there is no chance of his B.B. or other club papers, going
astray.

Committee Notice

The Committee are looking for a member to act as a
Membership Secretary. This has
previously been mentioned in the B.B. and the committee are anxious to fill
this post before the 31st January, when subs for 1975 are due. Anybody interested should write to the Hon.
Sec. or get in touch with any committee member.

Situations vacant:

Bob Cross is looking for business partner (female
and single) to help him run a campsite and shop in Wasdale in the lakes during
the spring and summer of 1975. Accommodation will be in a caravan, and profits will be split
50/50. Bob says there will be ample time
for walking, climbing and boozing. Any
girl interested in this opportunity should contact Bob for further
details. His address is: Bob Cross,

120 Pearson Lane,
Bradford,
BD4 6BF.

Reminder

Members are reminded to fill in the caving log
after each trip, and to sign tackle in an out properly AND to put tackle away
in a clean and tidy condition after use.

Round and About

A Monthly Miscellany

Compiled by ‘Wig’

133.

THRUPE LANE. A permanent entrance is being
dug, and to cover the cost of bang and materials, a charge of 10p a head is
being made. Please pay this – Tim Large
will have details. Nearby the main
entrance, another site is being dug, and at the moment the diggers are a little
puzzled as to which point of the Thrupe system they may be about to enter.

134. WESLEY RIFT. At the rear of Wesley Cottage, a
J.C.B. opened up the top of a narrow, though caveable, rift. On Sunday, 10th November 1974 Martin Bishop
and Dave Irwin dug away the boulders blocking the entrance. Though unable to enter due to a large boulder
still blocking access, they were able to view down a ten foot deep rift with a
way on to the West. The next day, Martin
Bishop and Ray Mansfield continued to dig with Ian Cavender (Martin Cavender’s
brother.) The cave (rift?) is situated
in dolomitic conglomerate overlying the coal measures and according to Willie
Stanton the shales are causing the conglomerate to fracture – a similar
situation to Sally’s Rift near Bathhampton.

135. NEWS FROM
AFRICA. Since my query about Sybil (see
130) a letter has been received from ‘Pope’ (Colin Priddle) who made a detour
from

Nairobi
with his wife to call in and see Sybil. He writes, ‘We were the first visitors for five years and she was
thrilled. She is surviving there amidst
the malaria, leprosy and food shortages, but I hope for sanity’s sake she comes
back to the

U.K.
soon. It really is a struggle to get
European food at a reasonable price – if it can be bought at all. She is living on matoki (cooked green
bananas) and there is only one other white person near’. We must hope that she
manages to get back to Mendip soon.

136. AND NEWS FROM

SWEDEN. As many of you know, George
Honey lives permanently in

Sweden,
and has been ill for some years now. However, this does not seem to have stopped this enterprising member of
the B.E.C., as he writes, ‘I have now almost completed a replica of the old
Belfry, which stands in the forest behind our house. This is open to any club member and/or family
who wishes to visit the area. We live
about 30 miles north of
Stockholm (10 miles from
the

airport of
Arlanda). Unfortunately the nearest cave is nearly a
thousand miles away but other activities (swimming, sailing, getting lost in
the forest etc.) are available. Anybody
who feels like a holiday in
Sweden
please write to George Honey, Droppsta, 195 00 Marsta,

Sweden.’ What about that for an offer? (and staying in
a genuine replica Belfry as well! Incidentally, his wife, Britta, endorses this offer of George’s and says
that it makes no difference whether the members are known to the Honey’s or
not. She has also kindly sent the club a
donation of £10 for which we record our grateful thanks and hope that George
keeps as well as possible.

137. SUB-COMMMITTEE FORMED. At the request of the A.G.M., a
sub-committee comprising Martin Cavender, Bob White, Andy Nichols, Alfie and
the Wig will look into the problems of insurance with particular reference to
the caving and climbing trips which are not advertised within the club. This committee will report its finding about
mid 1975.

138. ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY. There has been little space
lately for this feature, but the following will give some idea of what has been
recently received by the club:-

Various O.S. maps.

Rock Face by Ron James
(BBC publication) Bristol Regional Geology (H.M.S.O.)

Gloucester S.S.
newsletters, Mar ,Apr, May, Sept 1974.

W.S.G. Bulletin Vol 8
No 2.

R.R.C.P.C. Newsletter
Volume 11 number 3

Speleologica Emiliana –
Notiziario Series 2,No 3

Die Hohle Vol 25 nos 1
and 2.

Cotham S.S, Memoirs Vol
4 1968/9

M.C.G. Journal No 5
1974

M.C.G. Newsletter
number 108

Caving Supplies –
latest price list. History of G.G. and

Ingleborough
Cave.

University of
Oviedo – Speleon – Vol 2/4, Vo13/3 and Vol 4/2

Cerberus Spelaeo. Soc.
Newsletter No 37

C.R.G. transactions Vol
15 No 4 and index 1972-73.

B.R.C.A. Bulletin No 5
and Trans. Vol 1 No 3.

Daily Telegraph
Magazine – Changabang.

Various CLIMBERS and
RAMBLERS.

Current Titles in
Spelaeology 1973.International Pt 2

St. Cuthberts Lead
Works-Bought Out Ledger 1907/8.

Various U.I.S.
Bulletins.

Dorset C.C. Journal Vol 3 No 1.

W.C.C. Journal No 154.

Our thanks to Phil
Kingston, Chris Howell and Pete Palfrey for donations of maps, publications
etc.

Caving and Climbing Programme.

DECEMBER 14th Dan-yr-Ogof.

DECEMBER 15th Pant Mawr.

JANUARY 17/19 Climbing
in
North Wales.

JANUARY 18th Juniper.

JANUARY 19th Heron
and Yordas.

JANUARY 24/26 Joint
meet at Derbyshire. (Climbing)

FEBRUARY 22/23 Climbing in
North
Wales.

FEBRUARY 22nd Grants-Oxlow.

FEBRUARY 23rd P8 and

Show
Caves.

MARCH 28th Sleets
Gill.

MARCH 29th Pippikin.

MARCH 30th Lancaster-Easegill.

Additional Notes – Climbing.

There will also be a climbing trip arranged for
the Christmas Weekend. Throughout the
winter months, trips will be arranged at short notice in addition to those above
– depending on the availability of snow. Notice of these will be given at the ‘Seven Stars’ and the Hunters by
word of mouth. Notices will also be
displayed at the Belfry.

Additional Notes – Caving.

On trips, particularly to
Yorkshire,
where much tackle is taken, the tackle counts as one person when working out
the cost of transport. The Caving
Secretary would like to inform members that response to away trips so far has
been very poor and unless members are prepared to support such trips, it may
prove necessary to cancel some of them in the future.

Monthly Crossword Number 52.

Across:

1. Consumed in oblate
spheroid. (3)
3. Slide another way to slip in a cave. (5)
7. This lime used once in cave diving. (4)
8. Suffering from exposure? (4)
10. Found at the Belfry or at the barbecue or in tables. (3)
11. Form of soft stal. (4)
12. Healthy resurgence? (4)
13. Local form of assistance found in farm roads. (1,1,1)
14. Half found in loose mineshaft. (4)
16. Mineral sort of rose. (4)
18. Cavers kept this in goon suits. (5)

19.
Cave feature useful for overnight trip?
(3)

Down

2. Am appropriate part
of a cave for this clue. (3)
4. This cave will glow on. (8)
5. Insane arrangement of water contrail. (3)
6. I manacle for one of 16 across on Mendip. (8)
7. Places, perhaps. (3).
9. An appropriate number of these are found in this part of Swildons. (5)
15. Aural receiver use in cave communication? (3)
17. Another receiver the caver finds useful. (3)

Solution to Last Months Crossword

Club Committee

The Belfry,

Wells
Rd, Priddy, Wells,

Somerset. Telephone WELLS 72126

Chairman S.J.
Collins

Minutes Sec G.

Wilton-Jones

Members Colin Dooley, John Dukes, Chris
Howell, Dave Irwin, Tim Large, Andy Nicholls, Gerry Oaten, Barry Wilton

Officers of the Club

Honorary Secretary D.J
IRWIN

Honorary Treasurer B.
WILTON

Caving Secretary A.
NICHOLLS

Assistant Caving Secretary T.
LARGE

Climbing Secretary G.
OATEN

Tacklemaster G.
WILTON-JONES.

Hut Warden C.
DOOLEY

Belfry Engineer J.
DUKES

B.B. Editor S.J.
COLLINS

Publications Editor C.
HOWELL

B.B. Postal BRENDA

WILTON

Honorary Librarian D.
IRWIN

Spares T.
LARGE

(Address are omitted in this issue, as all members addresses
are shown on pages 113 to 116)