Belfry Bulletin Number 124

No. 124

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EDITORIAL This is going to be very brief note this month. In fact, in the ordinary course of events, there would have been no editorial at all – there being nothing to comment on but seeing that we only have one article to print this month perhaps this will not come amiss.

As we stated when we took over this job, if we got a shortage of articles and contributions, we would just press on by ourselves. This has occurred this month, and the following B.B. is the result. This is just a gentle hint.

“Alfie” _______________________________________________________________________________________

APRIL COMMITTEE MEETING Owing to the unavoidable absence of the Hon. Sec., no new members were admitted to the club.

Business dealt with included the decision to sell the old duplicator, the purchase of some wood from the Shepton Mallet Caving Club for the new Belfry kitchen renovations, an approach to be made to the National Smelting Co. about the possibility of getting some slag for the approach to the Belfry, the construction of some more standard ladders for club use, and the provision of a suitable memorial for Don Coase.

Disciplinary action was taken by the committee against those taking part on a Swildons trip on the 21st February. A letter of apology has been sent by the Caving Secretary to the M.R.O. _______________________________________________________________________________________

NOTICES Annual Subs.

The Hon. Sec. wishes to remind all members that their subs should now be in. For the paltry sum of 12/6 you can remain a member of this club for a whole year! Life Membership, at five guineas (note the high class currency used) is also getting popular.

Coach Trip to Clovelly We now have a club member who is a fully qualified coach driver! Any club members and/or friends interested in a coach trip to Clovelly, returning via Lynmouth and West Somerset coast road on Whit Sunday please contract Alfie. There are about 20 spares seats. Coach will pick up and return to various points in Bristol and also at the Belfry by request. The fare will be 19/6, and the driver will be the inimitable Dave Hunt.

Climbing Guide.

A new publication, Climbing Guide to Dartmoor and South West Devon, has been received from the Royal Naval Ski M.C. and is now in the club library.

This guide contains descriptions of climbs on the Dewar stone rocks, 8 miles from Plymouth, Sheep's Tor, Vixen Tor, Morwell Rocks, Hay Tor group and other Tors on Dartmoor. A visit to these cliffs makes an interesting weekend. The guide is 8/- per copy and may be obtained direct from the printers:Holbrook and Son Ltd., 154-5 Queen St., Portsmouth.

Change of Address R.J. Bagshaw, our Hon. Sec., will be moving in mid May. His address will be: -

699 WELLS ROAD, BRISTOL 4

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No. 124

Summer Holidays Ian would like to know if any other members were interested in a Youth Hostel tour of North West Scotland towards the end of June. Write to Ian Dear, 78 Reforne, Portland, Dorset.

Annual General Meeting and Dinner Since no replies were received in answer to the request in the last B.B., the committee have decided that these shall in future be held on the FIRST SATURDAY IN OCTOBER each year. The next one will be this coming October. Details will be announced later.

Speleodes A 10 inch long playing record will shortly be made of the second, third, fourth and fifth of these poems.

These are tales of the bloke who put carbide in his beer, the digging machine, the type who made artificial stalactites and the tale of the bloke who found caving dead easy. It is also hoped to include Oliver Lloyd giving some of his songs to guitar accompaniment. The records people want an idea of the number of copies that are likely to be sold, so if you want one – the price will be about 25/- - please get in touch with Alfie. It will probably not be possible to re-order once the first lot have been sold. _______________________________________________________________________________________

B.E.C. ABROAD News of some of our roving members.

DENNIS KEMP left London airport on Friday 11th of April, bound for Karachi. He is one quarter of a British four man expedition who are going out there to climb the Biafo Glacier in the Karakoram range in North Pakistan, and from thence climb and survey any likely looking peak. Before leaving, Dennis said that he intended keeping his eyes open for caves in any of the limestone regions through which he passes, so there is a possibility of a B.E.C. caving trip in the Himalayas at some time in the future. Better start saving now!

TOM FLETCHER, who came home from Tanganyika early last June for a spell of leave, and promptly went off on a Greenland Expedition, has now returned to Africa. As he was only in the country for about a week before sailing to tropical lands once more, we were unable to take him on a long promised trip to the bottom of Cuthbert’s. How about a write up on the arctic trip Tom? ANGUS and MAGGIE INNES, whom older club members will remember, and who left about two years ago to travel round the world on a motorbike, are now in New Zealand. We have no details of how they managed to run the bike over all that water!

Rumour hath it that JOHN LAMB will be returning soon from Canada. TONY RICH is in regular contact with several members, and we should have some more news soon.

We should like to thank the members who have supplied the above information. _______________________________________________________________________________________

CAVING LOG

5th April 7th April 13th April

19th April 20th April 26th April

Goatchurch and Rod’s Pot. Leader ‘Mo’ Cuthbert’s – trip to sump. Leader ‘Mo’ Vole Hole. Sinking of third shaft begun. Alfie and Jill.

Cuthbert’s. Maypole Survey. Survey taken out of Maypole Series and through to Upper Traverse Chamber. Leader R. King.

Swildon’s Four. Leader Ken Dawe (S.M.C.C.) Cuthbert’s. Maypole survey completed. Leader R. King Vole Hole. Shaft No. 2. Alfie and Jill Cuckoo Cleeves. Leader Mike Wheadon Cuthbert’s. Photography and dig at first chain.

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EXPLORING BY CAMERA ..... or how not to take pictures round corners, by Alfie.

I have often wondered whether it would be possible to push a camera round the odd corner in a cave which is too small for the human bod (especially mine!) to wriggle round, and when the film is developed – revealing no doubt some huge chamber richly encrusted with formations, it would then be a worth while matter to call in fuor Price to blast a way in.

On the face of it, the thing looked easy, so easy in fact that I have been tempted to try it. First, a peculiar device was constructed, consisting of a lot of assorted bits of steel rod, with adjustable joints here and there; a clamp for the camera and flashgun, and a whacking long lead for firing the bulb when the crucial moment arrived.

The next stage was to choose some suitable cave where there was an ‘orrid ‘ole too small to admit the human frame. Luckily my partner in crime on this expedition knew of a cave in the Bristol area which would fill the bill, so without further ado we sallied forth.

The camera was set up on the end of the aforementioned system of rods and joints, the shutter opened, and the camera slowly worked into the ‘orrid ‘ole by the aid of a very dim light. At once snag number one became apparent. The ‘orrid '’le, too small to admit the human frame as promised, was also too small to admit the camera and flashgun assembly as mounted. The camera was slowly pulled back again while two brains worked at high pressure to find solution to this baffling problem. At last it came! Like all great inventions, this one was simple. We turned the camera through a right angle on its clamp and it now went through easily.

Snag Number two, which consisted of the question of what direction to point the camera in when we had. got it round the corner, was partly solved by the solution to Snag No.1. We could only push the wretched thing in one way anyhow. This we did, and when we found that it was swinging free in space the other side of the ‘orrid ‘ole, we solved the rest of the problem by the simple expedient of ignoring it and just applying an electrical contact to the end of the cable. This should, of course, have caused the flashbulb to ignite. The camera was slowly pulled back to see what had gone wrong with the bulb. A loose connection was quickly diagnosed and the camera slowly lowered once more into the ‘orrid ‘ole.

In order to understand the cause of the next accident, it is necessary to describe the way an electrical connection was made at the operator's end of the cable. This consisted of touching two wires together which had been carefully kept apart while the camera was being slowly lowered in. As a result of the use of this ingenious method, the bulb fired this time when the camera was being slowly lowered in. Once again, we were back to square one.

After many such amusing incidents, an exposure was finally made, and Jill and Myself waited impatiently for the thing to come back from Kodak’s. Imaging our surprise when we found that a correct exposure had resulted! Admittedly, it only showed a rock face very much out of focus over most of the area of the frame, but it's the principle of the thing that counts!

Seriously though, we have found that it is possible to estimate the distance away of objects by noting the focus, and on one side of the frame is a definite indication of a way on. We think the method may be of use, and have learnt a lot, the hard way, about the design of means of holding and moving the camera.

Editor's Note (same bloke as Author) After having written the above, Kangy gave me a cutting from the Times of April 21st. It refers to the exploration of unopened tombs by Italian archaeologists by a similar method. A small hole is first drilled in the top, and the equipment is lowered in.

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COOKING FOR CAVERS With the recent introduction of more and better cooking facilities at the Belfry, it is now possible for the inhabitants to enjoy a more varied and interesting diet. With this in mind, we publish a short selection of recipes from that interesting and unusual book, “Cooking for Cavers”, shortly to be offered for sale to the public at a fantastic price.

Baked Beans a la Hobbs.

Ingredients: 1 tin Baked Beans 1 bottle Coate’s Triple Vintage Cider.

Method:

Stagger from bed. Cast bleary eye round kitchen. Locate ingredients. Imbibe sufficient liquid from bottle to find tin opener. Open tin. Imbibe more liquid to fortify constitution. Wait until floor becomes steady before lighting gas. Catch sight of beans. Close eyes, grope for bottle.

Swallow. Repeat as necessary. Turn beans out carefully into a saucepan. Finish bottle to settle stomach. Throw beans into rubbish bin.

Shepton Tea. (This is suitable for Belfry residents only.)

Ingredients: 1 motorcycle 1 Thirst 1 Idle Nature Method:

Start motorcycle and allow to warm gently. Add pillion passenger to taste. Travel at moderate rate to the Shepton Hut. Supervise tea making, beating where necessary.

Cuthbert’s Surprise Ingredients: 6 assorted tins of feeod.

Method:

Remove labels and shuffle tins. Select three tins at random. Open and pour contents into a saucepan. Bring to boil and serve.

By following this recipe, it is possible to enjoy an interesting variety of dishes, many of the combinations being refreshingly novel.

On no account should a tin of Carbide be included in this recipe.

Policeman’s Lot Ingredients: 1 Coke Stove Parafin to light Any breakfast materials Method:

Pour paraffin into frying pan and light stove by sliding under coke. When coke has caught, remove frying pan, add cooking fat to taste and place pan on cooking stove with breakfast materials. Light gas. Dowse resulting flames with washing up water and throw burnt clothing on stove. Replace pan on cooking stove and cook breakfast until quite black. Remove from gas and allow to cool in pan. Beat carbonised breakfast into fat and use to black lead stove.

Gaze hungrily at shining black coke stove and wait for Hunter’s to open. _______________________________________________________________________________________ CAVING REPORTS

Caving Report No.3, on the Construction of Lightweight Tackle, by Bryan Ellis, will be out this month.

Price will be fixed when costs of production are known.