Arrangements for the, B.B. in 1963-64.
Kevin Abbey is now in charge of the Postal Department and an
arrangement has been worked out whereby all the B.B.'s are addressed and
wrapped before being brought round to the Wagon on a Thursday. Members who are at the Wagon will be able to
pick up their B.B. as before, and the rest will be immediately posted. By this arrangement, those members who rely
on the post should get their B.B. within two days of it being published in
Bristol.
In connection with this, a few of the members who have not
been receiving, the B.B. regularly by post have failed to send their change of
address to Bob Bagshaw. Members are
reminded that they cannot expect to get any communication from the club unless
their up to date address is in the files.
Having moaned for some months about the lack of stuff to put
in the B.B., the editor now finds himself confronted with a temporary
surplus. An attempt will be made to make
this B.B. and the November B.B. both of twelve pages, but the rest of the
material submitted will go towards making up what we hope will be the biggest
and best Christmas B.B. ever. Authors
are asked to be tolerant of this situation and are reminded that it is
difficult to allocate priorities to the various articles in the stock pile.
Alfie
The Annual General Meeting
The 1963 Annual General Meeting was declared open at.2.50 pm
with a good attendance present. D.
Hasell was elected as chairman. Three
tellers were elected for counting the ballot papers and the Minutes of the 1962
Meeting were read and adopted.
The Hon. Sec. then gave his report. He announced that there had been a total of
32 new members elected during the year, compared with 31 and 27 for the
preceding two years. The total paid up
membership had increased by 7 to 145. In
fact, it was somewhat greater than this as several members had paid their
subscriptions since he had written his report. He pointed out however that there were still a number of considerably
overdue subscriptions. The attendance at
the dinner this year was likely to be 130 as distinct from 114 last year. The Charterhouse Caving Committee was now in
operation and permits were now available.
There were no questions resulting from this report and its
adoption was proposed by Mike Luckwell and. seconded.
The Chairman then called on the Hon. Treasurer to give his
report and after the traditional expressions of surprise at finding the same bloke get up to speak, the report was
read. In spite of the large item of
expenditure on the Belfry, the club's finances were in good shape. The usual annual plea followed for more
expenditure on tackle and the Hon. Treas. suggested that if we were unable to
build enough we should consider buying it. He said that he did not consider it sound policy to build up a large surplus
of cash, as the club's money should be spent on furthering the club's caving
and climbing activities; neither did he think it was a sound plan to show such
paper assets as the value of the Belfry. He concluded with a plea for the prompt payment of dinner tickets.
In the discussion following, Sett suggested that the
membership application form should include an application for club ties and car
badges. Kangy queried the sub to the
Mountaineering Council. Bob replied that
it had not been requested. Dave Smith
said that if we were going to buy ladders we should test them first. This was agreed. Mike Luckwell proposed that the report be
adopted.
The Caving Secretary then gave his report. A very encouraging increase in the number of
younger active cavers had occurred, but he hoped that they would do more in
Cuthberts. The caving meets had been very successful and there had been
another series of discoveries in Cuthberts since the last A..G.M. As announced by the Hon. Sec., the C.C.C.
system was now in operation, but the Caving Sec. would require at least three
weeks notice, for a G.B. trip. He
pointed out that some of the tackle in Cuthberts now needed renewing.
Jill said that she had had no idea of when the caving meets
had been held. The Caving Secretary
replied that they had all been published in the B.B. with ample warning. Jill replied that she had not had a B.B. for
some time. Kevin suggested that there
were not enough leaders for the younger members to be able to do more in
Cuthberts as suggested. Mo asked why
didn't some of the younger members apply? A general discussion on leaders followed during the course of which Mike
Palmer offered to lead whenever required within reason. The Chairman ruled that this was more
properly a subject for the forthcoming Leader's Meeting, but suggested that the
meeting be thrown open to any other interested parties. With masterly timing, Make Luckwell then
proposed that the report be adopted.
The Climbing report followed, and the Climbing Secretary
said that there had been two trips to N. Wales. The trend is now for more people to take part, but for less good
climbing to be done. An Easter party
camped near Land's End and at Whitsun a party visited the Dewar Stone. Parties on the Avon Gorge on Thursdays have
been a regular feature of the season. There were no questions and Mike Luckwell therefore proposed that the
report be adopted.
The Tackle Officer announced that sixty feet of standard
ladder had been rebuilt and a new sixty feet made. Unfortunately, we have also lost eighty feet
over the same period. We now have 180'
of standard ladder and 60' of wood and wire. The Chairman asked if the rope promised at the last A.G.M. had been
produced. Norman replied that it
had. There was a suggestion to go over
to making the S.M.C.C. type of ladder and Frank Darbon suggested the W.S.G.
type. A discussion followed and it was
agreed to refer the whole problem of tackle to the new committee.
At this stage the meeting stopped for tea.
After tea the Chairman announced the results of the
committee ballot. Votes are given in
brackets. Bob Bagshaw (51) Norman Petty (50) Mo (45) Alfie (45) Gordon Tilly
(38) Kevin (38) Roy Bennett (35) Alan Sandall (33) Mike Palmer (31) Sett (30)
John Ransom (30) Keith Franklyn (30); the first nine being elected.
The Hut Warden's Report followed. The bed nights had reached the all time
record of 1361 - an increase of over 400 on the previous year. More than 2/3 of this total had been put in
by "regulars". There had been a
general increase in cleanliness, due mainly to the improvements in the Belfry
accommodation. There was still room for
improvement.
Joan Bennett proposed a vote of thanks to all those who had
helped to improve the Belfry, to which Mike Palmer added a vote of thanks to
the Ladies who, he claimed, not only assisted in tidying the Belfry but also
acted as a steadying influence. This
latter remark received a rather mixed reception and brought forth cries of
"under thumb!"
Garth said that the Belfry was still dirty on Sunday
nights. The Chairman asked that concrete
suggestions be made. Kangy suggested a
supply of hot water and asked whether the crockery had been removed as requested? The Hut Warden replied that it had.
A vote of thanks was given to the Hut Warden, and the report
adopted. (This, of course, being
proposed by Mike Luckwell)
The Belfry Engineer's Report followed. The Belfry had been re-roofed; repainted; the
car park levelled and laid; the Tackle Store cleaned out several times; a new
concrete path laid to the Detailer; a locker for M.R.O. kit made and the new
Women's Room completed. The report was
adopted (guess who proposed this?) and a vote of thanks given which was carried
with acclamation.
The B.B. report followed. The Editor said that the B.B. had been its usual size this year and
although a stock of articles was now held, response had been poor earlier in
the year. He mentioned difficulties with
paper and said that we would have to buy some for the time being. There was a possibility of printing the B.B.
by the offset litho process. Mike
Luckwell proposed a vote of thanks to the Editor.
The Assistant Hon. Ed. then gave his report. There had been a lack of publicity on Caving
Reports and although the present position was financially sound (a profit of
£10 had been made over the year) there were now no covers left and no new
reports coining along. Garth mentioned
surveys and Kangy replied that it was possible to buy these from Bryan
Ellis. Mike Luckwell proposed that the
report be adopted.
The Librarians Report followed. She said that the library had been reorganised
and that 100 borrowings had occurred. Six new books had been bought and a further six acquired. It was hoped to purchase more books and
members suggestions would be welcomed. In this connection the Chairman ruled that a copy of the Denning Report
was not in line with the general subject matter of the club library. The report was, naturally, adopted as a
result of the by now unexpected proposal of Mike Luckwell's.
A discussion on the Postal System arrangements followed and
Kevin Abbey volunteered for the job. Joan rennet volunteered to assist if required.
Under 'Members Resolutions', the resolution put up by Ian
Dear concerning the purchase of a water heating system for the Belfry was
carried.
Finally, of course, Mike Luckwell proposed that the meeting
be closed.
Editor's
Note; As I had been ill, and was not
fully recovered at the A.G.M. (or Dinner for that matter) I cannot guarantee
the accuracy of the above account.
NOTICE!!!! The next
CUTHBERTS LEADERS MEETING will be held at THE BELFRY on the 17TH NOVEMBER
1963. Any interested cavers in addition
to Cuthberts Leaders will be welcomed.
Letter
It appears that a letter from Dorothy Waddon to the Editor
has gone astray, presumably in the post, and that in fact she wrote some time
ago to the B.B. asking for the acknowledgement which follows to be
published. Owing to the method whereby
letters are dumped in the communal hallway, they do occasionally go astray, and
we hope that Dorothy will understand and accept our publication of her letter
as now received from Bob Bagshaw.
32 Laxton Close,
Taunton, Somerset.
It is now almost eight months since Jack's accident and
those of you who contributed towards the fund to assist me and our children
must be wondering why there has been no acknowledgement from me. Let me be quite honest and tell you that for
a long while I didn't feel like accepting what I thought then was a charitable
gesture. Time has allowed me to face the
situation and to think more clearly, and I realize how much you must have
wanted to help. So I would like to
extend my very sincere thanks to all of you for the overwhelming response to
aid us. It is my intention to keep the
money in trust for Anne and Alan until such time that it might further them in
their education or any other aspect. Jack was a man who never did things by half-measure and this applied to
his caving activities. He was keen,
enthusiastic and loved it. Alas, it had
such a tragic end. But I feel this fund
is perhaps the finest tribute you have given Jack.
Dorothy Waddon.
Editor's
Note. We
understand that Dorothy would be very pleased to see any cavers who are in
Taunton.
Castle Farm Dig
From the variety of Caving
articles submitted, it is difficult to pick out one for priority of
publication, but we have chosen this one since it describes the new club dig,
which is giving promising results and may soon result in another Mendip cave.
by Gordon Tilly.
Location; West side of road from 'Miners Arms' to 'Castle of
Comfort, thirty yards from gate opposite Castle Farm.
Against mixed opinions of wrong geological structure; wrong
limestone etc; a dormant dig was re-opened on August 11th, 1963 after an
initial inspection of the site the evening before.
Briefly, the historical facts are that the dig was, started
in 1959 by John Andrews (a freelance caver) together with a friend who is now
in Australia. The lead was given them by
the farmer (who it might be said is the most co-operative that one could wish
for) who recalled that some years previously; there was a cloudburst in the
area and the road outside his farm became a major river, running through farm
and field. The water found its way to the depression nearest the road and soon
filled it up (the size of this depression is 60' by 20' by 10' deep
approximately). Some few minutes later
the depression was empty, leaving a small landslip in the South West bank. It was at this point that Andrews commenced
digging.
The dig was confined in area but revealed a rockface below
two feet of Jurassic Oolite, of limestone fretted vertically and pitted over
the entire surface.
Back to the dig proper. The initial moves made very little progress due to lack of
manpower. However, small probes were
made to the East and West sides of the hole, which soon confirmed that bedrock
was running in this direction, with a boulder pile on the North side. During one of these probes a small pile of
stones was broken into by Dave Irwin and a considerable draught was found to be
issuing from them. On August 13th,
Gordon, Alan Whitcombe, Spike and Pam Rees and Brian Reynolds made great
strides in removing many large boulders, and increased the size of the pit to
approximately eight feet square. On
Sunday, August 25th, little progress was made due to heavy rain, but mud and
stones were removed to obtain a clearer picture of the rock structure. Water was found to be draining from the field
to the dig, which was not holding any. Later that day, more mud and shale was cleared from the bottom of the
hole. It appeared that bedrock in the
form of a narrow rift lay on two sides of the bottom of the dig, with a very
large boulder forming a lintel at the Western end of the visible part of the
rift. The way on was seen under the
boulder but was too tight to enter. The
pit was widened on the 29th august to find an alternative entrance but little
progress was made until the weekend of the 21st September when Gordon, Dave
Irwin and Dave Smith decided to dig over the boulder and face the problems of
lifting it as it was restricting movement in the rift and making it impossible
to work in. This meant pulling down a
seven foot bank of earth on the North side. The following day the boulder was broken up and moved out of harm's
way. During the digging into the West
side, a small 'chamber' was found and this, after
the removal of small but awkward boulders, became the real entrance to the
dig. Monday saw vast changes in the pit,
the west side overhang was removed and the entrance hole shored with galvanised
iron as a temporary measure. The
remainder of the pit is now half filled with boulders and earth.
The way on is very clear for about thirty feet, but until a
ledge some twelve feet down is cleared of mud and loose rock it is certainly
unwise to probe further down at this stage.
(Some sketches showing the progress of this dig will be found on the next page.
Notice
The Annual General
Meeting of the Mendip Cave Registry will be held at Wells Museum on Saturday
26th October 1963. Further particulars
may be obtained from the Secretary, B.M. Ellis, Fore Street, North Petherton, Bridgwater,
Somerset. The work of the Cave Registry
is perhaps the most important practical project of inter club co-operative
effort which has yet occurred on Mendip. COME ALONG AND SUPPORT IT I!!!!
Caving Reports
A reminder that these are on sale direct from Bryan Ellis at
41 Fore Street, North Petherton, Bridgwater, Somerset (post extra) or by
arrangement with him at the Shepton Hut. Bryan also has copies of several surveys and other caving publications
for sale. B.E.C. Caving reports include:
Surveying in Redcluffe Caves (reprint); The Manufacture of Lightweight Caving
Ladders (3/-); The Shoring of Swallet Cave Entrances (2/6); A Survey of
Headgear and Lighting available for caving (2/6); Some Smaller Mendip Caves
Vol. I (2/6); A Second Report on St. Cuthberts Swallet (3/-); Some Smaller
Mendip Caves - Vol II (2/6) and The B.E.C. Method of Caving Ladder Construction
(3/-). If you are interested in caving
literature and don't require any of these (or you've got 'em) Bryan is still
worth contacting as he gets a very good selection of publications for sale
Before printing 'Stalagmite's' article for the month, we have an anonymous note addressed
from 'Wogland' which we think forms a fitting preface to the start of 'Stalagmite's' second club year of activity.
In answer to Stalagmite's very good article in last months
B.B. (Sept) I really must congratulate him for putting his opinion so
clearly. Stalagmite's articles must, I
think, give a lot of members interesting reading and thoughts, although I
notice that now and again he slips up.
I sincerely hope that he will keep putting forth his views
and opinions, but give him a friendly warning: Some people tell me that they
know who you are - beware!
"Stalactite"
On The Hill
(or T.W.T.M.T.W.)
by Stalagmite
The 1963 A.G.M. provided a few changes in the committee;
Sett and John Ransom being replaced by Roy Bennett & Kevin Abbey. The clamour for "new blood" has
always been high, so now let us wait and see. At the dinner, a few binds on the constitution of the election were
voiced, but it all appeared legal to me. Talking of voices at the dinner, this year's, speeches were extremely
good - Wessex forgot the toast - the reply was at great length and was followed
by some, quick, quipping speeches from members, guests, and even police who
thought we were clean and sober.
News from the clubs is, as usual, brief. The U.B.S.S. seem to be very thin on the
ground, not even sending a rep. for a free dinner, though I hear from Cerebus
that the Long Ashton splinter group continues to cave.
The M.N.R.C. deserves a mention insomuch as it was recently
reported in the B.B. that they did a bit of cleaning up in Cuthberts. After the report of the Balch trip, one does
not know quite what to believe of them - still, I hope they examined no
polythene bags.
The Wessex will be holding their dinner on Saturday, 19 of
October. I'll be there. The only other snippet I have of the Wessex
via the Cave Registry is that George Pointing's dig at Thrupe Swallet is now an
official club dig.
Cave Registry work is still progressing well, though I
gather that the deadline of last Saturday for the manuscripts has nor been met
and even after, there is quite an amount of work for Bryan to do. Still, I hope to see the Register in the
early part of next year.
Cerberus are holding their second annual dinner in November
of this year. With any luck, I'll be
there too (If I can scrounge a ticket). For anyone who can remember the start of Cerberus there is news of Unwin
who has reappeared though I gather that Cerberus are no longer associated with
him.
During the B.E.C. dinner, there was a call to the M.R.C for
an overdue party in Longwood.
The Family is spreading like the plague, and congrats to
Dave Causer and Katherine (George). If
Mike Luckwell's next, it will look like a takeover bid for the B.E.C. as one of
our new members turns out to be yet another member of the Family.
Shepton Mallet C.C. are holding their dinner early in
December. Have you ever tried getting a
ticket for this? Breaking into
Holloway's easier!
No doubt at the forthcoming Cuthberts Leaders Meeting Roger
will describe his new discovery in the Lower Mud Hall region a passage noticed
during his recent survey work but not followed up at the time.
Bob Bagshaw arrived late at the dinner "sans auto"
and appeared to be completely unruffled about turning over the car, as he
quickly got to work collecting money! A
fair amount of intoxicants vanished after the dinner in the direction of Alan
Thomas's house warming party, in fact, considering the shortage elsewhere; it
appears that I should have joined the party. Alan's house is, I understand, situated at the bottom of Neil's
garden. Presumably this is a better
arrangement to have the B.E.C. descend than to have the conventional fairies at
the bottom of one's garden.
The editor was gracious enough to give me a vote of thanks
at the A.G.M. for past articles - it's almost enough to tempt me to join the
club!
Thought for the month (Supplied by the Editor this time.) If
'Stalactite' started dripping instead of praising Stalagmite, would they
eventually form a pillar of Mendip Society?