Belfry Bulletin Number 214

Monthly Journal Of The Bristol Exploration Club

Vol. XIX No.12

Editors Notes It is custom at this time of year to endeavour to produce a B.B. of somewhat larger than normal size, and we are pleased to be equalling, and in some way exceeding the record this year. A forty page B.B. has, in fact, appeared before, but not a forty page B.B. containing nothing but reading matter as distinct from the usual four or five pages of names and addresses which have been until now included in the Christmas B.B. It is also heartening to note that this year the main problem has been now to find room for all the articles which have been submitted. We have a good variety as well and something to suit most tastes. A climbing article; travel; a little comic relief; the write up on the official club trip to the Dachstein area last summer; a scientific article and a caving/archaeological article as well as several smaller items.

This B.B. is also being used to experiment with a new type and grade of paper. If this proves a success, we hope to go over entirely to this paper for the 1966 B.B. which will be the twentieth volume. There are other improvements coming, but in line with our new policy of not winding the neck out, northing more will be said in anticipation.

It remains to wish all club members, all our readers and all cavers everywhere….

“A Very Happy Christmas” “Alfie” _______________________________________________________________________________________

The Year’s Climbing The proper way to present this would be to have the Mountaineering Year illustrated, because the greatest impact from this year’s activity was visual. There was enough good weather to give fine views and walks and the opportunity to climb satisfying routes. Many trips were also made other than those described in this summary which is concerned with club meets.

The end of January brought the usual crop of enthusiast to North Wales, to the Peterborough Hut in the hope of deep satisfying snow. It wasn’t quite like that. Enough snow lay around to encourage a party to look for a suitable gully below Glyder Fawr but the soft state of the snow caused attention to be concentrated instead on Bennett, plodding around on a pair of skis (on his shoulders) and Kingston glissading (on his face). Phil’s glissade was a gracefully executed classic as he successively threw away his ice axe and then finished in a flurry of head rolls. Is nothing too difficult for Kingston? Dermot could not join us because he was buying boots in Bethesda.

Tryfan was ascended en masse the next day. A perfect day. Part way Eddie Welch and Mark James left the main party and climbed the North Buttress. The others, Ann Farrington, Mo Marriott, Wilton, Kingston and Kangy went on up the North Ridge. Bright sun with blue skies accentuated by white snow and a foreground of clean rough rock satiated the eye. Meanwhile Titas practiced glacier lassitude in the van.

Page 2 A Wye Valley trip was made in mid April. Base camp was, very pleasantly, by the river at the Biblins.

Notably, two interesting routes, not to be found in the guide, were made by Roy Bennett on the upstream Seven Sisters Pinnacle. The wetness set in on Sunday and the party, after glooping at a few climbs and holes, squelched home.

During Whitsun, the opportunity was taken to combine a Caving and Climbing meet. Climbing was mostly on the Dewerstone near Plymouth. A note from Roy Bennett reads “….some of the cavers were introduced to the delights of granite – big jugs – but not too many. Zot lost his teeth on a climb.” Tho that wath my Zot wath thaying “Theckthy” tho thurlily. Climbs were also done on the tors and as a grand finale a large party walked in pleasant weather via Wistmans Wood to the Beardown Man. Conditions for the meet on the 17th – 18th July were extremely fine and this resulted in a multiplicity of climbs being done. This was the first attempt at a combined meet with the Insmen Climbing Club. On Saturday, the Insmen set off very early for the East Face of Tryfan, Grooved Arête in particular. The B.E.C., nine strong, made for the less crowded precincts of the Carnddau climb on Crag-yr-Isfa where Roy Bennett and Mark James did Pinnacle Wall whilst Steve Tuck, Kangy, Eddie Welch, Bob Sell, Flicka Nash and Phil Derrick struggled up the moss covered Avalanche Gully to reach and climb South Buttress, which has two interesting pitches at the start. We rendezvoused at the summit. The majority then followed a most interesting and enjoyable walk to the top of Carnedd Llewellyn and thence to Carnedd Dafydd, Pen-yrOlwen, Rhaedir Ogwen and back along the road and track to the Gweren-y-gof Isaf campsite. The distance covered was twelve miles and some discomfort was caused by lack of water on the Carneddau.

The party split up soon after Carnedd Llewellyn as Kangy and Mark descended to the bottom of the Black Laddeer, Ysgolion Duon, Jacob’s Ladder which could not be identified as it was getting late, they ascended Western Gully – a first class evenly graded V. Diff. The Sunday was another remarkably beautiful day and the B.E.C. and the Insmen combined to swarm all over Dinas Cromlech. Here novice was encouraged by tiger and tiger was encouraged by warm dry rock and Flying Buttress, Parchment Passage, Neb’s Crawl, Horsemans, Spiral Stairs, Holly Buttress and Sabre Cut provided enjoyable finishes to a marvellous two days.

Tradition is perhaps to be respected, but William’s Isaf is really getting too noisy on Friday nights. On the October meet, seizing a break in the weather after a sleepless night, Mark James and Kangy climbed the Main Wall of Cryn Las most of which was suffering from leaks. A high spot in the climb was the great cheer from members of the Climbers Club that greeted the peg hammered in by a Brummy and left at the stance before the crux. The cautious lad who won applause later managed to find room for about a dozen runners on that pitch – and he still had a dozen left!

Main Wall was followed by Rectory Chimney in an attempt to join the bonnets, Tuck, Welch, Ron Pepper and Phil Derrick who had climbed the Parsons Nose. Sunday dawned bright and the combined party made individual attempts on Moel Siabod. Pepper, James and Kangy climbed several hundred feet of slabs to the right of the Great gully in the East Face. The climb is worth identifying because it is not in the literature. It starts at the short chimney in the lower left corner of the sweep of slabby rock which is the face to the right of the Great Gully. The game is then to stay close to the left edge. The others who had enjoyed views from the East Ridge were joined at the summit.

The last meet of note was in the Brecon Beacons in November. Accommodation was arranged at the Storey Arms for a dozen and from there a walk was planned to Pen y Fan and Pen y Fawr. This is an easy route in sunshine but with the visibility down to twenty yards, compass work was required. The rain ceased as the party gained height, but after contouring round the hill and gaining the crest of the ridge near the monument, the full blast of the wind was felt. Movement required considerable effort and hair rapidly acquired an armour of tiny crystals. The flat summit was gained, a photograph was taken and plans to descend via another ridge were abandoned in order to get out of the wind. More sheltered slopes were followed to the valley. High spirits wrestled and rolled down the hill to the roaring fire at the Storey Arms.

The supper was excellent and plenty of it. Afterwards a pub was found and the rest of the evening passed in quiet contented mood as tired muscles relaxed. Two more members turned up for the Sunday walk and after a rather disappointing breakfast, the meet started from Crickhowell across the Black Mountains.

Page 3 Again the wind was fierce with a temperature lower than Saturday’s, but every now and then the sun broke through. Unlike Pen y Fan, there is no escape from the wind on the smooth plateau-like ridges of the Black Mountains but because there was no mist and the rather boggy ground was firm and frozen, the walking was invigorating. The views were superb with only the walkers to appreciate them.

On the descent, the party split into small; groups chatting together – something not possible on the ridge, and walked down a wide grassy path to reach the cars.

January, April, June, July, October and November. These have been the popular times for meets and the 1966 meets will follow this pattern. The need has arisen to cater for the mountaineering novice so a deliberate efforts will be made to formulate a new programme. This should cover ability and weather conditions to enable everyone to get the most out of that most precious experience, the climbing weekend.

Thanks are due to the efforts that Roy Bennett has made to organise and arrange accommodation for the meets and also to climb with newcomers.

Compiled by Kangy during December from reports by Phil Kingston, Eddy Welch, Ron Pepper and Roy Bennett. _______________________________________________________________________________________ P e r s o n a l . .

Whilst still on the subject of climbing, we must offer our congratulations to Simon Davies, aged six, who seconded Fred and Kangy on Knight’s Climb at Cheddar recently. ______________________________________________________________________________________

Caving

Meet

………..by John Manchip.

At various times between mid-day and halfway though the afternoon, parties left the Belfry to visit Coral Cave and Axbridge Ochre Cavern. Joan Bennett, Eddie Welch, Phil, Bob Bagshaw and myself set off for the Ochre Mine at about 12.30.

Following Dave Irwin’s directions for an easy route to the entrance left us wandering around the hill some two hundred yards to the west of the mine. At this point Joan left us to walk to Coral Cave. I think we were all very tempted to follow her, as the weather was really beautiful. However, we had the good fortune to meet a local a little later, who pointed out the way.

Entering the mine about two o’clock, we went up to the cave and explored this in a few minutes, then spent another ten looking for more. Descending to the mined section and walking to the end, we observed that the ‘mining” consisted of scooping out the ochre from a natural rift, no rock cutting being necessary.

After fighting our way out of the cave, we changed and left for Coral.

Arriving there at dusk, we met Dave Irwin’s party just going down and so formed a party with them. An interesting time was spent in the cave examining the formations in the coral, e.g. tins cemented to the wall by flow – two bicycle frames, one milk churn and much assorted ironmongery. Sampling the delights of the pitch again, we returned to the Belfry for a meal and a wash – a fine end to an enjoyable day. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Our next article is rather topical at present – although strictly non-political! Seriously, we thought that a travel article might help to dispel the British winter….

Page 4

A

Trip

to

the

Falls

….by George Honey.

It was one of those long hot summer days you get in South Africa with not a cloud in the sky when we set out from Devon, a little town on the Transvaal. The usual evening rain had not come that day and we had an easy drive to Pretoria some seventy miles away. Of course, we reached the town just as everybody was coming out from work, but we got through without too much delay. From Pretoria, to Warmbad is about sixty miles across the flat, high veld plain. Here and there we passed small villages and farms, but for most of the way there was just a view of miles of dry grass and small thorn trees – bush land. However, the Zephyr I was driving simply ate up the miles and we reached Warmbad just as it was getting dark. We had a quick coffee there to let it get properly dark (it takes about fifteen minutes in those parts) and then on to the border at Beit Bridge. We had hoped to cross into Rhodesia and get as far as Bulawayo that night, but we soon found that this was not to be as a line of cars greeted us as we drove to the custom post. The border closed at 8 o’clock. After some nosh at the local café, we did as everybody else and went to sleep in the car.

At first light, everybody was up and we were soon through customs and into Rhodesia. We got to Bulawayo at midday and this proved to be a modern, well developed town with lots of new bungalows in the suburbs.

After some food at a road house (which was a copy of a medieval castle) we decided to try to reach the falls that night, so we took to the road again and soon the bush closed in and the road became two strips of asphalt each about a yard wide. It was surprisingly easy to drive on except when you wanted to pass somebody.

Fortunately we only met one other car in the whole 230 mile trip, so all was well. We then came onto a new highway, and we were driving along in fine style when we passed the wrecks of two new cars. We were later to learn that these had hit, or had been hit, by a herd of Kulu – a lesson that wild life was very close and to be reckoned with.

We reached the falls just as it was getting dark. It’s easy to see them from about five miles away, as there is a cloud over them in otherwise a clear sky. When we got to Victoria, we found that all the hotels were so full that it meant another night in the car. However, it’s quite warm there and there is a good rest camp where one can get a shower and a shave, so it’s quite pleasant really. There is a superb restaurant where the food is excellent and quite cheap which almost overlooks the falls.

The next day, we were proper weegees and took many pictures. The falls are more than a mile across, as the Zambezi is quite wide before it falls 350 feet into the gorge below. The gorge itself is quite narrow – only two hundred yards or so but there are a number of cross gorges where the falls used to be. As the river finds a new cross fault in the rock, the falls move suddenly upstream. They are now having their fifth go!

The map on the next page will give you some idea of the situation.

There are some interesting routes to do. One – the Knife Edge – is about three feet wide and you get very wet in the process. A canoe trip to Livingstone Island gets you wetter still if you miss it. On the west side of the falls, the incessant spray causes a tropical rain forest to grow. The guidebook advises you to take a raincoat, but we had a cheap shower when we walked through it. After this free bath, we walked back to the rest camp and had a long talk with the owner of an art shop. His wife did the most beautiful paintings of native faces and places.

That night we stayed in Zambia, being received by a charming coloured gent at the frontier. The waters of the Zambezi are wonderfully clear above the falls and we had a good wash in them – although there are supposed to be crocs and hippos about. Then to a native stall where we did battle with the vendors. They will try to sell you anything. For example, a genuine assegai for an English shirts. We wanted our shirts, so we left them grinning and shouting, “Boss, boss, you buy my spear and I will give you a shield as well.”

Back to the customs post and we showed our passports. The Rhodesian customs officer saw them and said, “I say! You’re English, aren’t you?”, “Righty O chaps, this way.” He let us through with the sincerity and charm that all Rhodesians seem to posses.

We decided to go through the Wanki Game Reserve on the way back. Most of the parks in Africa are areas of country where the game is preserved and concentrated. Nearly every sort of game can be seen and it’s a photographer’s paradise. That night, we stayed in an hotel in Det. This was a typical English pub.

Yes, such places do exist right in the middle of the bush! You just walk in and ask for a pint of best bitter and you’re right back in England.

Page 5

After a riotous booze up and a good night’s sleep, we drove to the border at Beit Bridge and reached it in time to cross back into South Africa. The monumental forms we had to fill in didn’t deter us, and, under the heading of ‘What is the racial origin of your parents?’ I put down ‘Eskimo-African & Chilean- Chinese.’ In answer to the question ‘How much fund have you?’ I put ’50 Yen, 2d.m, 4 Kroner, 2 Zambian Shillings and a packet of fags.’ They obviously couldn’t read them as, after a delay of half an hour or so we got through.

Our comments on leaving Rhodesia were, “It’s an Ace Place.” _______________________________________________________________________________________

Caving Meets March 13th. Mendip. August/Longwood System.

April 8th – 11th (Easter) Yorkshire. Including Grange Rigg & G.G. May 28th – 30th (Whitsun) Yorkshire. Including Mungo Gill/Stump Cross trip.

July. AUSTRIA. Dates to be announced.

August 24th. Stoke Lane.

Page 6 At about this time of the year, it has been the endeavour of the B.B. to try to bring a little culture into the otherwise drab lives of its readers. Older members will no doubt remember the Rubaiyat of Omar Obbs and the Norse Saga of Berewulf. It is therefore with justifiable pride that we were able to announce this year that our researches into the depth of English Lit. have unearthed a hitherto unpublished portion of Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’. This fragment is thought by scholars to be an earlier version of part of the Prologue which Chaucer was later forced to abandon by persons unknown who wished to suppress this early reference to the B.E.C. Although the more difficult aspects of the spelling and pronunciation of the text have been removed (final e’s are not sounded for example) we realise that it still makes difficult reading. However, it must be remembered that ‘you can’t not ‘ave instant culture’….

A cavynge ladde ther was, a stryplynge he Yit wel y-versde in spelyologye.

A lampe hadde he of bras upon hys hatte Y-broyderde on hys cloke ther was a batte.

Hys bootes grete of lethir on hys feete Al dubbynde wer, and sette with nayls complete.

Around hys wayst hadde he a nylone lyne And from thys gerful hyng a karabyne.

As wel coude he pleye on a giterne In al Meydeepe, nas brewhouse ne taverne Hadde he ne visitede, and dronk hys wyn Til dun he fel, y-dronken lyk a swyn.

Now turned oure hoste unto thys caver mery And seyde “Before we goe to Caunterbury And tells oure tayles wonderful and longe We al woude lyk from you a mery songe.”

Thys caver then bethoughte himself to singe Ne wishynge in that plaas to she whys rynge So strucke of herynge and of leccherie Then alle setde when he hys songe hadde sunge “He hath a rotten, fowle and yvel tunge.

We al mst leewe thys cavynge ladde byhynde For eke he hath a wikkyd twystede mynde.”

“Now by Seynt Cuthberd!” spake thatte caver bolde, “Righte ribalde tayles will ye al hawe tolde Upon youre wiage. If I go alonge Wyth you we will have many a Hunters songe And mayk oure way by ridge-walks on the doune Thatte runs to Caunterbury from London toune.

Oure Clymbynge Secce will wryte, for al to see, A notys of our tryppe in the B.B. And diverse other cavers joyne oure ranks.”

“Agrede!” seyed every oon, “You have oure thankes And, if you come to Caunterbury, we Wil al applye to joyne the B.E.C.” Editor’s Note: It seems doubtful whether any other cavynge – sorry, caving club can claim such an early reference in English Literature! _______________________________________________________________________________________ Speleological Fallout.

In return for the use which cavers make of aluminium alloys developed for aircraft, cavers have been able to contribute towards the safety of the Concord supersonic airliner.

Page 7 Lightweight caving ladders were lent by the Bristol Exploration Club to the Filton Division of the British Aircraft Corporation to help in evaluating escape techniques. From the ground, the Concord wings are twenty feet up. Escape hatches are positioned over the wings and this means that some controlled method of descent which can be stored on the aircraft is essential. The ladders were tried as a possibility because they are light, strong and, strange though this may seem to a caver, able to resist heat.

R.S. King. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Austria – 1965 by Dave Irwin and Joan and Roy Bennett.

The Following article is not intended to be a day to day report of the various activities, but a general description of the visit to the Dachstein Plateau and the caves visited under the fine guidance of Helmuth Planer and Wolgang Hvemer.

The reconnaissance of the Dachstein Plateau produced several ‘finds’ – none being extensive which probably are already known to the Austrians.

The notes made by various members of the party showed that most of the caves found were shafts, all in the immediate area of the Simony Hutte and the Wiesberghaus (1½ hrs. from the Simony Hutte). The average depth of the shafts was 40ft. ending in stone of clay chokes. There was one exception; Shaft No.7 was bottomed at a depth of over 100ft. The shafts appeared to be mainly formed by vadose action, whereas the short caves rarely over 6ft. long were mainly phreatic.

The systems noted were immature in appearance but the number of holes in the karts indicated that the lower reaches of limestone must have considerable quantities of water collecting to form large cave systems.

The first days search involved two parties. Party 1 searched along the large doline and scree slopes of the Tauben Kogel and found several shafts (Area ‘C’ on Fig.4). At the base of the Tauben Kogel a very large phreatic tube was inspected but was found to slope upwards and terminated in a rift that could not be entered.

The second party inspected that smaller doline (Area A on Fig.4) to the west of the Simony Hutte and found several shafts (all choked at about 20 Feet) and short caves. One of the caves contained a very fine ice grotto made up of crystal clear ice pendants and ice curtains. There appeared to be little melting taking place although the air temperature outside was probably 65OF. A snow block at the entrance was probably the agent cooling the air entering the little system.

Shaft No.7 was visited the next day and proved to be over 100ft. total depth (area B Fig.4). The shaft, on inspection, was some 20ft. deep with a steeply sloping bedding plane inclined at 40O heading approx. south west. This led to a rift passage that ended in a 20ft. pitch into a bell shaped chamber. From this chamber a meandering rift led to a second and final chamber. (See Fig.2).

Later that day a party of 5, undeterred by the pouring rain, had a further look for sinks along the path leading to the Dachstein Ridge. It had been reported by a member of the party that he had noted a particular active sink. Several sink holes were found, and considerable quantities of water were seen to be poring into them. It was extremely interesting to watch the water flowing down the steeply vadose trenches all leading to larger trenches, with the water finally sinking in small shafts leading under snow fields but never appearing at their lower edges.

On the second day a group visited the series of large dolines north of the Wiesberghaus. The intention was to locate an ice cave reputed to be finer than the Dachstein Ice Cave, but they met with no success (Area D Fig.4).

However, many entrances were found including a 35ft. deep double shaft that ended in a tight extension at the bottom. It soon became clear to the party that this level was more promising then the higher levels near the glacier but, time and descending cloud made further inspection inadvisable.

Page 8 During discussions that followed it was generally felt that we needed more information about the area, and that the likelihood of finds were much better at the lower levels near the heads, or on the sides of the deep cut valleys. The higher regions nearer the retreating glacier contained only small holes as those found on the small conical peak called Schoberl, lying south west of the Simony Hutte.

A small cave in the North West side of this was reached by climbing. It consisted of a small chamber with an inaccessible chimney in the roof. Other holes were noted in the vicinity, but did not go. No draughts were noticed in any of these caves.

As a change from looking at holes a trip was taken up the local peak, the Hohe Dachstein, 3004m (nearly 10,000ft.) high. This was quite easy under the prevailing conditions and comprised a walk across a very uncrevassed glacier leading up to the rock wall of the peak. This should have made a pleasant finish to the climb, but was entire ruined by the vast amount of ironmongery, chains, stemples, etc. The party did not linger on the top because of the inclement weather. Members enjoyed some good glissading on the way down.

One cave in particular found near the Dachstein Peak was of interest as it was a small phreatic tube.

Further down form the peak two small caves in the north wall of the Neiderer Dachstein were climbed up to.

The east one had a chimney entrance full of vertical soft snow. This could be climbed to a small chamber with ice on the walls and an inaccessible chimney in the roof. The west one was a small chamber containing old snow, with no extensions. Further down the same ridge there were two rather inaccessible and unpromising looking holes. Lower still in the east face of the Neiderer Kreuse there was a much larger hole which was not visited. After leaving the glacier, the path passed east of, and close to, another hole which would have been worth another look. Nearing the hut again, a small shaft on the same side of the path as descended for about 12ft. There was an estimated 30 feet to go to what appeared to be a small chamber or passage. (See Fig.3).

From the notes made by various members there was general agreement that if parties were to return to this area then a terrific amount of digging would be required to get into anything big and that the lower reaches would pay bigger dividends.

HIRLATZHOHLE (alternatively Hierlatzhohle) (Fig.5).

Following a 9 o’clock start (central European time – not Belfry time) a short car drive led to the bottom of a heavily wooded scree slope at the base of the high and impressive Hirlats Wall. Our path to the cave entrance involved a longish (so we thought) climb up the scree slope. It was not long before certain members, sweating from head to foot, were swearing that they would never smoke another cigarette! A half hour later, after numerous stops, we arrived at the cave entrance with our guides Helmuth Planer and Wolfgang Hvemer looking as cool as when they left the cars.

The cave entrance was some 25 feet above the floor level and reached by a fixed iron ladder. The entrance was locked by a heavy iron gate, the key for it having been obtained from the proprietor of the Café Bilz at Halstatt. Soon everybody was ready, feeling more that we should go down into the valley and recuperate from the ‘exhausting’ climb than face a long caving trip.

As we entered the cave, a fresh blast of air greeted us becoming stronger as we approached the twilight zone. Here the roof dropped to a low bedding plane forcing one to grovel and manoeuvre over planks of wood thus keeping out of the cold pool of water on the right hand side. Our guides were quite surprised to find that the entrance was not still iced up. At this point the air moving out of the cave was almost gale force, blowing out the lamps and creating a miniature sea storm on the surface of the pool. After a seemingly endless delay of passing kit through the bedding plane we warmed up in a fair sized chamber with a mud covered floor. From here a long stretch of ‘narrow’ passage with a series of blind potholes in the floor led to several kilometres of sandy passage, broken frequently by potholes up to 40ft. down. Suddenly the passage became blocked by a boulder choke and a bypass through small sandy passages led to an enormous passage over a kilometre in length. The floor, strewn with boulders of varying sizes, was about 20 – 30ft. wide and the roof rarely dropping below 20 – 25ft. in height. A fork in the passage terminated this large section. To the right our way was barred by a large lake, but we were informed that this was quite short and a passage continued for quite some way the other side. The left passage involved a traverse around a deep

Page 9 vadose trench, with an active stream feeding the lake. After a few yards the sandy type of passage continued until we reached a camp site. Here a well earned smoke break was taken. It soon became apparent that the cave was generally colder than the average English cave. The ground was extremely cold to the touch, and the cave temperature varied between 3OC and 6OC in comparison with the average English temperature of 10OC. Leaving the camp site we continued to the last section of the cave. A fixed wooden ladder led to a high level passage, at first being quite small, but soon returning to the average size passage of some 10ft. wide.

This last section was particularly interesting. The ‘fill’ was a fine lime dust that was apparently not brought into the cave but was said to be formed from the continuous break-down of rock within the system. Another interesting feature was several 3” – 4” long elliptical shaped patterns on the mud surface. This, we were told, was due to the water dripping off the roof, being carried by the cave wind, and striking the soft mud surface a fairly high velocity. This section of the cave was covered by black dust that was brought in from the entrance by the wind and settled in these far regions. Apparently an annual equivalent to our gorse burning takes place high in the valley. The ash is carried down by the wind and some of it is blown into the cave. A further interesting point is that many of the boulders were noted to have scalloped marks on their faces resulting from phreatic conditions, a rare sight in Britain where most boulders have been acted upon by stream action and this in general only wears down the sharp edges.

The whole cave seemed to be phreatic in origin, as did most of the caves that we visited, with little subsequent vadose action. It seems probable that the fluctuations in temperatures in the past created large volumes of glacial and snow melt water and the caves were only active (to any great extent) during these melt periods, leaving the cave relatively inactive during winter months, and thus displaying little vadose development.

All in all, this was an impressive system, having a total length of approx. 6 kilometres of which we covered 5 kilometres each way.

It was reported later by a visitor at the Simony Hutte that a top entrance to the Hirlatz had been found recently in the form of a deep shaft, but this has not yet been verified.

RAUCHER SYSTEM (Fig.5).

About 10 miles to the north of Halstatt lies the Totes Gebirge which includes several high peaks, one being the Schonberg. In one of the ridges leading to this huge limestone mass lies the Raucher System. A short walk from the entrance is the Ischler Hutte, a mountain hut run by the Austrian Alpine Club which gave all the comforts one could wish for – particularly the wine.

The Raucher System was found some 3 to 4 years ago and has several entrances, all except one being pitches. The exception was a small hole which had been dug and blasted to achieve an easier access. This entrance was our way in, and led to steeply inclined passage, the wall of which are quite shattered by severe frost action. The angle of the passage lessened as we approach a 15 – 20ft. diameter shaft said to be some 150ft. deep. From here the passage increased in size, but the slope of the floor eased to a slight incline, only to fork into 3 smaller passages. Following the left hand one of the 3 a short crawl, with quite a chilly draught, led to a large passage terminating in an advantage point overlooking a huge chamber. This was the largest chamber in the cave several hundred feet long and about 100ft. wide. The roof appeared to be about 100ft. high. These figures are an estimate of the wall distances but the chamber extended into large ‘fingers’ leading to other series, not seen from the centre of the chamber. Its immenseness is difficult to describe, but one could barely make out the walls from the lights of a fairly large party. With the aid of ‘spot’ torches the colour of the walls appeared to be deep reddish brown streaked with white patches; which no doubt would make a fine photograph if sufficient light were available. At least three large circular shafts entered the side of the chamber.

On our first visit to the Raucher System we were taken on a general tourist trip, the first passage off the main chamber was a dead end that terminated in a 100 metre shaft; another shaft close by had been laddered (the only one of 42 shafts!) to a ledge some 150ft. down, with at least another 150ft. to the bottom. Next we went to the ‘Newlands’ off the Fledermausgang Series. Again we met with more deep shafts some at least

Page 10 30 – 40ft. in diameter and perhaps 100ft. deep, leading to smaller holes at the bottom. Although short pitches and a little crawling through phreatic tubes at the entrance to this series made the going a little tedious, the passage beyond returned to the ‘normal’ size for this system. Like the Hirlatz Cave this system is mainly phreatic with a terrific amount of sand fill. Many of the large passages displayed superb rock pendants by the hundred. At the end of the known section two members of the party found a tight and apparently deep rift. This new ground is in the form of two narrow rifts in the section beyond the traverses around two potholes. The first one was descended by climbing and led away from the known cave to the bottom of a large pothole with no way on. A small stream fell into the pot and flowed out along the floor of the rift which inclined steeply and seemed to run back under the approach passage. This was left as we did not have a lifeline with us. The second rift was roughly 20yds. further on and commenced as a sloping passage which led to another vertical rift where we were again hampered by the lack of a rope.

We returned the following day to the second, more promising rift, to find that it was climbable, but a lifeline desirable. There was a trickle in the bottom which could be followed upstream for quite some distance until the rift became too narrow. It was generally narrow anyway, and progress downstream was only possible via an awkward vertical squeeze. Beyond this point the rift was quite remarkable and consisted basically of a meandering stream cut cleft averaging 4 to 6 inches wide. It was locally enlarged along a rough horizontal line which could be followed with some difficulty and repeated small changes in level. Owing to the narrowness, the little stream soon disappeared out of sight and the roof could not be seen. The party suggested that, before the squeeze, the height was at least 50ft., possibly more.

The rift was followed for quite some way and showed little change in character, but further exploration was not possible as carbide was running low. Helmuth Planner considered it worth following as it could lead to the postulated lower level of the Raucher System. As a characteristically friendly gesture he named the B.E.C. Cleft.

A second party explored the shaft near the first pitch to the “Newlands”. Here an initial pitch of 60ft. leads to another of 25ft. with a further shaft dropping away for at least a further 60ft. Alas, the lack of tackle prevented further exploration.

Continuing our tourist trip on the first day, the party returned to the big chamber and were then shown a new extension found by Helmuth Planner, our guide. This proved to be a series of passages and chambers, although not of the size of the main passage chamber they were of impressive dimensions. Here one saw rock sculpturing at it’s finest, not only more pendants, but eyeholes and fantastic rock screens all pale pink in colour. Although the cave lacked stalagmite formations it was well decorated with ice formations in the Ice Series.

It was the luck of several members to be included in a surveying and exploration trip. Following a slow, but interesting survey near the dining room in a passage with a large quantity of fill containing many bat bones, and our only sight of vadose action in the cave, we returned to the Ice Series. Leaving the Ice Lake we chimney up an ice covered rift leading to the top of a snow choke giving access to an awkward 15ft.climb on to a 30ft. high snow cone. Towering above, a rift could be seen emitting faint rays of daylight, perhaps 100ft. or more above. After a careful descent of the snow cone we landed at the edge of a cave glacier. The chamber at this point was fairly large, the whole floor being covered with about a 20ft. layer of ice, sloping away at the afar side to a boulder pile. To the right of the snow cone a small passage led to a little complex of passages; one of which was covered with fine 1 inch long ice crystals. The climb down the glacier proved to be quite an experience for all the English party. Strange as it was to see ice in a cave, it was even more strange to see great piles of snow and to cave over it! With only two pairs of crampons between us, the unlucky ones had to hang on for dear life to a handline attached to a point at the head of the glacier, for fear of sliding perhaps 30 or 40ft. into the boulder pile at the bottom! In fact one member of the English party who was wearing crampons was the only one two slide, taking one of the Austrians with him! (Guess who?

– typist). Once at the bottom of the glacier, the way led to a series of passages displaying remnants of fine ice formations, the majority of which lay shattered on the floor. Occasionally one saw ice pendants, some up to 30ft. long, hanging precariously from the roof. It was not advisable to linger at the point in view of the recently fallen formations lying around. Apparently the formations are at their best when the melt water enters the cave in the spring where it is immediately frozen due to the cold underground conditions.

Eventually the passage ended in a 50ft. or more drop, across the top of which one had to climb. This involved an awkward manoeuvre to reach a short ladder hung there for convenience and easing the climb up

Page 11 across the top of the pitch. The higher level passage soon led to another pitch that could not be avoided, and was the farthest point reached by the Austrians in 1964. One member of the party (who was in fact our leader) had been down the pitch into the chamber beyond. Although only 60ft. deep it was one of these awkward pitches where one is alternating between free and against the rock face. At the bottom we found ourselves in quite a large chamber perhaps 100ft. long and about 50ft. wide. The roof height being at about 50ft. or so. As so much time was being consumed on the pitch by passing down rucksacks (no need for small compact ammo boxes) the first two down went off into a large passage containing several very deep shafts about 20 – 25ft. in diameter. Another was a rift thought to be some 100 metres deep and at least 70 metres above us – neither top nor bottom could be seen, even with powerful spot torches. From here the passage forked and most of the branches were explored, but these ended in deep, narrow rifts – perhaps if pushed they might go. Many large passages (Mendip size) were ignored as being too small! A branch was found leading back to a balcony in the large chamber where the main party had commenced surveying. The remainder of the English contingent explored passages at the far end of the chamber and found more massive ice flows and a rabbit warren of passages. The 12 hour trip in this part of the cave gave a completely new insight to caving.

SHOW CAVES. 1. KROPPENBRULER HOHLE. An active resurgences cave that floods to a considerable degree in the spring is the lowest of the trio of show caves. Although the entrance is large and impressive, the size (at least the public section) soon closes down to a narrow rift some 2 – 3ft. wide. Inside the entrance small boulder choked chambers are to be seen, and apparently the waters alter the cave scenery annually during the floods in the area. There then follows a long section of rift cave terminating near a stream entering on the left only to sump almost immediately. Small stal. deposits line the walls indicating a slightly higher temperature than that of the higher caves.

2. DACHSTEIN ICE CAVE. A magnificent cave who’s entrance affords a wonderful view of Lake Halstatt. There are two ways to reach the ticket office high on the mountain side. One is by cable car; the other by walking up by the mountain track. It was remarkable how few people were seen on the track, compared with the state of the cable cars. From the cable car, a longish walk led to the cave entrance. The guides, dressed in forestry uniforms, led the way through strong iron doors into a passage that increased in size, ending in a large chamber one displaying a few formations long since destroyed by the early explorers. Continuing down the passage, the main chamber was soon reached, having huge boulder piles on the far side. Soon we were climbing up again to a narrow passage blocked by a doorway. Once the door was opened one saw an archway of ice, a fine ice glacier and a 60ft. high ice wall. From here, though an ice tunnel, the party entered a magnificent chamber displaying huge ice formations, some as high as twenty feet, flows, and a mass of ice crystals covering the chamber roof.

Wondering how much there was to see, we entered another chamber where a descending staircase led to an ice chapel, a high circular chamber carved out of ice. Returning to the chamber above, we soon reached daylight by a low, wide passage. This exit is about 60ft. above the entrance and connected by a steep pathway.

3. EISRIENENWELT. (The World of the Giants). This show cave is situated in the Tennengebirge which is a rugged limestone massif to the west of the Dachstein. A mini-bus is taken up a hairy private road through the woods and deposits passengers a short distance form the cable car. This raised a further 100m metres to a small chalet/café, where one spends the time before the trip around the cave. There is then a 20min walk along a made-up path, around the cliff, to the cave entrance. The entrance is huge, being 65ft. high, and nearly as wide, and is set in the middle of a practically sheer cliff.

The show section of the cave basically consists of a long, high passage which climbs steadily up from the entrance into the mountain. There the way goes up a large ice wall which nearly reaches to the roof of the chamber. The route continues through various passages and chambers filled with beautiful ice formations. There is a memorial to Alexander Mork, one of the original explorers of the cave who was killed during the First World War. The way goes past a section of ‘glacier’ which shows lines of deposition during various years. The way back is cut through the first enormous ice wall, and although many people pass through it, there appears to be little melting.

Page 12

The cave is not lit by electricity as is the Dachstein Ice Cave, but various members of the party carry large hand carbide lamps, whilst the guides carry large rolls of magnesium ribbon, which are used to light up the various formations, and which is very effective.

It is also possible to arrange a caving trip to the further section of the cave which takes, in all, about 10 hours. The show cave is about 600 metres long, whilst the whole cave covers about 26 miles.

Page 13

Page 14

CALLAN

POT

(Another B.E.C. First?) ……….by Keith Murray & Alan Thomas.

Holes are always worth going down, even if sometimes the cave doesn’t seem worth the candle. The object of this weekend was to investigate a hole which Keith had first seen three years ago, and again in an enlarged condition two years ago. (What or who was in the enlarged condition? – Ed.) Cwm Callan may be reached by following the A40 as far as Bwlch, then turn sharp left across the Usk to Talybont and take the road which runs alongside the Talybont reservoir and on to the Taf Fechan reservoir, passing spectacular waterfalls on the right. Take the road marked Dol-y-Gaer across the reservoir and, at the station, the road suddenly becomes a track under a railway bridge and goes on up Cwm Callan. There are derelict buildings on the left, at which it is convenient to park. The hole lies up to the left near a partly walled earthwork, known as Y-Gaer. Leaving the Belfry at 5.30am on a November morning – having been savaged by an alarm clock – it was found to be only three hours drive via Gloucester. We returned next day via the ferry in about the same time.

The hole stands on an open moor land. There is a the stump just to the North of it, but we preferred to ladder from the east, using two stakes brought for that purpose, as the ledge appeared to be safest from that side. I was disappointed to find that a twenty five foot ladder climb reached the top of the mound which had been formed by the collapse of the roof. This mound sloped down for a further ten feet and there was no sign of lateral development. It was interesting to go down a hole formed in breccia rather than solid rock, though there was a tendency for loose stones to strike one. Keith explains the situation as follows: A outlier of a steeply dipping limestone outcrops around D0l-y-Gaer station onn the old Merthyr to Brecon Railway. It is bounded on the south side by a stream flowing down Cwm Callan and to the north, ends in a spectacular fault zone shown by a line of dolines and a tree lined gulch of great sandstone blocks turned over at a very steep angle, which runs down to the reservoir. The whole is crowned by the circular earthwork of Y-Gaer.

About a hundred yards to the south of the dolines this pot, which was expected to be in dark, closegrained limestone, appeared. It turned out to be, not in solid rock, but in a zone of brecciated quartz conglomerate and limestone which looked to be dangerously loose, but was found to be firmly cemented – one presumes by carbonate deposits from water dripping from the roof which had an ‘L’ pendant of streaky bacon hanging from one section. The pot is roughly cylindrical with a domed roof, one portion of which had fallen in and accounted for the loose funnel of drift material seen from the ground, the contents of which have piled up in a mound on the floor of the pot.

The pot is therefore in the crush zone of the fault area and is not therefore likely to connect with any cave system, although a trickle of water disappears under a rock flake in the North West corner of the floor.

The only thing which remains to be said is that the farmhouse fare which we consumed during the weekend made it an event of greater significance gastronomically than speleologically. _______________________________________________________________________________________ B.E.C. Caving Report Number 11.

Will the owners of copies of this report please note the following errata…

Page 6. Rocky Boulder Series – delete words ‘part of’. Note (b) should read ‘…South end, together with a pothole.’ Line 26 should read ‘..has been included in a Grade 6 survey’ Page 21. Fig.(5) should read ‘Section looking North West’ Page 22. Fig.(13) should read ‘….looking West’ Page 25. Fig.(15) should read ‘….looking North West’

Page 15 Our next article is an example of the scientific approach to caving problems. Members of the B.E.C. are paying increasing attention to this side of caving, and this article is both appropriate and topical…

An Elementary Consideration of Heat Losses from Streams of Water in Caves ………..by Mike Luckwill.

Conditions of heat exchange in a large cave are extremely complex and will not be unravelled until a large number of temperature measurements, together with water flow rates and other variables, have been obtained. The construction of an extremely simple model enables hypotheses to be tested and may point the direction in which results are required. I therefore make no apologies for the crudity of the model I shall investigate. I will, however, attempt to examine the consequences of the over simplification involved.

First of all, let us look at some facts. The temperature differences concerned are so small that heat losses due to radiation are negligible and so we need only consider heat losses due to conduction. Water conducts heat about twice as well as rock and about twenty times as well as air. We shall assume that the water loses heat only to the rock and that the rock is capable of absorbing this heat without increasing in temperature.

This assumption is quite reasonable when one considers the vast quantities of rock in relation to the small amount of heat. Furthermore, we shall assume that the temperature of the rock remains constant at 8OC. We shall assume that the greater mass of water has a temperature tOC and that this temperature only starts to drop within 1 cm of the water/rock surface, giving a temperature gradient of (t-8)OC per cm.

The temperature drop of the water is then given by T where

T=

K . A.(t − 8) O C/sec. where K = Coefficient of conductivity of water = 0.0015.

V

A = Water/Rock surface area and V = volume of water.

Let us consider a semicircular channel, radius ‘r’ cm and length ‘l’ cm.

The ‘A’ = πrl and V = πr21/2 hence A/V = 2/r.

T therefore = 0.0015(t-8)2/rOC/second and, if r = 40cms, T = 0.000075(t-8)OC/second.

The correct method of finding the manner in which the temperature varies with time would be to use the calculus. However, in the interests of simplicity, I will make an approximation by assuming that the water stays at the same temperature for ten minutes, and calculate the temperature drop every ten minutes. Thus, T = 0.000075(t-8).600OC/10 minutes or 0.045(t-8)OC/10min.

Graph 1 expresses the above result…

0.2

GRAPH 1, 0.1

0

O

12

11

O

10

O

9

O

8

O

O

‘t’ ( C)

We now construct a graph showing the change of temperature of the water with time by the following method. A time O, we shall assume that the water temperature is 12OC. From graph 1, we find that the

Page 16 temperature drop at 12OC is 0.18OC. Subtracting 0.18 from 12 we get 10.86, and we plot this as the temperature for time 10 minutes. We now find the temperature drop for 10.86 and calculate the temperature at 20 minutes, and so on. By this method, we obtain graph 2…

12 11

(2)

10

(3) 9 8 0

50

100

150

200

250

Times…..(Minutes) Let us now consider water percolating through rock. Typical dimensions for a suitable model would be a cylinder of water radius 1cm. Once again, A = 2πrl and V = πr2l, giving A/V = 1/r = 1 in this case.

Hence T= 0.0015(t-8)OC/second = 0.9(t-8)OC/10 minutes.

Thus, at 12OC, a drop of 3.6OC might occur in ten minutes. Using the same methods as we did to produce graph 2, we can now produce graph 3, which has been plotted on the same graph above, again showing the change in temperature with time.

What conclusions are to be drawn from these results? Firstly, a stream arising from percolating water will quickly reach the rock temperature. Thus, the temperature of the rock may be measured by measuring the temperature of a suitable water inlet in the cave e.g. the drinking fountain in St. Cuthbert’s. Secondly, the temperature of such a stream is likely to be 1OC lower than the temperature of the Main Stream in the cave, as the main stream would take several hours to reach rock temperature.

To construct a simple model to find air temperature is more difficult. I suggest that deep in a cave, the air reaches the rock temperature of approximately 8OC. Accepted temperatures of about 11OC are probably wrong because of the difficulty of measurement. As soon as one approaches a thermometer near enough to read it, ones breath must quickly cause the thermometer to give a false reading. _______________________________________________________________________________________

BOOK

REVIEW

DOOLIN – ST. CATHERINE’S CAVE. by Dr. O.C. Lloyd, published by the U.B.S.S. at ten shillings.

This is yet another very worth while publication by the U.B.S.S. on one of the caves of County Claire.

The publication consists of thirty pages of text, together with eight photographic plates and a grade 4 survey.

The bulk of the text is devoted to a detailed description of the cave system and an explanation of its origin. This is preceded by a history of the exploration of the system in which is included a song inspired by the Doolin Cave and a description of the cave rescue carried in 1957.

The cave consists of nearly five miles of passages and any person proposing to explore the system would be well advised to make reference to this publication.

Tony Meadon

Page 17 Readers may remember the work which Jill Tuck is doing over in Monmouthshire from the earlier articles which have appeared in the B.B. on the Roman Mine and on Slit-Sided Stalactites. Here is her report on the latest position….

Second Report of ROMAN MI NE …by Jill Tuck.

Further exploration, digging and surveying over the last few months has shown that the mine is basically a natural cave which was worked over by miners, that it consists of two main natural rifts with cross passages, and that the total length of open passage is approximately a thousand feet at present, although digging and removal of miner’s debris would extend the mine in several places. The plan of the cave is extremely difficult to plot clearly as some of the passages lie above each other, following the same rift at different heights, and thus as many as five could be superimposed on one another on a survey.

Since the previous report in May 1965, the mine has been visited by others including Dr. Thomas (Dept. of Industry) and G. Boon (Dept. of Archaeology) of the National Museum of Wales, and Dr. Jefferson of the S.W.C.C. who is interested in it from a zoological aspect. The archaeological finds have since been examined by George Boon and Dr. Savory of the National Museum of Wales, whose report – abbreviated – is as follow: POTTERY.

Shards of carinated bowl in hard, coarse grey ware. This type of bowl is common in Flavian context at Caerlon, and the present specimen is probably a local copy of this type and of approximately similar date say c. A.D. 75 – 100.

COMB.

Portion of a single edged bone comb of normal composite form, consisting of six hand sawn plates held – by bone pegs – between two, slightly arched, lateral strips; a decoration of four scored lines on the end of each strip as preserved. The end plate is of slightly horned shaped.

This type of comb is not Romano-British, and in so far as can be dated, clearly belongs to the Merovigian or later periods on the continent i.e. to the VIIth Century or later. The example is plainer than this, but it exhibits the beginning of a more designated ‘winged’ type, where the end plates protrude above the line of the back. In the winged type, however, the back tends to be more boldly arched than here. Combs of similar type have recently been found, in Viking period contexts, during excavations in the city of Dublin. In the full medieval period, the tendency was for combs to become once more double edged. Although, therefore, the comb cannot be said to be closely dated, it would appear most likely have been ‘Dark Age’ to early Medieval date, with the emphasis probably on the IXth to XIth Centuries.

MINERAL. Found with pottery next to hearth. Portion of heavy spar containing barites, chalybite and haematite.

More pottery from the same jar has been found scattered along the Main Entrance Passage, and a large part of this was found thrown on top of a heap of miner’s deads near the beginning of Pool Passage. The clearing of a few rocks away from this heap revealed much charcoal and a hearth, apparently untouched, since the stones were found still arranged in a circle and with their inner sides blackened by fire. In spite of a careful search, we have not been able to find the remaining pieces of the bone comb, and it is probable that, if they are in the mine, they have fallen further down Comb Rift. An attempt was made to follow this down but the steep angle of the stone slide made it extremely difficult and excavation is now in hand on the upper portion of the rift. This is very awkward for the digger, as it is very similar to being at the bottom of the coal shute!

Very briefly, the information we have accumulated is as follows. Once the Romans had established themselves sufficiently in this part of Wales, they immediately began to take out the metals. An extensive site of roman lead washing and smelting works has been excavated in the valley about three hundred feet

Page 18 below the hill, but the source of the metal has so far been unknown, although it was assumed that it was mined locally. The mines were under military supervision from Caerlon, and the actual mining was probably done by slave labour. As Mendippers, we were very interested to learn that there is a strong possibility that the legion managing this Roman Mine had just come fresh from controlling the mining operations on Mendip. The actual working methods were either to pick out the veins with a pick, chisel and hammer (pickmarks can be seen in many places in Roman Mine) or to build fires against the rock and then to drench the rock with cold water so that it shattered. The ore was then carried out in baskets or on a miner’s shoulder, or put in a wheel barrow, or winched up in those mines where there were shafts.

Before we found Roman Mine, it was thought that in this area, mining during the Roman occupation consisted probably of surface working and that, if any ore had been taken from thus hill, all traces would have been swept away by the later mining about 1800. Although Roman coins have been recorded in an unnamed shaft in the vicinity, there was so little definitely known about this find that it was possible that they had fallen in from the surface, and all the workings remaining were assumed to be the 19th Century.

We have not been able to find any trace of work of this date in Roman Mine. No pipes; shoes; footmarks; tools or shotholes – which are frequent in adjacent mines.

Page 19

The Bone Comb is a rarity as there is nothing exactly like it recorded and any information from the dark ages – especially in Wales – is very valuable. Its presence in Roman Mine is a mystery which we, with I.C.I. Fibres Speleological Section, are trying hard to solve by digging upwards in the rift where it was found. If we can prove that the rift extends to the surface, it will suggest that the comb fell or was thrown in a passerby. However, if the rift connects only with an upper passage, it may be evidence for mining activities between the VIIth and Xth Centuries, and may be of great importance.

We are working at present on this, also to discover the original entrance which is still unknown and to find what ore was mined in the cave as there is some doubt about this. Archaeological investigation is being undertaken by M. Hussey, who has previously dug a similar site. Because of this work, we do not wish to publish the actual situation of the mine, but if anyone would like to visit it and will get in touch with us, we shall be pleased to arrange a trip.

Editor’s Note: Seeing the subject of this manuscript, we rashly assumed that if it was the work of Jill alone, and gave no credit to the other half of the Tuck caving Team. We apologise, Norman, and hope to buy you beer when you’re next on Mendip. For good measure, the Tuck’s address is: 48, Wiston Path, Fairwater, Cwmbran, Monmouthshire. _______________________________________________________________________________________

Photo Essay This is our second monthly warning about this competition, for next year’s dinner. There are still ten months to go, but don’t get to complacent. It will take a fair amount of work to get between ten and a dozen photos telling a connected story – either in black and white or as colour slides, on any subject connected with the B.E.C. (Providing it is suitable for showing or displaying at the dinner next year!) Detailed rules will be coming out shortly in the New Year, but meanwhile, everybody is getting adequate warning. Here is a real chance for the caving or climbing photographer to do something more ambitious! _______________________________________________________________________________________

AUSTRIA Following the very successful trip to Austria, it is planned to return during 1966 at the invitation of the Austrians. This expedition will be to join the Austrians to carry out an extensive exploration of the Raucher System. The expedition will commence on July 9th and end on the 16th July. This will mean (for those with a fortnight’s holiday) a midweek commencement for their holiday, leaving England on a Wednesday evening. Members on the 1965 trip will have first refusal, but any member interested should let Dave Irwin (9 Campden Hill Gardens, London w8.) know as soon as possible so that early arrangements (booking ferries etc.) can be completed. A meeting will be arranged at the New Inn on Sunday January 9th to discuss arrangements. All those interested should put in an appearance. _______________________________________________________________________________________

Postscript Well, that, as they say, is yer lot. Once again, we are very conscious of the fact that this larger issue of the B.B. has been produced with insufficient time at our disposal. This is also the end of the nineteenth volume of the B.B. Whilst still sticking to our policy of not making rash promises, we hope to be introducing some further improvements with next year’s B.B. and as a result, the January B.B. will almost

Page 20 certainly be a little late. We hope, however, to produce it in January. Once again, we wish everybody a Happy Christmas – especially those who we hope are busy producing articles for next year’s B.B. “Alfie”