Welcome
to another Plague Times issue of the Newsletter! As you'll see, your
editors and others have been beavering (or rather badgering) away busily
to bring you another packed issue, but keep your contributions coming
or we'll be forced to unleash the Honey Badger of Doom, and you wouldn't
want that. Trust us, you really wouldn't.
The online social scene has continued with the popular pub quiz followed
by pub chat. Bring your own alcohol. If you'd like to join in,
keep an eye on the club's Facebook page. but if you're not on there and
would like to join in, let us know and we'll get the links for the video calls sent over to you.
Rumours that all conversations in UBSS invariably end up with
discussions about a) poo and b) dolphin sex proved utterly true recently
when we managed to talk about the latter for nearly an hour, with
academic papers being bandied around and some very not-safe-for-work
diagrams. One of your esteemed editors proved to know a surprising
amount about the subject. (Hint, can't blame Mia in this instance as she
was at the Hut.) In Linda's defence, dolphins are interesting!
So what topics did conversations always descend into in your day? You can tell us, we're broad-minded. No points for saying poo. Everyone talks about that. Don't they?
As you'll see, with lockdown restrictions easing, caving has been
gradually restarting around the country. We'll bring you as much up to
date information as we can in each issue. There's a lot to cover at the
moment, so bear with us and keep reading. Most of this information has
only come in during the past week.
We hope you enjoy our latest offering, and thank you all for your lovely email messages of support!
Left to
right: Imogen, Henry, Mia, Merryn and Sam, very happy to be reunited
safely and back in Mendip. Note: these are members of the same
household.
Following the further easing of
covid restrictions, the committee has decided to reopen the Hut to
club-wide use in compliance to current health guidelines. A new booking
system is in place to prevent over-crowding: contact our student
treasurer-turned-covid sec, Imogen Clement, on facebook messenger or by emailing her to reserve your time on Mendip. It's quick and easy!Just
one other quick warning, please be aware that the ash tree on the left
side of the gate as you face the Hut is a bit wonky. This has been
reported to the Wills Estate and a tree surgeon will take a look. It may
well be affected by ash die-back.Parking underneath this is not recommended!
The Hut is now supplied with hand sanitiser and face masks. The rules at
present are up to three households at the hut at one time, with a
maximum of six people in total, and only one household in the kitchen at
any given time to abide social distancing advice. The full controls are
below.
Have fun and stay safe!
Mia
UBSS Hut COVID-19 Controls
Social distancing (1m+) to be observed at all times.
Wash hands and surfaces regularly.
Encouraged to wear masks inside/where social distancing is difficult.
Maximum of six people in any one group.
Maximum of one group at the Hut at any one time.
Maximum of two households in the main building at any time.
Maximum of one household in the married quarters at any time.
One household group using the kitchen at any time.
Maximum
of one household group sleeping in either hut at a time e.g. one in
main hut, one in married quarters. Others to be in tents by household
group.
Toilet, Shower and Kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned after use and hands to be santised before and after use.
Special care should be taken to clean items that change hands (e.g. hut keys, kitchen items, axes).
Both huts must be thoroughly cleaned when a group departs.
Records need to be kept for 21 days of people who use the hut to enable contact tracing should this be necessary.
The UBSS COVID-19 Officer is Imogen Clement. Please email all requests for hut bookings to Imogen.
Please wait for a confirmation of your booking from Imogen before going
to the hut. Please include in your booking request the names of
everyone in your party and their household groupings. This information
will be kept by the COVID-19 Officer for these purposes only and will
only be released should they be required for contact tracing.
UBSS Committee
3.7.20
ROWDY IN ROD'S
Following the recent moves into our two new
caver households, the not-so-fresh freshers congregated to the Hut for a
weekend. Zac reports on one of our first post-lockdown trips...
I had wanted to do Bath Swallet and Rod’s
Pot for some time given that it shared a name with my home town and is
so close to the Hut, so on the Friday of our freshers’ trip to the Hut
in late July while Henry, Imogen and Sam did a Swildon’s short round
trip, Merryn, Mia and I made the short walk over to Rod’s with the
intention to enter there, pass through to Bath for a peek, then come
back out of Rod’s in the absence of a ladder.
At the time I thought the entrance was bloody muddy but I was soon to
have that definition redefined as Mia, who was leading the group, took
us down the top end of the incredibly muddy Murlis loop where I
discovered that they really should start putting size limits on caves
after getting stuck at the end of a crawl tube over a 15-metre-deep
pitch (there was a traverse line but we didn’t have crabs).
Specimen A: Mia Jacobs
Taking a moment to rest, Mia scouted
ahead while Merryn caught up. Mia soon indicated that she had found the
way on so I followed only to find another tight squeeze that dropped
into a narrow rift at a right angle. I continued to follow Mia through
the zigzags despite starting to panic until we reached a much larger
rift that I could stand in (finally), which Mia suggested I use to turn
around in to exit the route. Examining her hastily taken photos of
Mendip Underground on her phone, which was wrapped in a plastic bag, Mia
decided that it was best for us to return to the entrance rather than
face more squeezes given her uncertainty about the route. If we had
known that we were next to the hanging rock chamber and were only one
crawl tube away from the main chamber I would have very much insisted we
go on rather than brave those squeezes again. But we did (although they
weren’t so much squeezes than crawls for Mia and Merryn, who are
smaller) and after much crying and whimpering on my part and some truly
excellent support from Mia and Merryn (both emotional and physical) we
made it out of the Murlis loop and made our way to the main chamber on a
much more comfortable route where we explored around, poking our heads
in many holes that we could go down but ultimately were too lazy to.
Specimen B: Zac Woodford
On the way back up, however, Merryn and
Mia took a scenic side route while I clambered to the top and gave Mia a
scare after turning my light off and waiting for her at the top of the
climb (some small pay back). We also stopped to stick our heads in a
side pitch to identify some ‘items’ (likely just rubbish) while
performing suggestive dances. [editor's note: see edition header.] It
was a short jaunt from there back out to the surface.
While all in all a relatively short trip in what’s supposed to be a harmless cave, we managed to turn it into an adventure.
Zac Woodford
CAVES OF MID-WEST IRELAND WINS PRESTIGIOUS TRATMAN AWARD
Caves of Mid-West Ireland, our centenary publication, edited by Graham Mullan, has won the caving world's top book prize, the Tratman Award, given by the British Cave Research Association, for publication of outstanding excellence.
The Award is named after former UBSS President Professor EK Tratman, who
edited the first guidebook to the area, The Caves of North-West Clare
in 1969. This was followed by Caves of County Clare, edited by Charlie
Self and Caves of County Clare and South Galway, also edited by Graham.
The latest guidebook expanded the area yet again. The writing team
consisted of Dave Drew, Mike Simms, Linda Wilson, Tony Boycott and Linda
Wilson, as well as Graham. With numerous other UBSS members,
particularly the student contingent with survey maestro Ashley Gregg
collecting field data and surveying. Lots and lots of re-surveying.
The award, first given out for the publications of 1979, was originally
administered by the Ghar Parau Foundation when the foundation was a
sub-charity of BCRA, but since 2019 (presenting the 2018 awards) when
the foundation became an independent charity it has been directly
awarded by BCRA.
The judges are independent of the association and look not only for a
high standard of writing and information content, but also factors such
as the publication’s layout, print quality, binding and availability.
The judges also mentioned Graham’s involvement with the UBSS
Proceedings, which they described as a long-term, highly praised and
superbly produced academic title devoted to caves and their archaeology
and exploration, which itself might have otherwise challenged the other
commendations.
A full short list of the contenders for the award can be found along with a full article on Darkness Below.
The book won against an exceptionally strong field, which makes the
award even more special. Naturally, Graham (and his mum!) were very
chuffed. What he didn't realise was that in my capacities as both BCRA
Publicity Officer and Darkness Below editor I'd known about the award
for several weeks, as the plan was to announce this in Descent and on
Darkness Below simultaneously, as well as on all BCRA news channels, to
make up for the lack of the usual announcement at Hidden Earth, which
could not take place this year due to Covid-19. Sharon Wheeler, UBSS
member and DB editor, wrote the story for the website and it was
secretly loaded by Tony Brocklebank while Graham and I walked the dogs.
The whole thing was organised like a military operation, and naturally,
no plan survived first contact, as Sharon's electricity fell over the
day before, and we had to haul Tony in as back-up in case it happened
again! On returning, I had to gently poke Graham in the direction of the
website to read the announcement.
After vowing that he would never again edit another guidebook, Graham is
now hard at work on another with the working title Caves of South West
Ireland, to be published by UBSS in conjunction with the Speleological
Union of Ireland (SUI). The writing and editing team has been expanded
to include those who know about areas that are outside our usual
stamping grounds. Graham is still having fun and games trying to sort
out the chapter on Cork!
Thanks to everyone who sent congratulation direct and on social media.
The book involved a vast effort by numerous people, and in particular
Graham as editor, and it was so nice to see both the book and
Proceedings honoured in this way.
A predominently student trip to Co Clare, led by Ash, supported
generously by the Tratman Fund (administered by Professor Mike Benton in
Earth Sciences) will be visiting the area in September this year,
provided Plague Times don't worsen.
Linda Wilson (proud wife!)
RE-STACKED!
During recent renovations, some
reservations were expressed about the stability of the chimney, so the
committee called in local caver and builder Alan ‘Butch’ Butcher to take
a look.
Butch gave a very reasonable quote for redoing any dodgy brickwork and
dealing with the chimney pot and cowl etc. With help from Tony Boycott
who opened the gate for him and probably hung around being useful, Butch
got the job done quickly and within quote and we now have a shiny new
chimney. The funny thing was that the old chimney pot wasn’t cracked, it
turned out to be two separate halves wired together. Classic UBSS bodge
job that lasted for many years!
PIERRE'S HANGING GARDENS
No, this is not Pierre's. Nor any cave for that matter. We've just about exhausted our holiday photos, OK?
Merryn and Henry finally got
underground after several months, choosing a Burrington classic to ease
themselves back into caving life. Ease, did someone say ease?
On the Wednesday of our hut week Mia and Henry arrived from their
idyllic holiday in the alps. Sam, Imogen and I had been placing bets on
how quickly Henry would want to get underground, and sure enough that
evening he instigated a Pierre’s Pot Hanging Gardens trip. I found
myself strangely keen to cave despite enjoying the cosy Hut party, so
decided to join him on a quick trip.
We slithered and squidged our way down Pierre’s so quickly that I barely
noticed the bruises forming along my legs. I can’t remember whether I
always got this beaten up caving, or if my ungraceful rock flopping
style was a sign of lockdown de-skilling (pretending I was once
skilled). Either way, I enjoyed being underground again after so long
and found squeezing between cold slabs of rock strangely comforting.
Eventually we arrived at the famous phallic stal, both a marker point
for the way into the hanging gardens and a useful hand hold for hauling
yourself up a rock slab to the passage entrance. Henry found the way on
by awkwardly squeezing down and behind the stal (thankfully I didn’t
have to go through the Pierre’s arsehole like they mistakenly did last
time).
A few more squishes and crawls and we began to smell a sweet scent of
honeysuckle and lavender; the hanging gardens were getting close. Henry
reached the chamber first and exclaimed in awe at the mystical beauty
before us. Hanging stals laced in golden ivy and calcite white roses
decorated the ceiling. Pretty pink and lilac flowers lined the floors
and walls, an array of petunias, lavender, and pansies. Both speechless
at the spectacle, we could hear the faint buzzing of the bees between
the stals. The gardens certainly did not disappoint.
Henry went ahead slightly to find an awkward climb that petered out, so
we decided to make our exit. Congratulations goes to Henry for finally
completing the slot on the way out. I was far too keen for a pee and a
beer to bother giving it a go. A pretty good first Mendip cave in while.
Merryn Matthews
CHARTERHOUSE CAVING COMPANY LTD CAVES REOPEN
G.B. Cave, Bat Passage shortly after its discovery in 1966. Photo courtesy of Geoff Fuller.
The
UBSS is one of the member clubs of the above organisation that covers
access to GB, Charterhouse, Longwood-August, Rhino Rift and various
minor sites and digs. As UBSS issues keys to these sites, please note
the following.
CHARTERHOUSE CAVING COMPANY LTD
RE-OPENING THE CAVES 13th JULY 2020
Following the updated advice from
government, the BCA and the BCRC, the company is able to recommence
visits to the caves under its management from Monday 13th
July 2020. Visits are, of course, subject to the normal requirements of
the access agreements and also to the additional recommendations listed
below.
Until further notice each club is asked not to issue more than one key for each cave on any one day.
Social
distancing and hygiene protocols must be followed when issuing and
returning both keys and permits. It is recommended that visitors use
hand sanitiser before and after unlocking and locking cave gates.
No
cars are to be parked at Charterhouse Farm by request of the owners and
no changing is to take place there. Parking for G.B. and Charterhouse
must therefore be in the layby by the field entrance on the road.
It is recommended that you have a plan "B" if you are likely to meet other cavers underground.
Ash
dieback is affecting trees throughout the Mendip area. Take care when
using the permissive path through Longwood Valley especially in high
winds.
We also recommend that the following additional advice from the Secretary of the BCA is adhered to.
Plan
for an alternative location if the location is already occupied, so as
to minimise the risk of transmission of the coronavirus between groups;
Noting
that whilst some rural communities are content to see cavers, others
may still be reluctant to have visitors, so check local information
before visiting and take care when approaching any location;
The
‘service’ provided by cave rescue organisations may be reduced and
could take longer to arrive at the scene of an incident, so cavers and
mine explorers should special care to reduce the risk of a call out;
Follow
government guidance on contact with shared tackle, hand washing / use
of hand sanitizer and maintain an appropriate social distance where
reasonably possible both above and underground, so as to minimise the
risk of transmission of the coronavirus; and
Keep
a record for 21 days of whom you have associated with in case they
subsequently realise that they are infected, so as to facilitate the
government’s test and trace program.
Pete Hann
Chairman, on behalf of the Directors, CCC Ltd, July 11th 2020
MORE MENDIP ACCESS NEWS
Eastwater entrance. Photo by Steve Sharp, courtesy of Mendip Cave Regisrty and Archive (MCRA)
This has just come in from the Council of Southern Caving Clubs (CSCC).
The Mendip Cave Registry and Archive have now published volume 2 in
their new series, Somerset Underground. This new book covers all known
cave sites in West Mendip, the Burrington Area and North Mendip, happy
hunting grounds for UBSS members. Priced at a mere £10, this stitched,
flexibound, full-colour production has been especially designed for use
in the field.
Bristol based members will be able to obtain copies directly from either
Graham Mullan (07887 637064) or Tony Boycott (07776 183819).
Those further afield will soon be able to buy online from the MCRA’s website
where volume 1 (covering Bristol, the Avon Gorge, Broadfield Down, the
entire Bristol Channel and West Somerset including Milverton, the
Quantocks, the Brendons and Exmoor) is now available again, as lockdown
has been eased. Copies of volume 1, which was published in March this
year, are also available in Bristol from Tony or Graham.
100 MEMORIES - SUMMER OF 1975 - LISDOONVARNA, Co CLARE
Fergus River Cave, Shingle Cavern. Photo by
Jim Warny. (This isn't beyond the sump, but we have no photos from
there. So if anyone can oblige...)
Prompted by a conversation on
Facebook about Caves of Mid-West Clare winning the Tratman Award, former
UBSS member Christine Greenall recalled one of her own experiences in
Co Clare, and kindly wrote this up as part of our 100 Memories project.
It was the Summer Expedition to County Clare. There were a group of us
young students there with Trat and Oliver Lloyd to further explore the
Fergus River Cave. The weather was dry and sunny (perfect for exploring
the sump).
Tony Boycott had been through the first sump with a bottle and had
decided that it could be free-dived. There was only one way to prove
this though – someone had to do it. That was where Rich Barker and I
came in. We were not cave divers but had both done the Swildons 1-9 a
few times and were up for the challenge.
The Fergus River Cave had few difficulties on the approach to the sump.
On reaching the pool of blue water, Tony went through with a bottle and
laid a line. It had been agreed that once the line was secured he would
tug three times on the rope and we would follow.
It was both exciting and a bit scary at this point. I had every trust in
Tony’s judgement but was about to do something that hadn’t previously
been attempted. Sure enough the rope twitched three times. Rich and I
looked at each other. I went in the water and picked up the rope, tugged
three times to let Tony know I was coming and took probably the deepest
breath I had ever taken.
The rope seemed to go down a long way but, just as I was getting a bit
nervous, I went under the rock and started to rapidly surface. I emerged
into a pool very similar to the entrance to see Tony sitting on the
rock smiling. He had been right - the sump was suitable for free-diving.
After tugging the rope to let Rich know to follow, I joined Tony on the
edge of the pool. We were in a large cavern with a lake in the centre.
The sides of the lake were marbled and there were stalactites hanging
down over the water. I thought it was the most beautiful sight I had
ever seen and marvelled that I was the first person ever to see it
without the aid of a diving bottle.
Going back felt very easy after the thrill of the first dive and that night in O’Connor’s was a rowdy celebration.
Christine Greenall and Rich Barker (left),
Graham Mullan (right), on the road outside Poulnagollum, in 1974. This
photo by Steve Warr appeared in the latest edition of Proceedings,
illustrating caving gear of that period.
I will always be grateful to UBSS,
Professor Trat and Oliver Lloyd for giving me such great opportunities
to discover new places and experience such exciting achievements as well
as for the enormous fun on expeditions and pub nights. Thanks also to
Tony Boycott for trusting our ability to complete the job and opening up
the new section of the cave for non cave divers.
Christine Greenall (UBSS member 1974-77, Secretary 1976-77)
A WEEK'S A BLOODY LONG TIME IN POLITICS
And it's been a rather extraordinary week in British caving politics, as Linda Wilson reports.
A week ago, Les Williams, who many of you will know better as the
driving force behind Hidden Earth, resigned from his role as Chair of
the British Caving Association (BCA), for personal reasons. This came
hard on the heels of the resignations of the recently appointed
Conservation & Access Officer, who cited infighting and general
disrespect. The Publicity Officer had also recently resigned. These
followed earlier resignations by the secretary and the webmaster.
Phil 'madphil' Rowsell, who chaired last week's Council meeting in Les'
absence, was co-opted as acting chair. Within a couple of days, Phil
issued an impressively strong email in which he stated:
"The BCA has recently had an unprecedented procession of resignations,
which quite frankly is unsustainable, and has to change. All those who
have resigned have sighted “the infighting and complete disrespect for
each other” being one of the main reasons. I too have to say that the
level of infighting and bullying etc has been unprecedented with
personal attacks on the UK Caving forum, complaints being filed,
requesting access to personal emails, even threatening of court action."
Phil went on to call for a period of reflection, saying: "I would like
ALL council member to spend a period of time to reflect on their OWN
behaviour (not other peoples but their own behaviour, not to blame
others for actions but to consider the consequences of their actions)
and understand that this must STOP if BCA is to move from this appalling
state it has arrived at. Moving forward, I and the BCA Executive will
not tolerate this sort of behaviour. Furthermore, what has happened in
the past needs to be left behind and we need to concentrate on moving
forward."
Please note that there has been no suggestion that Les was in any way
involved in any of the unpleasant and I think all who know him will
offer their thanks for all he's done for British caving.
The ink was barely dry on the above, metaphorically speaking, when Alan
'Butch' Butcher resigned as chair of the Council of Southern Caving
Clubs, with another strong statement on his reasons, which I'll link to
in the next newsletter once the minutes of the meeting that took place
on 28th July that I attended as UBSS rep have been circulated. The
meeting was chaired by Ed Waters, who did an excellent job. Ed started
the meeting with a vote of thanks to Butch for all his work on behalf of
CSCC over many years. Sixteen voting clubs were in attendance with 20
observers, including madphil for the latter part of the meeting, which
lasted for four hours.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss whether proposals should be
put forward to the BCA AGM. There were a long list of proposals and the
first vote was whether they should be discussed at all, as some clubs
wanted them thrown out without discussion. That proposal was put to a
vote and failed by eight votes to four, with one abstention. So all
proposals were debated at length and in a civilised manner (which seems
to be something of a first in British caving at the moment). The proposals can be found online here, with reasons. The following will make bugger all sense if you don't take a sneak peak,
The end result was as follows: 6.1 Tied vote. Chair did not exercise
casting vote. Proposal referred back to next meeting for further
discussion. This will miss the AGM deadline but can still be progressed
internally. 6.2 was passed by nine for, three against and three
abstentions. 6.3 passed by nine votes for, two against, four
abstentions. 6.4 passed by nine votes for, four against and three
abstentions. On all votes, I voted for the proposals, as I thought they
were well reasoned, and all these will now all go forward in the name of
CSCC.
The remainder of the proposals were parked for further discussion,
mostly on assurances from madphil that these issues won't be swept under
the carpet. He will keep CSCC informed. I'll link to the minutes in the
next newsletter, including other items of business. I was unanimously
elected as CSCC rep to the next BCA meeting which is being held in
August, If I can't make the meeting for any reason, Ed Waters will be
rep.
The CSCC AGM will hopefully be held online on 26th September. Further details to follow.
All hail to CSCC secretary, Frank Tully, who had to do the meeting from
his phone whilst in a parked car in Scotland, and take notes of a four
hour meeting at the same time! That produced the best exchange in the
meeting when Frank was seen to be waving his hand around. Ed as chair
said: "Do you want to say something, Frank?" Frank replied: "No, I was
just waving to the police." I'm pleased to report that he wasn't
detained for suspicous behaviour in a parked car!
I had a very large gin or two at midnight French time after the meeting!
More from thirst and a desire for booze rather than to recover. It was
long, but a really positive meeting, well conducted and reasonable after
an absolutely shitty time for British caving politics in general. I
sincerely hope that madphil and others can start to heal the
unpleasantness that has clearly affected our national body.
Linda Wilson
UBSS rep on CSCC
HOBNAIL HOLE UPDATE
King Cobble Hall, Hobnail Hole. Photo
courtesy of Clive North (and many thanks to Dave King for sourcing this
for us). From left to right: Richard Witcombe, Dave King, Simon Mead-King.
The large cobble after which the chamber was named is on the floor
between Richard's feet. Dave recalls it was visible from above before
they enlarged the slot to drop down into King Cobble Hall.
The following info has been received about a lesser-known but still classic Mendip cave…
Hobnail Hole is once again open after dropping and making safe the large boulder in Black Pot.
Although the boulder has been made safe there may still be small loose
stream washed shingle on various ledges. A reminder that Black Pot has a
lot of chert nodules that may not be load bearing and may break off
under load therefore do not rely upon them as secure foot and hand
holds.
The Hobnail channel has once again been dug out of washed down shingle
and silts and is currently taking the whole Thrupe stream.
Please use a ladder for descending and ascending King Cobble Hall -
walls, roof and boulders may not take too kindly to flailing feet
thrashing around.
If a through trip from Thrupe Lane Swallet is planned, a ladder can be rigged down into King Cobble Hall in less than 30mins.
Hobnail entrance gate is fitted with a CSCC padlock Thrupe Lane Swallet entrance has been cleared of flood debris.
The three renovated/converted farm buildings opposite the lay by all
have new residents inc children. Please respect our new neighbours.
Dave King on behalf of the ATLAS diggers.
OFD REOPENS OFD. Photo courtesy of Peter Burgess from
the Wealdon Cave & Mine Society. And yes, that is the person's belt.
You thought it was something else? Surely not! For information, the
photo was taken off the very high level section on the pitch route to
the Columns - close to the surface and prime area for an expert to look
for evidence of permafrost. It is less than ten minutes in from Top
Entrance.
The following email has been
received from South Wales Caving Club who run the access to OFD, for
which the club has an annual permit. If you are intending to cave in OFD
please take the time to read this carefully and follow the link to the
full requirements as failure to stick to the new covid rules will result
in UBSS losing its permit.
Just to update you, SWCC are planning to have OFD Open again this coming weekend - 1st August 2020.
There has been a massive re-organisation as a result of Coronavirus and a
new set of guidelines rules and proceedures have been put together to
make the opening of the cave possible sooner rather than later.
Can you pass the attached guidelines onto your members please. Its
important that they are aware that Keys for OFD are now only available
through the route described in the attached document.
Can I also stress that keeping the cave open depends on caver attitude
when visiting, signing out keys, filling in log sheets etc. You
will see that one of the new rules is an instant loss of Annual Permit
for any club who's members fail to embrace and abide by the new
system. Please can you stress to your members that SWCC wants to
see everyone caving in OFD again but that we need the help of all cavers
to keep everyone safe and the cave open.
Do let me know if any questions or queries arise.
Best regards
Gary
PARKING AT OGOF DRAENEN Formations in Ogof Draenen. Photo courtesy of Fleur Loveridge.
The following email has been
received from Sue Mabbett, the secretary of the Pwll Du Cave Management
Group, via our representative on that group, Clive Owen.
I have been in contact with the landowner
at Pwlldu, on access to Ogof Draenen, copied below is his response for
any cavers who wish to visit Ogof Draenen:-
“We have no specific requirements for the entrance at Ogof Draenen as
long as people follow the normal route in and out. Parking however is
seriously getting out of hand though, as they have closed the road
beyond the TV mast and walkers are now parking all over the place. If
you could request cavers to park sensibly and allow access to the farm
and the Centre it would be appreciated."
On the car parking, our traditional recommended area for parking on the
left as you come from the ponds and opposite the track down to the Lamb
and Fox, is no longer open as some large limestone blocks now stop
access; so with everyone staying local and this car parking area now
blocked off means there are limited parking spaces so please show
consideration as requested.
SOUTH AND MID WALES CAVE RESCUE TEAM FUNDRAISING APPEAL
Photo courtesy of SMWCRT.
Many UBSS members cave in South
Wales and always have done, so please dig into your pockets to support
their appeal! The following was received from them. Please note that the
crowdfunder has now ended but you can still support them by making donations direct.
To: Caving Clubs Active In and Visiting South Wales
Firstly, I hope you and your families are safe and well.
SMWCRT is reaching out to members of Caving Clubs who are regular
visitors to South Wales caves for assistance at this time, because we
need your help to raise funds for some important purchases.
As part of our 2020 modernisation program we are upgrading our radios
and digital control equipment, as well as replacing our stretchers.
Unfortunately, our expected funding has been diverted to COVID-19
causes, leaving the Team with a shortfall of £15,000 in our finances to
cover the cost of these essential purchases.
Our existing stretchers are currently over 10 years old and need
replacing. The new stretchers have been developed with input from our
Team to give improved functionality. The switch to digital radios will
allow for improved communications during a rescue and integration with
other Teams and Emergency services. Digital incident control will make
our base of operations mobile, allowing access to SARCALL and online
resources from anywhere.
We have just launched a Fundraising Appeal which includes a crowdfunding
campaign to raise the money required. We are asking for your support to
help us reach our target.
Firstly - we would ask everyone who uses Facebook to
Like & Share our recent Facebook crowdfunding posts. Liking the page
and leaving a comment will also help boost our reach: https://www.facebook.com/smwcrt/
Secondly - please spread the word though your contacts
and networks. Speak to friends, family and colleagues to ask them to
spread the word and encourage anyone who can to donate to the appeal.
Finally – we also have in place a couple of fundraising
initiatives for online purchases via Amazon Smile and Easy Fundraising.
Do let me know if you need details of how to engage with these.
Every contribution, whatever it may be, will make a difference.
Diolch yn Fawr / Many Thanks,
Tom Foord
Chairman, SMWCRT
POSSIBLE CHECC TRAINING WEEKEND IN SEPTEMBER
Ash and Haydon fronting survey training in Goatchurch.
The following email has been
received from the Council of Higher Education Caving Clubs (CHECC) about
a possible training event in September. This is reproduced in full
below. If anyone is interested in going, please contact Merryn.
Hi all,
At the virtual delegates meeting last month many of you said that having
more training events prior to term recommencing would be beneficial to
you. In this regard, I've been speaking to the new BCA council Youth and
Development officer, Josh White, about getting some BCA funding to run
two 'trainers weekends', one in the north (potentially at the YSS) and
one in the south (potentially at the Wessex) in September before uni
term starts. He is confident that the BCA will provide funds to cover
these weekends in terms of accomodation and training facilities and
perhaps also food, meaning that you will only need to cover transport.
The point of the weekend would be to make sure that those who expect to
be leading university club trips and teaching caving skills feel
prepared for this. This may mean just refreshing the skills of more
experienced cavers in each club prior to the new academic year so you
can all feel confident in your abilities, or it may be that you have
some knowledge gaps you need to fill. I also see it as an opportunity
for you all to get to know each other a bit better without having to
worry about looking after less experienced cavers in your clubs. I'm
envisioning an attendance of 3 - 5 attendees from each club, these being
the people you expect to be leading trips during the next academic
cycle and hopefully beyond that. If you think more than 5 people from
your club would really benefit from coming then please let me know
because this will change the budget.
If caving huts are able to open by this time, then the way I see the
event running is similar to the regional CHECC events but with less
people and more specific training. There will be skills-related sessions
run by experienced volunteers covering topics like trip selection,
reading weather patterns, navigation, equipment choice, how best to
teach SRT to novice cavers, how to rig safely, and very basic first aid.
There is also of course the opportunity to get underground with peers;
I'm envisioning having several 'training stations' being set up in the
hut for each topic on the first day, then the second day being a day to
get underground to use any new skills and have a good time. This was the
format used by CRO to train the cavers on their extended list and I
think it is a good format. Specifically, the BCA training officer, Nigel
Atkins, would like to come and lend a hand and also get your input on
some training guidelines he is developing, you will hear more from me
about this later.
If caving huts are not able to open then I don't think we will be able
to run a weekend-long event unfortunately because there simply won't be
suitable venues available within budget. However, what we can do is have
several (more than two) one-day training events at, for example,
climbing walls. For example, a day event in Sheffield for SUSS, NUCC and
ULSA, one in Manchester for LUPC, MUSC and LUSS, one in Bristol for
UBSS, Cardiff, Exeter and Plymouth and somewhere near London for ICCC,
Kent and Reading. This is not ideal (geographically we can't please
everyone) and will be more difficult to organise but providing the money
is there we can make it happen. If this is the case I will need
volunteers to look into venues for such one-day events.
I would like your input regarding dates, venues and the format of the
event. What dates would be most suitable for each of you for this event?
What do you think of the venue choices in the case of caving huts being
available and not? Are there any topics you specifically really want
covering? And are there any volunteers to help organise these events (eg
to do shopping and cook food)? If you are thinking of coming,
provisionally I would like an estimate of numbers (this can change, its
mainly for BCA to know how much money to give us).
I think that's all for now, as always any questions just email.
Best,
Rob
MAMMOTH IN THE MEDIA
Our very own Whatley Mammoth has been on Twitter again! If you don't follow our furry friend, now's your chance to remedy that! Tweets courtesy of his museum teammate, student curator Nathan Cubitt.
PHOTO COMPETITION
So, this time we might be making it
easy for you all, or maybe not... No prizes for guessing where this was
taken, but there will be a prize for guessing the subject of the photo.
And to give you a sporting chance, we've included the notes on the
back, which are worth deciphering.
Linda's offering this week is part of her aim to produce a drabble
(a 100 word piece of fiction) for each of the Fellowship of the Ring
characters in the Mines of Moria. This one looks at Gandalf's first
journey through the mines mentioned briefly by Tolkien.
His footfalls echoed in the chamber, the sound magnified tenfold in the silence of the deep.
Darkness settled around him like a heavy cloak.
He had walked for ten days though the ancient halls of this world within a world and had seen no living soul.
Sometimes, at the very edge of his vision, he’d seen grey shapes, echoes
of the former inhabitants of this dread realm, but whenever he turned
his head, they vanished.
It was a long road, and when he finally emerged into the sunlight, the horror would be slow to fade, even for Gandalf the Grey.
LETTER TO THE EDITORS
In a new feature this week, we
bring you an email received just after the last newsletter from Nick
Patrick (student hon. sec. 1982 – 1984). Please keep the letters coming!
Hi
I’ve just watched the Sid Perou film about PSM. I was brought up on his
films that he initially put out for a limited regional audience on BBC
North (or was it Yorkshire TV?). Just the name Pippikin Pot still
strikes me down with terror after watching his film in the ‘70s. A
brilliant film maker. Then I moved to Bristol where they didn’t know the
meaning of the word hard when it came to caving. Until I met Dick
Willis! I was star struck. Steve McArdle introduced me to him, what a
hero. Quite a nice bloke too.
All that ladder they took down PSM, I’ve long since moved over to rope
and that SRT stuff but you still can’t beat a bit of ladder in a tight
spot.
I hope everyone is keeping safe and well in Bristol. Thank you for the
newsletter, nothing much changes in the student caving world which is
very reassuring in these strange times.
Nick Patrick
I READ TO THE END, HONESTLY, I DID! I DID!!!!
Whatley mammoth definitely read to the end!
We know you all did, but whilst all
animals are equal, some are more equal than others, and... drum roll...
the lovely winner last month, edging his way up the League Table again
is... Andy Farrant!
The entries in order were:
- Is this cheating? (Graham Mullan) (Answer: yes)
- Made it to the end, although fortunately not quite as epic as Dick’s trip to the PSM…! (Andy Farrant) THE WINNER!
- Dibs! (Megan Malpas) (Nope, beaten by Andy by 25 minutes!)
- I want to go caving..... Unemployment sucks! (Helen Frawley) (But it does allow more reading time!)
- Me 😊 (Gina Moseley)
- Meeeeeee! Cracking issue and I am still tittering at the film reviews
and the fanfic. FT and I are mortally offended, though, that our quote
from last time was given to Megan! (Sharon Wheeler) (Huge apologies to
Sharon and the very erudite FT Bear, who reads every issue! We hope to
have a photo of him sometime!)
- Heyo! Finally go this link to work! eh... yay caving!? (Zac Woodford)
- Very much enjoyed the film reviews! Whoever wrote those should be featured every month! (Sam Bowers' pet honey badger)
- This was released too early for me to ever win. Putting in a request
for a committee meeting about student-friendly hours for the newsletter
posting. (Imogen Clement) (Request duly noted, although no one has yet
been able to clarify what a student friendly hour might be, so expect
some improvisation to keep you all on your toes!)
- This game is mostly Jacob telling me I can't do things. (Eleanor Conole) (Ah, you haven't met the honey badger yet, have you?)
- Once I worked out how to get Yahoo mail to expand the width of the window, I was set! Great fanfic. (Jan Walker)
Hint for the lovely AB (Dr), to send an email to say you read to the end, click on the words below in blue!
