Belfry Bulletin Number 051

The

Belfry

Bulletin

THE JOURNAL OF THE BRISTOL EXPLORATION CLUB Volume 5 No.51

November 1951

CLUB COMMITTEE During the last year there has been a good deal of criticism of the way the Club has been run, not all of it entirely irresponsible. The Annual General Meeting is approaching, and it will then be time to elect a new Committee. It is obviously unfair to simply re-elect the Committee year after year and then complain bitterly that they are doing the wrong things in the worst possible way. Now is your chance to voice your opinion by filling up the Nomination Paper attached to this BB, and getting it to the Hon. Secretary before 13th December, 1951.

The Committee consists of 8 members, including the Climbing Section representative, and at least one lady member. There is also a London Section representative, who is not voted for, as anyone present from London at the time attends the Committee.

The present Committee is: R. Bagshaw, D.Hasell, J. Ifold, R. Ifold, G. Lucy, R. Cantle, K. Dobbs, Miss J. Rollason, M. Hannam, A. Setterington.

Members can only be nominated for election to the Committee with their knowledge and approval.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General Meeting will be held at Redcliffe Community Centre at 2pm. on Saturday, 26th January, 1952. All members are asked to make a note of this date, and to endeavour to be present. There will be a break of about half an hour for tea, at 4pm, and the meeting will close at about six o’clock so that members will be able to get to the Annual Dinner.

ANNUAL DINNER The Annual Dinner will be held at the Whiteladies (Cinema) Restaurant, Whiteladies Road, Bristol on Saturday, 26th January. 1952, at 7 for 7.30pm after the Annual General Meeting. A form of Application for tickets is attached to this BB. The cost is only 7/6, and those who were at last year's dinner will remember that it was a really jolly affair.

London Section Dinner The London Section will hold its Annual Dinner on Saturday, 8th December, 1951, at the Atlas Hotel, Earl's Court. The cost will be 10/6 per head, payable at the dinner. As bookings must be made in advance, all those who will be coming are asked to inform D.A. Coase, 18, Headington Road, Wandsworth, London, S.W.18, as soon as possible, and in any case not later than Saturday 1st December. The dinner is not confined to London Section Members, and the support of those who live far from civilisation will be cordially welcomed.

BB52/2 Hon Secretary.

Bobby Bagshaw is now acting as the Club's Hon. Secretary. All correspondence should be addressed: Mr R.J. Bagshaw, 56, Ponsford Road, Knowle Bristol. 4.

BATS

by J.W. Ifold.

As part of the research into the habits of bats, a large number have been ringed in the Mendip caves. The bats are marked with a metal ring bearing letters and a number on one wing. Those most likely to be encountered on Mendip bear the letters U.B.S., having been affixed by the Bristol University. Anyone seeing a bat is asked to make a note of the following details:Letters and numbers on ring (if any) a. Name of the cave and part of the cave where found b. Date and time of find. c. There were This information should be sent to Mervyn Hannam or John Ifold, who would also be glad to receive offers of help in this fascinating work. ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD A RING BE REMOVED FROM A BAT. There are a number of books dealing with bats in the Club library.

Club Library.

There are still too many Club library books missing. So will members please have a good look in their attics and coal cellars, in the case of lady members in their bottom drawers to see if they can find any of the missing books.

The Library needs a copy of ‘Cave Hunting’ by Boyd Dawkins. Any member who knows where a copy is to be obtained should let the librarian know as soon as possible, giving details of the price asked and the book’s condition.

The library contains a number of Six-inch maps covering most of the Mendip area. These maps have been marked to show most of the known caves and possible digs. Members knowing of others, or finding new sites are asked to give full details to the librarian so that these maps can be kept up to date. The maps are of course available for inspection by members, as are a number of assorted maps of the British Isles.

The library catalogue is as follows…..

Caving…...(in this section, recent acquisitions only are listed) Cave Science Nos. 15 and 16 C.R.G. Newsletters 1 t o 11 U.B.S.S. Proc. Vol. 5 No.3, Vol. 6 No.2 The Caves of Texas N.S.S. Cave Dwelling Bats in S. Devon.

Gower Caves Parts 1 and 11 Allen and Butler.

Subterranean Climbers P. Chevalier.

Cave Men Old and New N. Casteret.

British Bats B. Vessy-Fitzgerald.

Irish Cave Excavation J.E. Coleman.

Yorkshire Caves and Pots Vol. 11 A. Mitchell.

The Cave Book C. Hendrix.

Geology Bristol Naturalists Society.

Wells and Springs of Herefordshire

BB52/3 Climbing Climbing Mount Everest G. Ingle Finch.

Climbing in Britain J.E. Barford.

The Welsh Three Thousands T. Fairbank Snow on the Equator H.W. Tilman.

Epic of Mount Everest Sir F. Younghusband.

Rock Climbing and Mountaineering C. Brunning Photography The All-in-One Camera Book Archaeology Early Britain Jaquette Hawkes.

Man the Toolmaker K.P. Oakley.

Roman Folkestone S.E. Winbolt.

Bristol and Glos. Arch, Soc. report 1926.

Britain B.C. S.E. Winbolt.

Acrhaeology (cont.)

Pyramids of Egypt I.E.S. Edwards Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History Brief History of Ancient Times British Association Handbook, 1898 Malmesbury Short History Prehistoric and Roman Britain Excavations at Lea Mills Bristol Museum Report, 1948 and 1950 Cardiff Museum Guide, 1945 Ancient Monuments of Great Britain Ancient Monuments of Northern England Prehistoric London E.O. Gordon Anthropology Discovery of Man S. Casson Descent of Man C. Darwin Historical Sociology V. Brelsford Reconsideration of the Gally Hill Skeleton K.P. Oakley Dental Anatomy and Physiology Touring and Walking Somerset M. Trauser Rambles and Walking in Somerset Ward Lock Guides‌Dartmoor, North Cornwall, South West Scotland, New Forest, Wye Valley.

Blagdon on Mendip Cotswolds Murry Somerset Derbyshire Penguin Bath, Bristol and Forty Miles Around Tourough Guides South Devon and Cornwall Tourough Guides Somerset Highways and Byways Barret Gloucestershire J.D. Meath Hike Tracks of the West H.F. Lock West Country Hostelling Y.H.A. Land of Wales Lewis Unbeaten Tracks A and B Barnes _______________________________________ MENDIP RESCUE ORGANISATION All members are reminded that the Mendip Rescue Organisation may be put into operation with the least possible delay by telephoning Wells 2197.

BB52/4 G.B. Restrictions The Club has been informed by the U.B.S.S. that the Axbridge Urban District Council have imposed further restrictions on G.B. Consequently no-one should visit this cave, take photographs there or publish information concerning it without U.B.S.S. permission. For the present, however all arrangements to visit the cave should be made through Mervyn Hannam.

Inquiry Don Coase would be very glad to learn who has been digging at the top of the Bone Chamber in Stoke Lane. Any news?

PLANNING A MOTOR-CYCLE TRIP IN FRANCE

R.A. Setterington

This article is written with the intention of helping you to plan a motor-cycle trip in France. Most of the remarks will also apply to trips anywhere on the continent and by any means of transport.

There are four necessary requirements for a successful trip, namely, 1. A bike which can be relied on not to break down. This does not necessarily mean a new one, and in fact it is better to take a bike that is a year or two old (D.A.C. please note!) than one that still has its initial snags to be ironed out. The bike should be well run-in as there are stretches of road where it is possible to travel flat out for distances up to twenty miles, while in other places it may be necessary to climb gradients of about 1 in 8 for 10 miles or so.

2. A well-tried companion or companions. It is surprising how somebody who is normally good company for a week-end can get on one’s nerves when there is practically no-one else to talk to for a fortnight.

3. Some money. About £25 will cover a fortnight, living on the cheap. This includes the crosschannel transport charges shared between two. Get 5,000 francs and four £5 traveller’s cheques from your bank; you will need your passport for this.

4. A plan of campaign. It is advisable to have some object in view for the trip, such as visiting a dozen or so commercial caves in various parts of the country. Arrange a tour that at a reasonable mileage speed, within the limits of the bike, will take about two days longer than you have available. If you find you are running short of time, you can always cut the trip short and beat it northwards, but I can imagine nothing more like a dead beat when arriving at Boulogne or Calais with two or three days in hand.

It is also a great help if one has a working knowledge of the language. School Certificate French is quite good enough, and it would be possible to get along with a phrase book, but this is not much fun.

Three or four months before the trip is due to start, confirm the date with your companion(s) and then write to you’re A.A. or R.A.C. office and ask for transport across the channel and back on the necessary dates. They will send you one large form to fill out which will cover everything. Fill it up, making sure that the data in your log book are the same as the actual frame and engine numbers on the bike. At the same time it is advisable to ask for a general road map of France so that you can get a rough idea of the distance to be covered. Agree with your companion on the places to be visited and then ask the A.A. or the R.A.C. for the ‘Cartes Michelins’ covering them.

A week or so before you are due to sail the A.A. or the R.A.C. will send you all the necessary gen, forms etc., and a bill, but not the boat tickets, which are collected at the port office when you show a receipt for the cash paid.

About three weeks before you sail, start going over the bike with a fine tooth comb. Check everything, fix on panniers and G.B. plates, if not already on, and finally finish up with a decoke.

It is quite easy, with a little common sense, to put all one person’s gear into one pannier, and to put a tent and two sleeping bags across the top of the panniers, carrying pyjamas as well in case of bad weather. One pannier will, carry all the tools and spares you can't carry in the normal tool box, a towel, washing, shaving and tooth-cleaning equipment, swimming trunks, one set of pyjamas, three pairs of socks, two shirts, four handkerchiefs, one shoe brush and the maps, guide books, passport and other paperwork. Carry your camera at the ready, not in the pannier. Don't forget that the French roads can be very rough at times and sturdy panniers are essential, especially of a solid frame model. If you are not used to travelling long distances, make quite sure that both the driving and pillion positions are as comfortable as possible.

As a final preliminary, get an insurance policy for the continent. This will cost two or three ponds, but is well worth for the added peace of mind it affords. (a etre continue dans notre prochain)