Welcome to the fifth of our new monthly newsletters! The readership is growing all the time, and we now have a circulation of 187 people. The last issue was opened by 92 people, which is amazing, but what the stats don't record is now many people (like me) simply read in preview mode. We've had lots of encouragement to keep this going, so if you have any content for future newsletters, please let me know. There's no need to write reams. Short pieces (complete with photos if possible) are great. Longer articles can go in a full newsletter later in the year. And don't forget to send us some Memories for the 100 Memories project. The Centenary weekend will provide lots of material for the future, and please do share your photos and memories of this, too.

Back issues of this newsletter can be found here.

 
Linda Wilson
THE RAVE IN THE WOODS: 8th - 9th JUNE


On the weekend of 8th and 9th June, our student members are gathering at the Hut for a party weekend along with members of other student clubs and societies to de-stress after exams. There might even be some caving!

The end of exams have arrived, and you need to get away from it all!

All are welcome to join us at our hut in Burrington Combe for our (FREE) huge hut party in the middle of the woods on the edge of the coombe. What's more, we have just finished some huge hut refurbishments! We now have a wood burner, and even hot running water!

INVITE FAR AND WIDE, get your friends to come along, and let's make this a huge event to become a staple in years to come.

The hut can sleep about 30, so bring your sleeping bags, and if you want a good night's sleep you are HIGHLY recommended to bring a tent!

To sign up, visit the Facebook page and let the organisers know you'll be going.
CONGRATULATIONS.....


The wedding carriage, photographed by Elaine.

To Cara Turner and Steve Hulse on their recent marriage! By marrying a fellow caver, Cara followed in the footsteps of her own parents who met underground in Long Churn.


The bottom layer of the wedding cake even had a caving theme!

 
REMEMBERING TIM LYONS


Tim in Australia in 2006.

Sad news. Tim Lyons, who started his caving career with UBSS whilst training as a doctor back in the 70s, has died in Australia. Dick Willis remembers Tim...

Tim was an extraordinarily bright man who changed medical disciplines several times, resulting in a string of memberships of different Royal Colleges. He was a member of the Benarat team of the 1984 Mulu expedition, at which point in time he was working as an orthopaedic surgeon. Rumour has it that his medical kit consisted mainly of bone saws and mallets. No one got ill!

Tim and Martyn Farr made the first ascent of the Benarat cliffs to access the huge entrance of Tiger Cave; once described by Tony Waltham in a lecture as ‘probably big enough to hold all the caves in Mendip”.

Tim moved to Tasmania in 1996 to take up the post of State Pathologist. Almost immediately after his arrival he was faced with the tragedy of the Port Arthur massacre when 35 people were killed and 23 wounded in a mass shooting. He subsequently lectured about the experience around the world to help others prepare for such eventualities, which have become increasingly common.

Tim could appear quite serious but it hid a good sense of humour. Hugely strong, a great caver and a good friend, he’ll be missed. He’s survived by his wife, Julie (writer of hilarious Christmas newsletters) and their three children.

MORE DISPATCHES FROM MULU


500 metre swim. Photo by Elaine.

Continuing her stories from her recent expedition to Mulu, Elaine Oliver tells how she was trapped by flood waters in the largest chamber in the world.
 
One of the aims of this year's Mulu expedition was to attempt a bolt climb in Sarawak Chamber - the world's largest chamber by area, located in Lubang Nasib Bagus, or Good Luck Cave. With a one-night camp planned, a group of eight set off with two guides and two porters to take on the hot hike through the jungle, punctuated by a lie down in the Paku river to cool off. Along the way, we encountered some of the jungle's more bloodthirsty inhabitants: leeches. They particularly enjoyed Cookie, who set this year's record of eight in a single session.

Once underground, reaching the chamber involved a swim of about 500 metres, followed by an exciting traverse up some rapids - made all the more exciting by our camp packs! A quick scramble up a final rope and we were in a huge space - surely this must be Sarawak Chamber? Apparently not. Despite barely being able to make out the far walls, we were still only in the chamber's entrance passage.


Enormous boulder. Photo by Elaine.

Camp was swiftly established, then we split into two groups: one to assess and begin the bolt climb, and my group just having an explore as it was our first time in this cave. "Boulders the size of x" are common parlance in caving circles - normally you hear comparisons like TVs or cars. Some of the boulders in this chamber are the size of council flats!

The next morning saw the contingent divide into three groups: one to continue the bolt climb, one to take some photographs, and one to investigate a potential aven lead at the back of the chamber. I was in Team Aven, and spent a pleasant few hours scrambling around and squinting upwards. Once again, the scale of the chamber was truly impressive - we took well over an hour just to navigate to the other side. Eventually, with time getting tight for our planned departure, we turned around, and couldn't help but notice that the ceiling appeared to resemble a colander much more than it had previously done.

We reached camp, where Veno, our head guide, informed us in a very matter-of-fact tone that we wouldn't be leaving that day. The photography team had been just above the stream when it rose almost five metres in less than an hour, turning from azure to a murky brown. There were no two ways about it - we were going to have to wait it out.

Cave yoga. Elaine in centre. Photo by Carsten Peter.

The climbing team returned ("A huge spout of water appeared out of nowhere and all I could hear was Andy yelling "TIME TO GOOOO") and we compiled an inventory of our cereal bars and chocolate (we'd only planned to need snacks on the way out, so rationing was instigated as we had no idea how long we'd be trapped). To pass the time, we had a Flood Yoga session and a behind-the-scenes commentary on a caving documentary on a phone, followed by tea and (Kendal mint) cake. We got our heads down early in the hope that the water would recede overnight.

At 3am, the radio crackled to life. The guides and porters, who had spent an uncomfortable night on a ledge after trying to test just how impassable the exit was (answer: very), had deemed the water low enough to attempt an escape. In an amazing display of efficiency unprecedented among cavers, we were all up, packed and ready to go in just 20 minutes. Reaching the stream, the water was still higher than when we had entered, but with caution and encouragement, everyone made it to the deep canal of calmer water, then it was just a matter of the half-kilometre swim to the dawn light at the entrance, and a very welcome breakfast.

This may seem quite a dramatic few days, but in such a huge chamber, in reality we had nothing to worry about: water may rise, but it also falls. As Rambli, one of the expedition's Malaysian members said, "There is always water in Lubang Nasib Bagus. How much there is depends on your nasib."
Elaine Oliver
UBSS CO CLARE REUNION - MAY 2019


Graham posing next to the car outside Andrew's house, pleasantly surprised by still having some rear visibility..

As part of the centenary celebrations, former president Bob Churcher organised a dinner at Balynalackan Castle in Co Clare, attended by 15 members of the society. Linda Wilson takes up the story...

Co Clare has been the scene of countless caving holidays for me, and so I was excited by the prospect of a return after 10 years away, despite the trepidation brought about by reports of rampant building in the area, especially around the tourist hot-spot of Doolin. However, I soon fell back into the old routine. Graham and I pretty much filling the car with our own stuff before we even went round to pick up up Andrew and Sioned and their kit wasn't the most auspicious of starts, but some nifty packing soon saw us ready to set off for the ferry at Pembroke Dock. The ferry terminal was better than I remembered it, and the ability to buy tea (even red bush!), coffee and cheap bacon rolls and chips at 1am was a great improvement over the last time I was at Fishguard and all they had by way of refreshments was a vending machine that didn't work.

After the usual all too short time asleep in the cabin, we started the drive across Ireland at 7am, stopping for an excellent breakfast in Tipperary on the way. The roads are much better and faster than they used to be and by lunchtime we had arrived at Atlantic View Cottages in Doolin, which certainly didn't contravene the Trades Descriptions Act as we had an excellent view of the sea without needing to stand on the roof. The cottage was extremely nice and very well-equipped, so if you're heading to Clare any time, I'd very much recommend them.


The view from the patio at the cottage. The thin dark blue strip at the base of the sky is definitely the Atlantic!

We started the week's caving off with a Poulnagollum Branch Passage Gallery round trip, followed by a humongous photographic trip to the Signature Stone in Poulnagollum with myself, Andrew, Sioned, Tony and Clive on a project to make a 3D model of the Stone and its multitudinous inscriptions to record the historic graffiti such as that left on the first two recorded trips into the cave in 1880, which form our only record of those trips. This project will be written up for a future newsletter, but from what I've seen so far of the results, they're very impressive indeed. Many thanks to Andrew for all his technical expertise and to everyone else for indulging my latest research interests! It was six hours very well spent.


Dinner at Balynalackan.

The arrival of Julian and Carol Walford, Bob Churcher, Clive and Wanda Owen and Ian Casselly filled a second cottage, this time in Kilfenora. We were also joined for two nights by Steve and Sheena Warr, and Steve and Jane Perry arrived for the night of the dinner. Balynalackan. The evening of the dinner was excellent, starting with a tour of the castle itself, where UBSS members used to use the tower for abseiling practice, and followed by a really high-quality dinner in lovely surroundings.

Plenty of caving was done, with one of the most amusing moments coming when the part who had gone off to do a St Catherine's - Doolin through trip all assumed that someone else knew where the entrance was, resulting in the following note left on the table in the cottage...



Many thanks to Bob for organising the dinner!
Linda Wilson
CAVES OF MID-WEST IRELAND


The society’s new Irish guidebook, Caves of Mid-West Ireland is progressing well, the page proofs are complete and we are currently getting quotes from printers. The front cover can now be revealed!

The guidebook will be launched in Ireland at the SUICRO Symposium which this year is being held just outside Carrick on Shannon, in Leitrim, in late October and in Bristol at our own Centenary Symposium. The price will be announced when the printing costs are known.

 
TRAVELS BENEATH THE EARTH - PROJECT UPDATE

Dick Willis, outside The Stables.

History interns Nick Stromberg and Lena Ferriday report on the progress of the society's ambitious oral history project.

This month saw us kick off the interviews for the 100 Memories project. We were very lucky to chat to both Dick Willis and Tim Hill about their experiences with UBSS and with caving in general. Dick (pictured), continued to cave for decades after leaving Bristol, and provided some great insights into how caving has changed over the years; reflecting on some of his trips to Ireland with the UBSS and other expeditions to more far-flung caving destinations like Borneo! Tim was also a treasure-trove of fascinating information. He offered some captivating tales about his time in UBSS in the 1960s as well as some more personal thoughts about what the Society has meant to him over the years. Thank you (again!) to Dick and Tim for sharing their time with us. We have now started transcribing their interviews. These transcriptions will form one of the outputs of the 100 Memories project. June will most likely be an even busier month for us. We plan to conduct and transcribe a lot more interviews and to establish a social-media presence to engage the public with the project as it picks up over the summer months!
Nick Stromberg and Lena Ferriday
Meanwhile, Linda Wilson went north to meet Peter Standing...


Peter Standing in his garden.

Peter was already an experienced caver by the time he joined UBSS in 1962, and his choice of university was heavily influence by his desire to continue his caving career. He also followed in the footsteps of his brother Ian, taking over as UBSS librarian. Peter provided a wealth of information about the thrills (and risks) UBSS members encountered in the exploration of Little Neath River Cave. He also talked about his involvement with expeditions to Czechoslovakia and Ghar Parau in Iran.
Linda Wilson
100 MEMORIES - THE HUT AND MORE...


The UBSS Hut. Thanks to Haydon Saunders for the photo.

As part of our ongoing project to capture memories, Jon Brown takes a look at something that's been central to UBSS actives for 100 years - The Hut.

A few years ago now I wrote up a couple of articles about the area around the hut during World War Two, those interested can find them on the UBSS website, what I didn’t write up was a general paper on memories. Memory is a strange thing, I remember spending a few days at the hut drawing up floor plans and looking at the structure, there was a banging at the door, the boy scouts were lost, so I pointed them in the right direction, brewed some tea then there is more banging and this time someone shouting at me about leaving gates open and muttering bull about sheep, not all boy scouts know enough to shut gates behind them, don’t blame me!

The hut has many stories and memories attached to it, perhaps it is the memories that should be passed on that are required, such as the fact the water comes from the rain running off the roof of the married quarters then collecting in storage, so it is advisable to go and remove all the branches, leaves and dead pigeons from the chicken wire and sump every now and then, as well as remember to boil the water.

Looking out from the hut there is an excavated barrow known as T5, yes that one! Many moons ago I was asked to give Linda and Graham a hand in locating it, stomping up and down the hillside through bushes, bracken and nettles, working our way down until we finally locate it not far from the track, so now it doesn’t take several hours to locate, you can see it from the kitchen window.

Around the front of the hut have over the years been various facilities, from a bath to a field kitchen, there are a number of films of the hut now on YouTube that are worth viewing, but although the days of the hut being out in the countryside removed from civilisation are now gone, there is still a quietness in the area to be enjoyed.

In the library are many volumes from around the world, caving magazines, caving bulletins, spelunkers from America, potholers from oop norf and whatever the description in the odd scripts that were indecipherable are. The library to many is somewhere that people go for meetings at the Stables, however if one ventures up the wooden stairs, you will find cave maps, travel, world maps, history publications, archaeology, geology, geography and many more areas of interest than I could list, a hundred years of publications, so next time someone sends out a random email about some system somewhere, there is probably all the information and more in the library, perhaps having spent four years in a darkened room typing lists and putting little post it notes in books meant I looked at more books than many, but the library is there to use, venture forth and explore its hidden wonders and possibly interesting obscurities.

There are many memories including ones that are now lost intentions, Foxes Hole, a small hole in Burrington Combe but an exciting one, in the wartime logbooks, the saga of which Graham may recount to those who enquire, contain many interesting references, including the description of foxes being in Foxes Hole, the foxes in this case were the troops of the British resistance embedded in the Home Guard, Foxes Hole was converted to a resistance store and base, with a camouflage cover and was filled with all sorts of exciting toys when the log book entry was made, explosives dets, guns and all that was needed to make life uncomfortable for an occupying army. There are a number of resistance bases in the area particularly in quarries and caves, UBSS was one of the organisations that had members with a knowledge of such secret activities during the war. There’s a dis or two in there for those looking to do some research,

Memories are fickle things, sitting on a quiet night the wind and rain whirling around, looking back at the hut, it is a Victorian ladies cricket pavilion, which after a hundred years on its current site, has outlasted any other, it is a location away from the city and until recently away from infernal communications and modernity, take the time to listen to the quiet, turn off the phones and devices and step back to only a few years ago, when only fire, conversation and the sound of nature were heard.
Jon Brown
RE-ROOFING THE HUT

The time has come to replacet he wiggly tin on the roof of the Hut and the Drying Store. The weekends of the 14th - 16th June and the 21st to 23rd June have been set aside for this. If you're able to help on either weekend, please contact Rosie Daniels.
 
MUSEUM NEWS - BONE SCRAP IS OFFICIALLY EXCITING!
Rhiannon Stevens from the Institute of Archaeology getting acquainted with unidentifiable bone scrap from Picken's Hole

UBSS will be partnering with the Institute of Archaeology on an exciting new project to unlock the information held in numerous boxes of unidentifiable bone scrap in the museum collection.

Last year I received an approach from Rhiannon Stevens who would like to apply for a Leverhulme grant to undertake further research on mid and Upper Palaeolithic sites in the British Isles. She is interested in trying to find human remains from the unidentified / unidentifiable bones by using a technique known as ZooMs analysis on the material. 

As Rhiannon explained to me:  "ZooMS (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry) is a proteomics technique which can be used to identify bones to species when this is not possible osteologically. This type of research is successfully being undertaking in Asia and mainland Europe and it would be really interesting to undertake this in the British Isles. For ZooMs around 20-40mg of bone is needed for the analyses and large numbers of unidentifiable bone fragments can be screened. It not only offers further the possibility of identifying human (and Neanderthal) remains within the collections but also offers the possibility to gain further understanding of the diversity of the faunal species present at archaeological sites.  Where humans remains are found we would then try to take a larger sample for radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis and ancient DNA analysis."

Rhiannon recently visited the museum to look at material from Sun Hole, Gough's Cave and King Arthur's Cave. A search of the Sun Hole boxes produced a small tobacco tin of possible material, Gough's yielded slightly more, then when Rhiannon started to look at the King Arthur's Cave boxes, excitement quickly mounted. After that I tempted her to take a quick look at the material from Picken's Hole. At that point, Rhiannon sat on the floor lovingly running her hands through large bags of unidentifiable scrap.

As museum curator, it was a great moment to see someone so genuinely excited about boxes of material that I've personally lugged around through at least three changes of premises. This shows the value of retaining all the material from excavations, even when they appear to have no obvious value, and it's so nice to see the UBSS museum still at the cutting edge of archaeological science and contributing to ongoing research.

 
Linda Wilson
PENS! AND FUND RAISING

As part of the club's centenary celebrations, Hellie Adams had the idea of getting some pens made to mark the occasion, and every one who attended the dinner at Wookey Hole got one in their excellent goodie bags, courtesy of the ever imaginative Ruth Briggs.

If you missed the dinner but would like a club pen, please let me know and I'll arrange to get one to you. and as we still have our fund raising goals to meet, I'll be making a cheeky request for a pledge, but it's not a condition of having a pen! The pens were paid for out of the donations I got last year for baby-sitting film companies on museum related projects.

On the subject of the 100 Pledges target, these have been flooding in since the dinner, and the Lloyd Fund was able to claim the whopping sum of £1.700 this year in gift aid. Please keep the pledges coming. They're going to make an enormous difference to what the club can achieve.

And a tip for lovers of these excellent pens, they are refillable! You just need to unscrew the shiny bit at the pen end and they take a standard refill. It took me a while to discover this, but I got there in the end.

 
LOCAL INTEREST
 

Have you ever wondered what the longest running publication is that is solely concerned with Somerset’s local history? Adrian Webb, Somerset editor for one of the area's oldest publications has a few words to say...

The answer is NOTES AND QUERIES FOR SOMERSET AND DORSET (SDNQ) that has been published in unbroken sequence since 1888.  During that time it has recorded evidence on local history, archaeology, architecture, antiquities, genealogy, heraldry, literature, dialect, family history, customs and folklore of the two counties.  This provides material of permanent value to all those interested in the west of England, and in these topics generally.  
 

It is also a forum for exchange of information, the Queries section containing requests for information about a range of subjects. Responses are often printed, leading to a lively pooling of knowledge about often obscure topics. Recent queries have included subjects such as roofless tenements, World War II radio sites in the two counties, burying places for suicides, early church records, and the lock-up at Poole.

 

Subscribers now receive an Index to each volume as it is completed. Recent editions of the publication are still in print and available for sale.  An Index to the complete series is now available.

 

The journal is especially useful to the growing number of people actively interested in local and family history.  Among the many subscribers are universities, colleges, libraries, schools, and individuals in many parts of the world.  Two numbers are issued annually in March and September. The annual subscription is £8 (including postage).

 

In 1929, an appeal was sent out for new subscribers to SDNQ.  Amongst the benefits of subscription it was noted that ‘Subscribers are invited to submit Notes and Queries. A great deal of pleasure and profit may easily be obtained by inserting such questions or giving information to those who ask’. 190 years later an appeal is again being sent out. Please support our publication.

 

For all enquiries please contact the Hon. Secretary.

 
THE GREAT BIG SUMMER PARTY: 13th - 14th JULY

Haydon, Lisa, Rosie and Si relaxing in the newly refurbished hut.

It's party time again at the UBSS Hut! The aim is to get as many members back as possible for a Great Big Summer Party on the weekend of the 13th - 14th July . So if you missed the Centenary weekend in March, this is your opportunity to come along to meet old friends and make new ones. There will be food, drink, caving, singing and generally slobbing out!

Please spread the invite to as many of your UBSS friends as you can so that we can turn the woods into Tent City again. The aim is to barbecue a load of food, eat cake etc etc. There will be some alcohol provided, but please bring some more to supplement what's on offer. Sleeping space in the Hut will be prioritised for those who don't have tents. If you need transport from Bristol, that can probably be be arranged.

The hope is that we can use this weekend to carry out some interviews for the Oral History Project as well. There will probably be a gathering in the Stables on the Friday evening as well and maybe a meal out somewhere.

If you're interested in this, please let Linda know so she can coordinate the catering and other arrangements.

 
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL REUNION WEEKEND: 19th - 21st July


For anyone who fancies a double dose of partying, or if you can't make the Big Party Weekend, the university's annual Reunion Weekend is a great time to reconnect with friends and with Bristol.

There's a packed programme of events starting on the Friday evening with a drinks reception at the Holmes, and a chance to look around the Botanic garden. The following day, you can join Linda Wilson for a walking tour of the public at at Royal Fort House, followed by dinner in the Great hall of the Wills Memorial Building. It would be really great if, to celebrate our centenary, we could get a couple of tables of cavers together for this. This will be very special event this year, as our treasurer and editor, Graham Mullan will be receiving the Alumni Association Medal for "long-standing involvement in the work of the Alumni Association and assistance in enhancing the life of the university". This is a very significant honour, so please do join us in celebrating this award!

Full details of the weekend's events can be found on the University website, along with details of how to sign up to the various events. If you do decide to come, please let Linda know so she can arrange for cavers to be seated together wherever possible.
2019 CALENDAR
 
Don't forget to get these dates in your diary!

8th- 9th June. The Rave in the Woods at the UBSS Hut. Big student party weekend with other student clubs. See Facebook for further details and to sign up.

13th July, Huge party for everyone at the Hut. We're hoping to get as many members as possible to the Hut for a weekend party consisting of lots of food, singing and even caving!

18th July. 7pm in the Stables. A meet up for chat and maybe cake, maybe with a meal out somewhere if people are interested.

19th - 21st July, University of Bristol Reunion Weekend and Reunion Lunch in the Wills Memorial Building

27th September, University of Bristol Students' Union Welcome Fair

25th-27th October, SUICRO Symposium in Carrick, Co Leitrim including the Irish launch for Caves of Mid-West Ireland.

8th November. 7pm in the Stables. Book launch for Caves of Mid-West Ireland, the successor to all the society's previous guidebooks to Clare and the surrounding areas. Booze and cake will be provided!

9th - 10th November, UBSS Centenary Symposium in the School of Geographical Science. There will be a programme of talks on Saturday 9th Movember with various field trips talking place on Sunday.