Belfry Bulletin Number 287

49

THE BELFRY BULLETIN ____________________________________ Number 287

September 1971

Volume 25 Number 9 ____________________________________ CONTENTS Club Business Minutes if the 1970 A.G.M. Hon Sec’s Report Treasurer’s Report B.B. Editor’s report Caving Publications Report Financial Statement

50 52 52 53 55 54

Miscellaneous Monthly Crossword No. 14 56 ____________________________________

Editorial ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING As members – apart from those who have just joined the club – should know, our A.G.M. is held each year on the first Saturday in October, and is followed by the club dinner on the same day. This year, the first Saturday falls on the 2nd and the A.G.M. will be held in Oliver’s Bar, Victoria Street, Bristol.

It should go without saying that everybody who possibly can ought to turn up for the A.G.M. It is the occasion when every member’s views and votes count as much as every other member’s. It is YOUR annual chance to instruct the committee how YOU want them to run the club. It is your chance to question the club officers about the way they have been running things during the year.

Unless you are prohibited by circumstances from turning up, you have very little argument left if things do not go as you would want them to go. Please turn up and keep our club democratic – besides, the meeting is on licensed premises!

THE B.B. IN 1972

In our opinion, the question as to whether the B.B. ought to cease monthly publication is not one that should Monthly Journal of the Bristol Exploration be decided by the A.G.M. It might well be discussed, but club. Hon. Sec. A.R. Thomas, Allens the people who would be most affected by a change to a House, Nine Barrows Lane Priddy, Wells, quarterly are those very people who are not able to get to Somerset. Hon. Editor, S.J. Collins, the meeting. We have not so far heard a single word from Lavender Cottage, Bishop Sutton, Nr. any reader who is in this position. We will soon have to Bristol. take a decision. Doesn’t anybody care?

“Alfie” _______________________________________________________________________________________ DON’T FORGET THE A.G.M. IS AT OLIVER’S BAR – VICTORIA STREET, BRISTOL AT 2.30 PM ON SATURDAY OCTOBER THE SECOND 1971.

OLIVER’S BAR. OCTOBER THE SECOND 2.30 PM. SATURDAY.., VICTORIA STREET 2.30 PM. BRISTOL. SATURDAY. OLIVER’S BAR. 2.30 PM. OCTOBER THE SECOND. VICTORIA STREET. BRISTOL. 2.30 PM. OLIVER’S BAR. SATURDAY. Tie a knot in something! Don’t forget the A.G.M. and dinner are on Saturday, 2nd of October. The A.G.M. is at OLIVER’S BAR VICTORIA STREET (almost opposite the Robinson Building). At 2.30 pm.

The Dinner is at Wookey Hole Restaurant. Please try to get to BOTH if you can!

An open meeting of the M.R.O. will be held at Priddy Village Hall at 2.15 pm on Sunday the 7th of November. All club members are invited. Speakers will include Howard Kenny, Brian Prewer and Oliver Lloyd. There will also be a speaker to present the police angle on cave rescues.

50

MINUTES OF 1970 A.G.M.

It has recently been the custom to publish the minutes of the last A.G.M. in the B.B., to save time in reading them at the next meeting.

Ed. The 1970 Annual General Meeting of the Bristol Exploration Club opened at 2.40 pm at the seven Stars, with 35 members present.

Election of Chairman. It was proposed by Alfie and seconded by Tim Hodgson that ‘Sett’ be elected Chairman. There were no other nominations. The chairman asked for members resolutions. There were none. The minutes of the last A.G.M. had been published, and Bob Bagshaw proposed that they be taken as read. This was seconded by Mike Palmer and carried.

Hon. Secretary’s Report. This had previously been published in the B.B. The Chairman asked for comments, but there were none. John Riley proposed the adoption of the report. This was seconded by Tim Hodgson and carried by the meeting.

Hon. Treasurer’s Report. In addition to his previously published report, the Hon. Treasurer announced that the accounts had been audited. The Chairman asked whether the Hon. Treasurer could go through the accounts for the benefit of members present. The makeup of the accounts was then explained. The Chairman asked where the I.D.M.F capital appeared in the financial statement. The Hon. Treasurer said this was an asset and hence not shown. The Chairman asked how much we had in the kitty after all debts had been paid. The Treasurer said this amounted to about £340. Alan Thomas asked whether we were satisfied with the new Belfry, and reminded the meeting that there was an outstanding amount of £160 which did not get paid unless the Belfry Engineer said that all was well. The Hon. Treasurer said that the amount quoted included this sum and that we would have £500 in the kitty if this sum were not paid. Jok Orr asked about the cattle grid, but the Hon. Treasurer said this did not apply. Mike Palmer suggested an inspection by Pat Ifold before the remaining £160 was paid. The Hon. Treasurer said that Pat had, in fact, carried out the inspection, and Jok said that in that case he was satisfied. The Chairman then asked whether we could put forward a proposal to pay the remaining sum. This was proposed by Jok and seconded by Alfie, and carried nem. con. Bob said that, since the published account, he had paid the insurance and also money to Brian Prewer. The Chairman asked if we could expect to have £200 in hand after all contingencies have been met, as a working amount for the year to come. The Treasurer replied that there would be adequate funds, and that he was satisfied with the club’s liquid position. This statement was cheered by the entire meeting. Alfie suggested that the meeting should formally congratulate the Treasurer. Mike Palmer moved a formal vote of thanks, and this was seconded by Alan Thomas and carried unanimously.

Alan Thomas proposed that Doug Parfitt be given a Life Membership for services rendered. This was seconded by Tim Hodgson and carried nem.con. Alan also proposed that the Treasurer pay back the outstanding loan so that the Belfry account would be cleared. This was seconded by Mike Palmer and carried nem. con. Tim Hodgson asked whether the club funds would now be enough to cope with any reasonable demand on them. Alan asked Tim what he thought a reasonable demand might be, and said that the only reasonable demand he could foresee would the buying the entrance to Cuthbert’s, which was being negotiated. It was proposed by Alfie That the Treasurer’s report be adopted. This was seconded by Andy MacGregor and carried unanimously.

Caving Secretary’s Report. Further to the published report, Mike Palmer asked whether the Caving Secretary was of the opinion that all club meets had been poorly attended. Dick Wickens replied that it was a caving meet – not all of them. The adoption of the report was proposed y Andy MacGregor and seconded

by Mike Palmer, and carried nem.con. by the meeting.

Climbing Secretary’s Report. The Chairman noted that no report had been published, and that the Climbing Secretary was not present at the meeting. Alan said that he understood that the Climbing Secretary would not be standing again. The Chairman asked whether the meeting felt he had been a good Climbing Secretary. Kangy said that the meeting might care to express its disappointment at not having any climbing report. Tony Meadon said that perhaps something would yet appear in the B.B. and, on the Chairman’s suggestion, made a formal proposal that the Climbing Secretary be asked to produce a report for the B.B. This was seconded by Roy Bennett and passed by a vote of 23-1, Phil Coles voting against.

51 Tacklemaster’s Report. Arising from this, Mike Palmer asked if we were still losing tackle and reminded the meeting that tackle should always be booked in and out. He asked whether this was still being done and whether any offenders were being actively chased up to return tackle. The Tacklemaster replied that the book was still in existence and was being taken seriously as far as he could tell. Mike Palmer proposed that the new committee look into the subject of tackle losses and the mislaying of tackle. Pope proposed that some lightweight tackle be kept in the Belfry. Alfie said that there was a danger of lightweight tackle being damaged in the hands of inexperienced cavers. This was agreed by Roy Bennett. Alan Thomas said that he also agreed with the last two speakers and pointed out that lightweight tackle deteriorates much more rapidly that normal weight. Brian Prewer said he accepted all these arguments, but thought that some of this tackle should be available to members. He wondered whether Dave Searle would be prepared to store some at Dolphin Cottage. Kangy asked how we would stand for liability. He suggested that we might be increasing our chances of a claim. Tim Hodgson proposed a formal resolution, which was seconded by Pope that about sixty feet of lightweight be kept on Mendip in charge of a suitable person. The proposal was defeated by a vote of 7-14. It was proposed by Tony Meadon that the Cuthbert’s entrance ladder be kept in the Belfry rather than the tackle store. This was seconded by Brian Prewer. Dave Turner suggested that the ladder be locked with the same key as that for Cuthbert’s. A discussion followed and the Chairman finally accepted a proposal that ‘The Cuthbert’s entrance ladder be kept in the Belfry and made available to Cuthbert’s leaders only by the most suitable method to be devised by the committee’. Voting in favour of this proposal was unanimous. It was then proposed by Tim Hodgson and seconded by Kangy that the Tacklemaster’s report be adopted. This was carried. nem. con. John Riley proposed a vote of thanks to the Hon. Tacklemaster for keeping the tackle in such good order. This was duly seconded by Kangy and carried with one vote against.

The Chairman, winding up this discussion on tackle, suggested that the new committee might well chase up the tackle position at regular intervals throughout the coming year.

Hut Warden’s Report. It was proposed that the published report be accepted by Bob Bagshaw. This was seconded by Jok and carried nem. con.

Belfry Engineer’s Report. The Belfry Engineer was asked to read his report amid general acclaim. Brian Prewer suggested that the matter of the cattle grid and Walt’s continuing use of it should be left to next year’s committee to deal with. This was seconded by Andy and carried nem. con. The Chairman proposed a vote of thanks to the Engineer.

Hon. Librarian’s Report. In the unavoidable absence of the librarian, his report was read to the meeting

by Alfie. Alan Thomas said that the plan was to move the library to the new Belfry as soon as possible. The Chairman directed the committee to look into this matter. The adoption of the report was proposed by Dave Turner and seconded by Mike Palmer. It was carried nem. con.

B.B. Editor’s Report. Alan asked the Hon. Editor what was being done about the postal department.

Alfie replied that John and Val Ransom had volunteered to take it on. The report was adopted by the meeting, the proposal being by Mike Palmer and seconded by Tim Hodgson. It was carried unanimously.

Caving Publications. Bob Bagshaw read the report. It was proposed by Alan Thomas that the report be adopted and this was seconded by Bob. The proposal was carried nem. con.

Other Business. Brian Prewer proposed that since the cost of electricity had risen so much, the committee be instructed to look into the provision of a tariff meter. This proposal was seconded by Mike Palmer and carried nem. con.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed. _______________________________________________________________________________________ It is with regret that we record the passing of Lewis Railton. A founder member of the cave research Group of Great Britain, he did much in the early days of caving to transform it into a respectable scientific field of study, and is probably best known amongst B.E.C. members for his work on surveying in collaboration with Butcher. He was associated with caving in South Wales right from the beginning and was one largely responsible for fostering interest in the region. We extend our sympathy to his friends and relatives.

52 Again this year I have carried out the usual amount of routine work of administration – enquiries from new members, liaison with other clubs and so on. The committee has met 12 times since the last A.G.M. and there has been no difficulty in obtaining the required quorum. We were handicapped by the resignations during the year of Norman Petty and Pete Ham. Norman had, for many years, been the mainstay of the club, and Pete had done much useful work during his short time in office. As a result, there were more that the usual number of co-options during the year – with Attwell, Cooper, Irwin and Stobart being involved. Finally, as the club year drew to an end, we were extremely sorry to receive the resignation of Pete Franklin from the post of Hut Warden, which he has discharged very well under difficult circumstances.

H O N. S E C’S REPORT

The B.E.C.’s social highlights during the year were probably the presentation of a solid silver tankard to Norma Petty and the binge which accompanied it; and the first ever indoor barbecue – we have never had a Belfry big enough to hold it in before and have always been dependant on the weather.

On the political side, the most important event was the formation of the Council of Southern Clubs Limited, of which I am a director. Policy precludes publishing details, but anyone who wants to know what is going on can ask in person.

The acquisition of more land from the paper mill is proceeding, but is of necessity a slow process as their head office naturally does not give it a high priority. We have had more trouble over Mr. Foxwell’s right of way, but I do not think it is beyond the capacity of the new committee to sort it out.

After protracted negotiations, the M.R.O. has established its store at the Belfry. Part of the old stone building has been fitted out as the rescue store. The door is secured by a combination lock the number which is known by all M.R.O. Wardens and myself, from whom it can be obtained in an emergency. The M.R.O. has also paid for the installation of the telephone in the Belfry and they pay two thirds of the rent. The store, phone and notice board may be visited by the duty wardens each month, and they should always be made to feel welcome at the Belfry, which is now effectively the rescue centre for Mendip. On the event of a callout, ring WELLS 3481 as before – NOT the Belfry. _______________________________________________________________________________________

H O N. T R E A S U R E R’S REPORT

The most disturbing feature of the financial statement is the very low figure of £137-52 for subscriptions.

Although last year’s figure of £236/17/6 was inflated by 3 life memberships and one joint life membership, THERE ARE ABOUT SEVENTY “MEMBERS” WHO HAVE NOT PAID AS AT 11.9.71. There are only 164 members of which 54 are life members.

The deficit of £333-16 for the year was, of course, caused by non-recurring expenditure of £400 on the Belfry.

Since the accounts were prepared, I have applied for and received the sum of £21-70 recoverable from the M.R.O. towards the telephone.

There is a further six month’s interest due to the Ian Dear memorial Fund but this has not yet been entered in the pass book by the National Savings Bank. I am at present trying to convince the inspector of taxes that the club is not liable for income tax., When this has been resolved I shall be able to re-consider investment of the fund.

In conclusion, I should mention that I have plenty of club ties in stock and I have ordered twenty car badges. Do you want one?

53

B. B. E D I T O R’S REPORT

The B.B. has, unfortunately, had a typical year in 1971. Post Office strike; shortages of material, printing and postal department troubles have all contributed to the familiar sorry pattern. Two issues had to be telescoped. We stagger, as usual, from one crisis to the next.

Next Year, in spite of all this, the B.B. celebrates its quarter century of publication. I would like to see a real effort made to rise to this occasion. Firstly, we must get rid of the crisis. I am prepared to continue the editorship and preparation of the stencils, which has not been a holding factor. It would be a good thing to go over to the use of offset lithography. We have the machine but we want THREE volunteers, each of which would be prepared to print the B.B. if the other two were sick or away. I sincerely hope that Kay Mansfield will continue to distribute the B.B., and there are plans for making her job less of a burden. These moves will only leave one source of trouble – that of a lack of material. This can be best overcome by publishing quarterly – and a lot of behind the scenes discussion has been going on about this move. However, it is recognised that a quarterly would largely remove the up to date aspect of a club served by a monthly publication, so a compromise has been hammered out in true British fashion. Another point which must be faced is that of rising costs. We must remember that one of the prices we have had to pay for the new Belfry is the large proportions of life members now in our club. These all get B.B.’s but no longer contribute. Yet another thing to bear in mind is the need to go eventually to A4 size paper. We need a solution to all these factors, and we need it NOW – to start the second quarter century properly – rather than to have them forced piecemeal upon us.

How I propose to get round all these points in an acceptable manner is as follows. In each year, starting next January, the January and February B.B.’s will be simplified newsletters, with notices, dates of meets etc., and some brief matter as to what is going on. They will be sent to all members on a list of people not normally in touch (i.e. members who cannot reasonably be expected to pick up a copy at club or at the Belfry). Other members will be able to obtain these at club or Belfry, and there will be a copy posted up on a special board at the Belfry each month.

Each third month, starting in March, a large B.B. will be produced and sent to all members. This will be AT LEAST SIXTY PAGES IN SIZE and will contain reprints of such notices that are still of interest from the January and February B.B.’s plus the short newsletters. The January and February B.B. issues will not be numbered, but the March one will be (in volume order as at present). Thus, collectors will only have to bother with the four large issues for permanent retention. The March issue will be available some two weeks BEFORE publication date, and members on the ‘Locals list’ will be asked to try to pick up their copy from the Belfry or club to save postage. If they cannot do this, then their copy will be sent to them automatically on publication day.

This scheme will enable members who live away to stay in touch and the club to publish news items while they are still news; it will also enable a sensible sized magazine to be enjoyed by members. It will also enable the newsletter issues to be considered as ‘throw away’ matter while keeping the large issues. Members who pick up their large issue will get it slightly earlier. A specimen copy of both types will be on display at the A.G.M. Finally, the Editor would like to draw the attention of the club to the fine work done behind the scenes by Barry Wilton – our printer, by Kay Mansfield – our Postal Department, by Steve Grime – our ‘writer of the year’ and by all those who help with articles, advice etc. The post-box scheme has, after the first outburst of anonymous filth, been a success. Please support the B.B. even more next year and help us to set the pace in the field of caving journals.

54 FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR TO THE THIRTY FIRST OF JULY 1971 Subscriptions Seven Stars Levy Sales:

Post Office Savings Bank Interest Annual Dinner: Spaeleodes:

£ 137.52 £ 3.64 Carbide Car Badges Ties

£ £ £

3.70 0.00 0.87

Receipts Less Costs Sales Cost

£ 182.50 £ 181.25 £ 12.95 £ 8.00

Bankers Orders Interest on Deposit account Sundries DEFICIT FOR THE YEAR

Belfry

Final payment on building Final loan repayment Plumbing, electrics, gas etc Cattle Grid Expenses Less Receipts

Postages and Stationery etc.

B.B. Postage

Tackle: Public liability insurance Income Tax Exhibition Photographs Cambrian Caving Congress Cave Research Group Charterhouse Caving Committee Telephone (£21 – 70 recoverable)

GENERAL ACCUMULATED Less deficit for the year GENERAL ACCUMULATED I.D.M.F. accumulated income to

Less sales Expenditure Less fees

(2 years) (2 years)

FUNDS @ 31.7.70 FUNDS @ 31.7.71 31.7.71

National Savings Bank Account Lloyds Bank Ltd Deposit Account Cash in hand

£ 160.00 £ 100.00 £ 101.41 £ 45.50 £ 225.47 £ 632.38 £ 300.96 £ 56.53 £ 35.36 £ 91.89 £ 18.43 £ 42.80 £ 8.50

£ £

4.57 5.81

£

1.25

£ 4.95 £ 38.00 £ 12.31 £ 6.73 £ 214.78 £ 333.16 £ 574.94

£ 331.42

£ 73.46 £ 34.50 £ 28.00 £ 17.70 £ 8.00 £ 1.00 £ 6.00 £ 3.00 £ 32.55 £ 547.94 £ 565.41 £ 333.16 £ 232.25 £ 39.40 £ 271.65 £ 70.23 £ 157.73 £ 43.69 £ 271.69

IAN DEAR MEMORIAL FUND Accumulated income to 31.7.70 Interest on £310 5½% National Accumulated Income @ 15.1.71

Development Bonds 15.1.71

£ 30.88 £ 8.52 £ 39.40

55

CAVING PUBLICATIONS REPORT

Little movement in the direction of new reports was made until my return to this country during June this year – although the Roman Mine manuscript was edited whilst I was in the U.S.A.

During the last few months, preparation of the Cuthbert’s report is under way again.

Rabbit Warren has been published and three other parts are almost ready for the printers (September, Cerberus and Maypole & Rabbit Warren extension.)

Roma Mine is to be published at the A.G.M., 1971 and should prove to be an important addition to the B.E.C. Caving Report Series. Future publications include the remaining sections of the Cuthbert’s Report which will all be out within the next year.

Two more reports are in the state of preparation – the Burrington Atlas and John Etough’s magnificent collection of photographs of Balch Cave. Although the cave has been destroyed, it remains a valuable pictorial record. The cost will be about 50p and if anyone is interested in a copy, please contact me.

Printing standards have been improved and will continue to do so. It is hoped that shortly the caving reports will be produced commercially and this will result in improvements to the type face and general appearance. A change of format and front cover is being studied and in all probability, it will result in the series having photographic covers and becoming A4 in size.

I would like to thank Gordon Tilly, Barry Wilton and the many others who are involved with the production of the caving reports. _______________________________________________________________________________________

DON‘T PAY BOB …..at the dinner. He would rather enjoy the dinner like you will – without having to run around getting money out of YOU. PLEASE pay him your sub (if outstanding) or next years (if you want to give him a real fright) AND your dinner money at £1.30 (or 26/- in old money) per head. Send it to Bob at 699 Wells Road, BRISTOL BS14 9HU _______________________________________________________________________________________ Finally a new slant on the fixed tackle controversy from our Hon. Sec. Alan Thomas…..

The Editor, Belfry Bulletin.

Dear Sir Why should a distinction be made between fixed and other tackle?

I am not brilliant at climbing on the rock, but if I need a ladder it makes little difference to me if it is suspended from above or resting on the ground. But it makes a big difference to the Tacklemaster!! A fixed iron ladder cost virtually nothing and lasts for years. An electron ladder costs a great deal; takes hours to make; needs constant care and is short lived. Why not, if we are visiting the same places frequently, leave the iron ladders in position.

Alan Thomas

56

MONTHLY CROSSWORD – Number 14.

Across: 1

2

3

4

5

3. The way back. (1,4) 6. Cave pearls, for example. (4) 7. First and last in me down Goatchurch. (4) 8. Upper end of last part reversed. (3,3) 12. Artificial aid for red lad. (6) 14. Backwards detailers adorn caves. (4) 15. Lound and low stal deposit. (4) 16. This dry? (5)

6 7 8

9

Down: 10 11

12

13

14 15

1. A tree in Cuthbert’s. (5) 2. Inexpensive type of climb. (4) 4. Gone to II? (6) 5. Backward eastern animal collection in G.B.. (4) 9. One of the annual trio in the B.E.C. (6) 10. Getting louder boring device makes slow progress in a cave (5) 11. Cider can this metal. (4) 12. Taken to, well soused, in song. (4)

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