The
Exploration Club, The Belfry,
Road
Editor: D.J. Irwin, Townsend Cottage, Priddy, Nr. Wells,
Contents
- 1 News in Brief
- 2 Sweatshirts
- 3
- 4 Belgium
- 5
- 6 What makes you do it ?
- 7
- 8 8th International Congress Of Speleology
- 9
- 10 Devon Surveys
- 11
- 12 Insurance for Cavers for Members of BCRA and Member Clubs
- 13
- 14 Lifeline
- 15
- 16 The Proposed Destruction Of The Capanina “Lusa” On Monte Corchia, Apuan Alps, Italy
- 17
- 18 Proposed Changes To The Belfry
- 19 Address change
- 20 Next month in the BB
- 21
- 22 “About the Constitution”
News in Brief
BEC members working in Gough’s Cave – work above and at the
back of Solomon’s
has revealed a rift containing some fine helictites. Diving at the First Feeder by Martin Bishop
et. a1. shows that under water removal of boulders feasible and way on can be
seen.
BCRA and NCA merger – or to put it another way – Is the BCRA
making a takeover bid? At the recent NCA
Annual Meeting the Treasurer’s Report suggested that the NCA and BCRA should
merge. This produced an immediate
joining of forces by the CCC, DCA and CSCC – with the CNCC notably sitting on
the fence. Dave Judson threatened to
resign when
was being opposed as Treasurer. A full
report will appear in the next BB. CSCC
has at last achieved some of its objectives – the C and A Convenor has no vote
on the Executive and. the Constituent members of NCA may nominate their
representative on the Executive. There
is one thing that IS clear of the fog and that is that the BCRA is no body fit
to be the National representative of the caving population. One wonders if the BCRA financial position is
causing them to think of NCA takeover so that they have direct access to Sports
Council grants
.
Sweatshirts
Many of you will have seen the club sweatshirts that were
obtained last year and many found them excellent value for money. Well a second order for a further batch is
being prepared and members wishing to obtain a sweatshirt should write to the
Hut Warden – Garth Dell – NOW and give him details of size, numbers and CASH. The price has gone up slightly but this
should be no surprise to anyone but is still good value at £6. The budget may change the VAT rate so this
price could change according to that effect.
Send your order WITH CASH, POSTAL ORDER, CHEQUE or what have
you to
Hut Warden, c/o The Belfry,
Wells,
Last orders will have to reach the Belfry by the end of
April 1980
Belgium
In February a number of regulars on Mendip went for a
weekend caving in
’80
by ‘Bucket’ Tilbury
Friday afternoon and evening saw various cars with cavers
eagerly looking forward to a weekend in
converging on
W-J and Buckett and stopped in
to pick up Big Jim, J-Rat and Jeff. This
accomplished, a fight with the
rush hour traffic was undertaken. While
waiting at one of the innumerable sets of traffic light a little light relief
was provided by a rather elderly gentleman. This old chap had walked up to a low metal fence by the back of the path
and managed to lift one leg over the rail. He was about to take a short cut across a small park area. We had all idly watched this when the fun
started. The leg on the path made the
attempt to join the first on the other side of the fence, he nearly made
it. A number of energetic leg movements
were made, all to no avail. The car
occupants by now had dissolved into laughter as it was obvious that he was
stuck on his delicate parts. As the
lights changed and we moved off, he was trying to lift his leg over by hand.
further incident and a passage obtained to
fully booked. The crossing was very
smooth and the time was spent dozing and nattering.
Off the ferry at
and straight on to the motorway. The
next major decision was whether to go around
middle. Straight through was the choice,
as the BEC never deviate from the straight and narrow. Going through
follows a series of over and under passes. Back on the motorway the passengers slept while the driver was kept on
his toes by the occasional disappearance of steering capability due to ice on
the road. Eventually the motorway was
left and normal roads towards our hut at Rochfort.
At the approach to Rochfort and as we were looking for the
hut, a young lady standing by a mini waved us down. The car stopped and the driver wound down the
window and as it was 2.0 a.m., various rude comments were made by the passengers. The girl jabbered away in French to be
interpreted by the driver with a “Parlez-vous anglais The girl replied
“Yes”. ”Where do you come from?” ”
do you think” came from the driver. Other suggestions as to the drivers origins came from the rear
seats. With cold air clearing away the
cobwebs of the mind, the mini driver, a very earnest young chap told us that
The accumulator was dead”. A quick
push down the road of the mini confirmed this and suggested something more
serious. Our mini magician, Graham,
poked his head under the bonnet, fixed a loose wire to something or other and
the mini burst into life. The BEC
departs leaving the mini occupants amazed but happy.
The search for the hut was resumed and Big Jim, who had been
there before, finally found it. The hut
turned out to be a large run-down three storey building. The caretaker was aroused and she showed us
to a room with fifteen bunks. She also
explained that all the pipes were frozen, but we could collect water from her
as she had many litres in buckets. We
were soon all in our pits trying to keep out the cold and sleep. The thermometer by the door was showing
-15oC.
Saturday morning was clear and sunny, but still very cold. We explored our spartan abode and had
breakfast. The rest of the party were
due to join us at 11 a.m. but they did not turn up. So, we made our way to Hann which is near the
Grotte Pierre Noel which was the cave we had arranged to descend. While at Hann we met up with the rest of the
party including the Dutch cavers who knew where the cave entrance was situated.
While waiting for the
party kept itself amused with such pastimes as climbing concrete telephone
poles, tossing the caber with large fir logs and scavenging for bits of wet
suits in the woods. After waiting for 1½
hours for the leader to arrive the whole party became cheesed-off.
Everybody went back to Hann and paid a visit to the local
museum. While there the curator told us
where the local club was. The guide was
finally located there at about 4.30 p.m. By 5 p.m. all were back at the meeting place and changing took place in double
quick time. The guide was a little
apprehensive at a party of 13 but agreed to carry on. We were all glad to be on our way as the
Pierre Noel is reputed to be the best decorated in
scrubby woodland round the ridge of a steep escarpment with a panoramic view of
the local countryside.
The entrance to the cave is a steep scramble down a large
rift from which the roof has been removed by erosion to the inevitable gate at
the bottom. Through the gate leads to a
low dug section of passage which drops steeply and emerges in the roof of a small
chamber. A short climb down from the
floor of the chamber leads to the top of a descending passage that requires the
aid of a lifeline. At the sides of this
passage are reasonable groups of stals and the passage widens and the roof
gradually lifts to a floor of boulders at the top of a boulder pile. Standing here one looks out on a very large
ch8mber disappearing into the distance with the boulder floor sloping from a
high point on the right to the wall on the left. The boulder floor is dotted with small,
uninteresting, stalagmites. As the
boulder floor is crossed the main features of the chamber become apparent. The roof of the chamber changes from a
rounded shape near the entrance passage to a massive flat section sloping right
across the chamber at about 60o. The
colour is a sombre black and the whole area appears quite smooth. This effect is relieved to some extent along
the lower edge by the formation of some excellent curtains. The boulder floor rises up a short climb
leading to a ridge of boulders giving a fine view of the next chamber (this is
really a continuation of the last chamber but the roof changes abruptly back to
a more usual dome shape). Immediately to
the right of this point is a large fluted stalagmite column rising 30 – 40 ft.
to end near the roof. The roof overhead
is now covered with a profusion of stalactites and curtains of all shapes and
sizes and colours. On the left and to
the immediate front are groups of stalagmites up to 6ft high and from a ledge
on the wall a stalagmite, about 6″ diameter, rises to over 10ft and has a
fine white crystal effect. In front,
down on the floor of the chamber, is a large stal which cascades down over the
boulders to the right and on to an area covered with groups of stalagmites up
to 6ft high and varying in colour from white to a soft brown. The centre left is dominated by a large
stalagmite column some 30ft high of an erratic shape, glistening white and
reflecting the light of our lamps from the crystal facets on the surface. In the far distance a huge stalagmite column
rises from a 10ft diameter base in magnificent tiers to a height of 50ft.
While a small group of the party sat at this point the rest
made their way forward lighting up the chamber for us. The small black figures with their lights
shining on the stals made a delightful sight. The path was followed through the stals until a climb down, round a
large stale boss, landed one in a large rift passage with bare black walls and
a glutinous mud floor. One picked the
way through the mud to the best of one’s ability to the far end where a climb
up and a short squeeze brought one to a small chamber with plenty of stal more
to the size we are used to see in Britain. The right hand wall was covered with a huge area of flowstone disappearing
up into the blackness. Our guide halted
here and informed us that this was as far as we were going, just as the cave
was about to go big again. We
reluctantly turned around and made our way back to the entrance. Various people took photos on the way back
but were not allowed to spend much time over this. We emerged into the cold clear night after 2
hours underground.
Speaking personally, I found the trip extremely frustrating
as we had obviously done only a small section of the cave and I should imagine that the best formations were
not seen. Time was not even allowed to
take good photographs. To go to the
trouble to go there and then only be shown a small section of the cave I find
very galling. The attitude of the guide
was unhelpful to say the least, especially as we had plenty of time. When we checked the survey later in the
evening, it showed that we had done about one third of the cave and were about
to enter the main chamber when we turned back.
Although the cave has been only open since ’68 and trips are
limited to one a month the areas of stal that had been damaged by hands and
feet was inexcusable.
We all returned to the Speleo Holland Hut where a fine meal
of sauerkraut and sausages was prepared for us all by the Dutch lads. The rest of the evening was spent in a bar at
Rochfort, where quantities of the local ale were consumed. The beer is brewed by the local Trappist
monks and is named after them. It comes
in three different strengths – medium, strong and blow your head off. It makes one very unsteady when standing up
after sitting down with no ill effects, a fact that can be confirmed by various
members of the group. The proprietors
finally expelled us at 1.30 a.m. when we split up and made our ways to the
respective huts. When we arrived back at
our hut we found that a large party of French people were in occupation and had
obviously had a good evening. People
were lolling against cars; lying of the steps and stairs and sitting on the
floor, all very much the worse for wear. A snack of beef burger sandwiches was cooked and bottles of the
frenchies wine purloined to wash them down.
Sunday morning we were up and about by 8.30 a.m. to find
that the French had cleaned up and were finishing breakfast. We cooked the usual large English breakfast
and were watched with amazement as we ate the lot by the French. After recovering all our lost eating irons
and cleared up we piled into the car and made our way to the Dutch Hut. We were to collect the rest of the party and
proceed to the cave we had booked for the day. We arrived at the Hut and found
the whole lot of them still resting in their pits! They decided that the cave would be given a
miss as they wanted to catch an early boat. We said ‘Cheerio’ and made our way to the place where we were to meet
our guide for the cave. We arrived to
find a large party of
cavers changed and about to move off. This was the party we were with, so, a quick change into wet suits and
we too, were off. The cave we were to descend was the Grotto de
la Fontaine du Rivire which ends in a large lake; the reason far our
wetsuits. The walk to the cave was very
pleasant along the banks of a fast flowing river with tall outcrops of
limestone all around. The entrance is
about 100ft above the valley floor at the bottom of one of the rock
outcrops. The entrance has a gate and is
an awkward tight tube for about 10ft where it opens to a hands and knees crawl
in a grotty muddy passage. This emerged
into a muddy chamber where a second gate is situated. With this gate removed a squeeze leads to a
walking size passage with some stal. Following along this the passage gradually rises and then gets smaller
until a thrutchy section leads through stal to a climb, down into a larger
section of the passage. A short way
forward and another climb down between stal. flows on the walls leads to a
steeply descending route with lots of stalagmites and stalactites the passage
becoming larger as it descends. The stal
here is light brown in colour and quite dead; large areas of formations have
been spoiled. The passage ends at yet
another steep climb down over stal flows to the large lake. While on this climb one of the
dislocated his shoulder although we did not realise it at the time.
We moved through to the lake and leapt into the water for a
swim. The lake is large and triangular
in shape and about 30ft deep. The water
was really clear and the bottom could be seen in some places. There is a traverse line bolted round one
wall to allow access to a chamber and a climb to a dig on the far side of the
did the traverse and found it quite sporting. While we were engaged in this part of the
injured lad. J-Rat who had no wetsuit
went with them. After further swimming
in the lake we all made our way out, changed and joined J-Rat in a bar for
coffee. The trip took 2½ hours and was
very enjoyable. The journey home was
uneventful and a good sleep was had by all on an almost empty ferryboat.
What makes you do it ?
A filler article has
been submitted by Alan Thomas
.
We were asked that question many years ago as we prepared to
descend some blow holes on the Pembrokeshire coast. Kangy said “Because
its fun.” The man said “But
don’t you feel an inner compunction driving you into the bowels of the
earth?” Kangy said
“No.” The man was
disappointed. This is what I call the
weegee attitude and since it is the attitude of 99.9% of the population I have
always taken great pains to understand it and as a compulsive teacher to
explain my attitude. It is difficult as
you will find if you try to make your colleagues understand why a dozen or so
people who cave regularly on Mendip should travel 500 miles to the middle of
for a weekend in January with snow forecast.
“Is it a special
occasion?” they ask.
“No.”
“Is there something special
about the caves?”
‘No. ”
“Its just because you
haven’t been down them before?”
“Its not that.”
“You go all that way just to
go down a cave!”
“I’m not bothered if I don’t
go down a cave.
“You must be.”
“No, I went on a diving
holiday for a fortnight last summer and didn’t dive once.”
“Suppose you cant get back
because of the snow?”
“Just suppose.”
So we went 500 miles, we stayed at a hut like the Belfry, we
did a bit of easy caving, we got legless on the Saturday night and, felt ill
all day Sunday; as J-Rat said, it made a nice change.
The last word
“Did you have a nice time
last night?”
“Yes, I feel quite ill thank
you.”
8th International Congress Of Speleology
For those members intending to visit the U.S. of A next year
to attend the Congress here is some details that may be of interest
.
The National Speleological Society (USA) in conjunction with
the Western Kentucky University, Mammoth Cave National Park is sponsoring the
8th International Congress in Bowling Green, Kentucky from the 18th to 24th
July 1981.
The First Circular has just been issued and some of the
plans are outlined below: –
In addition to the usual list of lectures the evening
sessions have already been outlined in some detail. Sat, 18th: Plenary Lecture – Karst of the
social; Wed, 22nd Barbeque and Dance; Thurs 23rd: Special programme.
Pre Congress events (preliminary costs only have been
given).
Central Appalachian Karst (July
14-17th) $300; Hydrology of Central Kentucky (July 13-17th) $160; Northern
Alabama (July 12-17th); $300; Southern Indiana (July 13-17th) $250; Flint Ridge
(July 13-17th) $100; Florida Cave Diving (July 13-17th) $100; Greenbier Speleo
Camp (West Virginia) (July 11-16th) $110; Northern Alabama (July 11-17th) $120
and Cave Management Symposium (July 12-15th) $90.
Cave Rescue (July 11-17th) $200.
Post Congress Camps: –
(July 25-30th) $70;
(July 25- 30th) $70 and
25-28th) $40.
COST OF CONGRESS $106. All the figures given are provisional. Anyone interested in further details should write to the Congress
Secretariat: –
Eighth International Congress of
Speleology Secretariat,
Department of Geography and Geology,
42101,
Devon Surveys
The following mine surveys are available from the Plymouth
Caving Group,
Peverell,
(Tel. Plymouth 775362).
Latchley Consuls 35p
Great Consuls 50p
Ding Dong 50p
There is no mention of postage and packing but about 20p
should cover the cost
*****************************************
G.B. KEY – Will the person who last borrowed the GB key
please return it to the Hut Warden – please.
Insurance for Cavers for Members of BCRA and Member Clubs
The BCRA are about to sign an insurance policy that will
cover all members of the organisation when they are caving and also when they
are participating in BCRA activities for public liability claims. The policy also covers members carrying out
activities on the surface and includes a member to member clause.
Individual members of the BCRA will automatically be covered
as soon as the policy is signed (not later than the 1st April 1980) provided
that they have ‘Paid their subs for 1980. The maximum sum payable in respect for one claim is £500,000.
Member clubs of BCRA may participate in the scheme and will
be required to pay an annual premium in the order of 15 to 25p per member and
to submit a statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary concerning its
membership. There is no information
available yet as to Landowner Indemnity such as we require for St. Cuthberts.
Expedition/Foreign Travel Insurance.
All members participating in the above scheme (whether
directly as a member of BCRA or a member of a member club) will be able to
obtain a special insurance cover which includes the usual clauses in addition,
to a special clause of £4,000 in respect of cave or mountain rescue
services. Details of this scheme have to
be finalised but the premium will be in the order of £1 for one week and £6 for
4 weeks.
Whole expedition or individual travel cover must be taken
out through the BCRA’s appointed insurance officer – it cannot be taken out
directly with the insurance company direct. An insurance officer will be appointed soon. Until that time all enquiries should be
addressed to Dave Judson, Bethal Green,
OL15 9ND.
At the moment the BEC are in the process of negotiating a
policy with a firm in
with Wells Brokers. Whether the BCRA
scheme has any advantage to us remains to be seen – it is assumed that the Club
Secretary will be dealing with this matter.
Lifeline
By our own Hon.
Secretary, Tim Large.
BELFRY
Throughout the winter the Belfry has seen increased usage
both by members and guests none put off by the rise in hut fees. The bunk room exterior door has been replaced
thanks to Dany Bradshaw, which should improve the weatherproofing at that end
of the building. Enclosed in this B.B.
are the plans for Belfry improvements. Your suggestions and comments would be appreciated in order that this
time any alterations are well planned for not only present use but the future
for many years to come. Hopefully the
committee will be able to make a decision on what to do at the April or May
meeting. So please hurry your comments
along to the Belfry as soon as possible.
LAKE DISTRICT
The annual club trip to the
District
could be, some fine walks were achieved, including Scafell, Great Gable,
Helvelyn, Pavis Arc and a trip around the Coniston Copper Mines.
SWILDONS SHATTER SERIES
Pete and Alison Moody helped by Brian Woodward, and Phil
Dunk of the SMCC have extended the end of Shatter Chamber for about 800ft. A boulder choke was pushed to a rift passage
and an inlet stream which emitted from a sump. Pete dived this for about 200ft and explored about 60ft of passage on
the other side which then becomes too tight. The passage is heading into unknown territory. Some speculate the stream, which is quite
big, comes from Sludge Pit and Nine Barrows. Water tracing is being arranged. This has spurred on our Stuart Lindsey who is at present digging in the
Sludge Pit Sump. I am sure he would
appreciate any help he can get.
LAMB LEER
At a recent CSCC meeting fixed tackle in this cave was
discussed following a letter from
county Council who expressed concern over the safety of the entrance
ladder. The CSCC access agreement is
with SCC. The meeting decided to repair
the entrance ladder. Other reports were
received regarding the platform at the top of the main pitch and the ladders up
to the
condition. The meeting decided that
subject to survey the platform and winch be removed and rawl bolts installed
for ladder belays. Also the scaffolding
and ladder on
completely removed and substituted with a pulley and continuous line in order
that tackle can be hauled up as we do in maypole series in Cuthberts. It is likely no action be taken before the
CSCC AGM in order to gauge more widely cavers views.
ROCK AND FOUNTAIN
The first boulder choke has collapse completely blocking the
way on. No news yet as to when it will
be open again.
EASTER TRIP
To
Crickhowell with members of the Pegasus. Caves booked include Aggy, DYO, OFD. Contact Martin Grass for details.
BCRA SYMPOSIUM ON CAVES AND THE COMMUNITY
To be held on Saturday 19th April at high
Harper Hill, Buxton. Admission £3
including lunch and refreshments.
The Proposed Destruction Of The Capanina “Lusa” On Monte Corchia,
Apuan Alps,
Italy
I have recently received urgent communication from
requesting the intervention of British clubs to oppose the proposed destruction
of the above mentioned Bivouac.
The Capanina “LUSA” was built 2yrs ago, with the
full authority of the local government, by the Speleological group of FAENZA
(RA) to commemorate the death of Antonio LUSA. Visitors to the 1978 B.C.R.A. Conference will remember Signorina
Simoneke Alessandri from this group who gave a most interesting lecture on the
Abisso Fighera or Boca del Caciatore.
The Capanina “LUSA” is a small cabin designed to
accommodate about 12 people, it measures about 12′ x 12′ x 10′ high and is
situated about 100yds from the entrance to the Abisso Fighera at nearly 6,000′
close to the summit of Monte Corchia.
It is open at all times and may be visited by anyone wishing
to do so. The Abisso Fighera comprises
some 14kms of passages and, at present stands at -850m and there are several
other deep caves nearby. To
expeditionaries, the advantages of having a small base in this area are obvious
especially when one considers that the next nearest refuge is 2,000′ below which
necessitates a 2hr really hard slog with equipment.
Unfortunately the hut is situated just on the skyline but it
is painted to match the colour of the rock and from below appears as such, even
with binoculars it is barely discernable as a building.
As stated previously the cabin was built with the full
approval of both the local authority and the villagers, who in fact, assisted
in its construction. However, strong
pressures are being bought to bear from the section of the C.A.I. at
who claim the hut is detrimental to the natural beauty of the area. The natural beauty in Question consists of
several large marble quarries and their appropriate roads and other works which
bite relentlessly into the lower and middle section of the Monte Corchia. It is now apparent that unless strong
pressure is bought to bear from outside then the chances of losing the bivouac
are very high.
The Italian clubs would like interested British clubs and
individuals to write letters opposing the destruction of the Capanina
“LUSA” and pointing out the usefulness of this building particularly
to foreign groups. The letters can be
written in English and sent to: –
IL Segretario, Commissione
Centrale Protezione Natura Alpina, Sede Centrale del C.I.A., Via Vgo Foscolo N
3, MILANO, Italia.
A photocopy of the letter should be sent to either myself or
to: –
Sig. Guido Rossi, Via San Marco
41, 37100,
the situation at local level.
It doesnt matter if you have never caved in this part of
this is an international problem and could be only the thin end of the
wedge. The losing of this fight could
result in other restrictions being imposed on cavers in this area, which enjoys
freedom of movement and exploration without restriction. A situation which both British and Italian
cavers would like to see continue.
Stan Gee, 26. Parsonage
Street, Heaton Norris, Stockport,
SK4 1HZ.
Proposed Changes To The Belfry
by John Dukes.
On the next two pages are outline plans of the proposed
alterations to the Belfry, both downstairs and up in the attic.
All the dotted lines indicate walls to be removed.
General notes:
Door 1
At present the door into the Bunk
Room. This is to be blocked as stairs to
the attic will block this access point.
Door 2
Currently door to the
Library. Will be door to the Bunkroom.
Door 3
New access door from modified
changing room
Door 4
This is the door to the womens
room. To be blocked up.
Door 5
New door into changing room.
W.C.
2m x 1m with small corner hand
basin.
Showers (1)
2m x 1.8m with 4 shower
heads. Tiled throughout.
Showers (2)
2m x 1.5m with 3 shower
heads. Tiled throughout.
Drying Room
2m x 2m. Means of heating not yet decided. Ventilated by extract fan controlled by time
clock. Tiled throughout.
Changing Room
Ventilated by extract fan
controlled by time clock; this is separate from drying room.
All access to drying room and
showers from changing room. Floor to be
tiled and to incorporate drainage gullies and cleaning hoses.
Bunkroom
To retain the alpine bunk and
remove the bunks in the alcove. Net loss
of two bunk spaces.
All comments to these proposals should be sent to: –
John Dukes, c/o The Belfry,
Nr. Wells
Address change
Arthur Ball,
1BS
Next month in the BB
Link Pot; Diving in
Easter Grotto
“About the Constitution”
At the last AGM, Mike Wheadon
submitted various changes to the Club Constitution for consideration by the
1980 Committee. Kangy King, a member of
the Sub Committee that formulated the present constitution writes
I apologise in advance for the following screed which I hope
will be taken as practical politics, intended to help the Club function more
easily and not to teach grandmothers how to suck eggs. It concerns our new constitution which like
the last one looks like the sort of document which could usefully be used for
almost anything other than reading. It
was the Club’s decision to accept this sort of constitution and we should be
aware of its limitations.
A “watertight” specification or constitution is a
very difficult or even impossible thing to achieve because of the difficulty of
putting practices or feelings into words so that there is no ambiguity (or even
bad grammar!) The consequence of this is
that there is an almost irresistible temptation to try to perfect it. This might be a proper reaction but it is, in
my view, a waste of valuable drinking time.
Another approach to the difficulty of precision is to not
even try, and, instead have a creed which crystallises an attitude or spirit.
“We are the
Exploration Club,
We roam around from pub to pub!”
The actions of the Club are reviewed annually by the A.G.M.
The most important part of our Constitution is then that
which sets out the conduct of the A.G.M. At each A.G.M. the Club is born again. We can kill it, or change it, or continue it. We are the club. The Club is NOT the Constitution. We should, however, remind ourselves when
discussion is heated and factions threaten to tear us apart, of the Spirit of
the Club. Why are we a club? We are a club because we have members with
similar interests or objectives combining together. Set out the interests or objectives and then
state what a reasonable man would require for a valid A.G.M. Ideally this would be every member of the
Club meeting together but as this is not practical then the constitution tells
you what is. Decisions are made by the
Club acting together at the A.G.M.
A practical way of organising the day-to-day business of the
Club is to elect some of our fellows to do it for us in Committee. If we don’t like what they are doing we can
call an Emergency General Meeting and sort it out or wait until the A.G.M. and
kick them out!
A good example of what is meant by the Spirit of the Club
came when a draft constitution was (very correctly) being given the hatchet
treatment by the AGM. Now hatchet jobs
are performed on completed piece of work to make it fit. Regardless of the somewhat disfigured final
appearance the important thing is that it now fits. In this case logic dictated that the lower age
for membership should be 18 years for some very sound reasons. The feeling of the club was tested by
proposing that there should be no lower age limit. This was firmly rejected. We felt there should be a lower limit but
lower than 18 years and we voted to accept the risks involved in having 16 year
old members as we had always done. This
was the Spirit of the Club. To hell with
insurance, we want young people in our Club!
As a club we are confused about a number of things. We like being The Exploration Club and
sometimes this means caving but we are not sure whether we mean as a sport or a
science. We dont Mountaineer but we do
Rock Climb and Hill Walk (whether scientifically or not is not stated!) and we have
‘like pursuits’ and this apparently can include PUs both scientifically or
otherwise. But we know what we
mean. We can recognise our sort of bod
easily.
We are confused about ‘Probationary Members’. We should think carefully about them. Do we need them? Should they vote? Can they serve on the Committee? Does this matter? How does the Constitution Guide us here? It doesn’t; but the Spirit of the Club does. If the Probationary Member wants to be of use
– let him. If he’s useless don’t let
him. How do you put that succinctly into
words?
The Committee is the Club or it is until we can get at it
and box its ears at the AGM. It is an
elected body and normally knows that is going on. It should be quite capable of resolving a
difficult decision by feeling for the Spirit or best interests of the
Club. This isn’t new. We hang together as a Nation by considering
what a “reasonable” man would do and not by fear of getting our feet
wet. Boundaries or Rules don’t make a
group, Spirit does. It cannot do this if
the Constitution is precise but out of date. We have nothing to fear from a woolly or imprecise Constitution. The Club can take care of that at the next
AGM.
We might well consider when we compare the regulations
governing the conduct of the AGM (which is fundamental to the survival of the
Club) with those concerning the Committee whether we have our priorities
right. Do we really need so many rules
to regulate our Committee? On the other
hand the Committee has a traditional method of working and it may be as well to
enshrine this in the Constitution.
The Club feels it needs a Constitution. I feel that we need one only in order to say
“this is what we do if we think we should.”
We can live with an imprecise, woolly, and eccentric
Constitution because our first priority is to have a large and vigorous AGM
with enough time to thrash things out under a find and respected Chairman.
I think we have always managed rather well in this respect
and it is up to us to continue to have a lively AGM which asks a confident set
of bods to act for us.