Belfry Bulletin Number 331

47

Vol XXIV No.6

B B

June 1975

No. 331

QUODCUMQUE FACIENDUM : NIMIS FACIEMUS CONTENTS List of club officers, committee etc Editorial Letters to the Editor Friday Night Caving trips Mik’s Peregrinations Deserts and their Survival Problems Round and About Crossword No. 57

Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 53 Page 55 Page 55

Any views expressed by any contributor to the Belfry Bulletin, including those of officers of the club, do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor or the committee of the Bristol Exploration Club, unless stated as being the view of the committee or editor.

CLUB HEADQUARTERS The Belfry, Wells Rd, Priddy, Wells, Somerset. Telephone WELLS 72126 CLUB COMMITTEE Chairman Minutes Sec Members

S.J. Collins G. Wilton-Jones Colin Dooley, John Dukes, Chris Howell, Dave Irwin, Tim Large, Mike Wheadon, Andy Nicholls, Barry Wilton.

OFFICERS OF THE CLUB Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer Caving Secretary Assist Cav. Sec. Climbing Secretary Hut Warden Belfry Engineer Tacklemaster B.B. Editor Publications Editor B.B. Postal Spares Membership Sec.

M. WHEADON, (Acting) 91 The Oval, Englishcoombe, Bath. Tel : BATH 713646 B. WILTON, ‘Valley View’, Venus Lane, Clutton, Nr. Bristol.

A. NICHOLLS, c/o The Belfry T. LARGE, 15 Kippax Avenue, Wells, Somerset Position vacant at present.

C. DOOLEY, 51 Ommaston Road., Harbourne, Birmingham 17.

Tele : (021) 427 6122 J. DUKES, 4 Springfield Crescent, Southampton. SO1 6LE Tele : (0703) 774649 G. WILTON-JONES, ‘Ilenea’, Stonefield Road. Nap Hill, High Wycombe, Bucks.

Tele : (024) 024 3534 S.J. COLLINS, Lavender Cottage, Bishops Sutton, Nr. Bristol.

Tel : CHEW MAGNA 2915 C. HOWELL, 131 Sandon Road, Edgebaston, Birmingham 17. Tele : (021) 429 5549 BRENDA WILTON Address as for Barry T. LARGE, Address already given A. Dooley, c/o The Belfry. TO WHOM ALL SUBS SHOULD BE SENT.

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Editorial SOUTHERN COUNCIL At the Annual Meeting held on Saturday 31st of May, the secretary, Tim Reynolds, resigned. Tim has spent quite a few years at this thankless task and it is, perhaps, not sufficiently realised just how much Tim has done to ensure that our views have been put over and, in many cases, acted upon. We all owe Tim a most hearty vote of thanks.

For much of the time he was secretary, Tim battled on alone, but recently there has been a growing awareness of the importance of trying to influence the thinking of caving councils by taking part - a process that the B. B. is doing its best to foster. At present, the B.E.C. is playing a major part. Not only are three of the four trustees of the Southern Council's company members of our club, but the job of being Tim's successor had been taken on by Dave Irwin while Alfie has been elected to the new position of official chairman of the council.

COMMITTEE POSTS Because of his new commitments to the Southern Council which represent a great deal of work, and in line with the precedent set by Tim, Dave Irwin is resigning from his position as Hon. Sec. of the B.E.C. but is staying on the committee. In accordance with recent practice, the club committee are giving notice that a vacancy exists, and this may be taken as the official announcement. However, it is hardly possible to run the club without an Hon. Sec. and Mike Wheadon has volunteered to take on the job in the meantime and also to put himself forward as an applicant for the job. We should, I feel, thank Mike for his public spirit and wish him the best of luck!

Andy Nichols has a new job which takes him away from Mendip and has had to resign as Caving Secretary. This job is now being done by Tim Large. We are, of course, still short of a Climbing Sec. Any offers?

YO-YO From having plenty of material a month or two ago, we find ourselves in the more usual position of having very little for this edition of the B.B. I feel that we rely too heavily on a few stalwarts who can be relied on to produce an article on almost anything (or even nothing at a pinch) whenever the need arises.

This month looks as if it will be a mixture of stodge (about caving politics again!) and social news, with very little about caving and climbing. I am sure that there must be more members who do something occasionally which they can write about. Why not have the odd go at it, and help the B.B. to have a greater variety of authors and subjects CAR BADGES These are now available again, at the modest price by today's standards, of £1.75 or, as we used to say, thirty five bob. This bargain offer is for a limited period only, after which they will go up to their proper pride of £2. How about one for your new Mercedes?

DINNER The Secretary wishes to announce in plenty of time that the dinner will again be at the Blue School, Wells, as it was last year. Saturday, 4th October is the day. More details will follow in later B.B.’s Meanwhile, keep this day free (there is also an A.G.M. of course). Last year's dinner was voted by many to have been amongst the best ever held. Don't mss this one!

TAILPIECE It should perhaps; be headed 'Ringpiece'. The Ed's collection of Hunters songs has now reached the total of 76. If one includes caving Songs, it comes to over a hundred. Will the publications department dare to publish a B.E.C. Hundred Best Songs?

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L

E T

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R S

21 Hillcrest,, Knowle Park, Bristol 4.

TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir, Living as I do between the Mendip and Cotswold hills and being an ex-caver very interested in geological phenomena, I have often wondered why it is that the Mendips are relatively well-endowed with extensive cave systems, yet the Cotswolds have, as far as I know, no cave systems of any sort. Both these hill systems are products of folding and each system is comparable one with the other in the intensity of folding.

Therefore the jointing and bedding configuration is similar, as may be seen by comparison of the many quarries in Cotswold and Mendip.

The chemical nature of the rocks in each system is the same (around 90% calcium carbonate) and the solubility of Mendip limestone and Cotswold oolite is similar, oolite being slightly more soluble in bulk due to its greater surface area/mass ratio. The physical nature of the two rocks is rather different. Mendip rock is hard in almost all of its strata. Cotswold rock is as hard as Mendip in only about 5% of its total thickness.

Elsewhere it may be almost as soft as chalk. I would be most grateful if, through the pages of your bulletin your readers who are erudite (probably all of them) on this subject could provide suitable explanations.

Yours Sincerely, Dave Morgan.

Editor's Note: What about it, blokes? We should know, but Dave Morgan assures me that he once asked 'Herby' Balch this question and got no satisfactory answer. _______________________________________________________________________________________ 4 Galmington Lane, Taunton, Somerset.

Dear Alfie, I seem and hear, frequent complaints based on the theme 'they don't know the words'. I suggest that it is unfair of the more senior members of the club to make such statements when 'they' haven't had a chance to learn. In the days when a sing-song at the Hunters was a regular occurrence, we all had the opportunity forced on us. Nowadays, too many non-cavers use this hostelry to make it either wise or opportune to consider using the Hunters for sing-songs. I believe it is time that we who 'know the words' or might be expected to, got together and fixed some firm dates for singing lessons. I suggest the Belfry from 11 p.m. to midnight and later if nobody objects "Sett " Any comments from would be singers or noise abatement societies? _______________________________________________________________________________________ 120 Pearson Lane, Bradford, Yorks.

Dear Alfie, Please, please publish this letter to the editor the next issue of the B.B. I note with great interest the comments of Alfie in the April/May issue of the Belfry Bulletin regarding the present vacancy in the committee for a Climbing Secretary.

I have for a long time thought that the existence a club officer entitled 'Climbing Secretary' in this club is anomalous, considering that only a small proportion of B. E. C. members are, in fact, climbers.

50 Climbing as a pure sport goes on happily outside of clubs and societies such as our own. It is a competitive sport totally dominated by individualists who seem to feel no desire or real need of clubs and I do not think that Kangy King himself will disagree with this statement. I think that, as needs change within our club, we now need a Mountaineering Secretary - albeit climber, fell walker or both, but basically someone who identifies and keeps in touch with all the members of the club who want to participate in the objects of Clause 2(c) of the present club constitution.

I find it very perplexing that there is so much over lapping of Mountaineering activities by the Climbing section and 'the rest' of the club, particularly of that of away meets, and I suspect that the reasons are largely political. I feel strongly that the enjoyment of a more significant body of members would be furthered if we simply altered the title of one officer and, more to the point, the expressiveness of his role.

The rare bods who have ascended to the dizzy heights of Climbing Secretary have for too long represented a minority electorate at the expense of an unrepresented and growing band of all-round mountaineers and in so doing have prolonged the existence of a hallowed cult, so obviously out of proportion to the size and nature of the club.

In conclusion, I hope and indeed ask that consideration will be given to the views of the writer and that correspondence takes place within these pages, and if needs be, the matter is discussed at the forthcoming A.G.M. - oh, and please remember to hail "Below!" before you dislodge any little stones on top of me from your towering stances.

Without Prejudice, Cheers, Bob Cross.

Editor's Note: One hopes that Climbers, fell walkers, mountaineers and all these fascinating sub-divisions of the sport or pastime will come forward to put their points of view in the B.B. I, for one, had no idea how distinct all these people were, having the rather naive view that our Climbing Section did all these things and even went caving on occasion. Perhaps someone like Kangy might prevailed upon to put us straight on this subject? _______________________________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY NIGHT CLUB These meets are organised by Richard Kenney, and further details may be obtained from him at 'Yennek', St. Mary's Road, Meare, Glastonbury, Somerset. His telephone number is Meare Heath 296.

All meets are at 7.30 p.m. at the site named except those in Wales, for which Richard should be contacted.

June 27th July 12th July 25th August 8th August 22nd September 5th.

September 20th October 3rd October 17th October 31st

Longwood.

Wales.

Thrupe.

Swildons.

Stoke Lane.

Cuthbert’s.

Wales.

Hilliers/Shatter.

G.B. Pinetree Pot.

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Mik’s Peregrinations Owing to certain supply problems, strangely enough having nothing to do with the absence of up-to-date lists of members of lack of B.B. covers, I have just taken the opportunity of reading a past article and was not very impressed. I think that I demonstrate a certain amount of nerve in inflicting another load of rubbish on you, but 'yer tis' for April/May. The first item on my list is to congratulate the gallant band of Belfry regulars who have worked so hard in re-vamping the Belfry. Being nowadays no longer a regular visitor to the Shed, I think that the club has again done extremely well in convincing those who use the facilities most to do the work. As you know - or if you don't I'll tell you - the Women’s Dormitory has been resited to where the Changing Room used to be; their shower has also been resited and there are now two fully operational water closets within the confines of the Belfry. The Changing Area and Showers have been combined and both the Living Room and the Men’s Dormitory modified. Lockers have also been constructed. Workers were mainly Butch; John D & W; Graham; Colin; Chris; Keith; Martin and, of course, Angie.

Whilst I'm chatting about modifications, it occurs to me that those who no longer manage to get to Mendip very often will have no notion of the further modifications to the Hunters. This is being undertaken

by Roger (with local assistance) and consists of his 'gutting' the remaining outbuildings and barns attached to the south side of the pub. This will provide him with increased living accommodation on the upper level and a reasonably large room at ground level capable of catering for larger parties - could it be that Roger has the smaller club dinners in mind? Being rather concerned for my alternate home and any threat of my losing ground, I elicited from Roger a firm promise that there is always plenty of room for cavers - so not to worry.

With this first mention of caving comes the first serious matter. I have been hearing dark mutterings after hours about a body known as NCA. It always seems slightly ridiculous to me that we produce these bodies, which immediately form committees and pontificate on many matters on which they are really no more expert than the rest of us (other than myself, I mean.) This time it seems that tackle is the question and with it comes the warning that we should all be aware of the inherent dangers in setting up any authority which could establish tenets not necessarily appropriate for all occasions.

BEC tackle has recently become an item of note. Firstly, because only a short while ago there were some complaints that we had none, and now a report that the matter has dramatically improved. Ladders have been manufactured using our own Tellurit press and, as comfort for the sceptics, samples have been taken and satisfactorily tested at Bristol Wire Ropes. Just one small (?) complaint from Graham. Some members (and non-members) are treating tackle with less care than it deserves. Normally, I wouldn’t mind too much, but it might be my life - not yours so take Graham's tip and take care of tackle.

Having gone mad and exercised my prejudices last month, I have to report that yet again SRT is in the news. This time, it is the arrival within the club of a batch of the long awaited Gibb Rope Walkers. I understand that the Pyrenees expedition will be using these if their trip through PSM takes place as planned this summer.

Finally, although this month it seems that I could add more, I must mention one or two snippets of gossip: Butch is off to Kenya for a spell towards the end of July and Andy Nichols, who is clearly more intrepid, is removing his soliciting and residence to Yorkshire (where the real caves are!) I know it will be over by the time you read it, but Bishop is having a party in costume at the end of May. Even more finally, talking to Patti Palmer who was away sans husband for a skiing holiday said that she was disappointed because she had really just learned how to stop when she had to return!

(Owing to the two month's coverage in the last B. B., we feel obliged to print a postscript from 'Mik' which you will find immediately following. Editor.)

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Peregrination Postcript Having issued a double B.B., our editor has once again stolen the summer to go on holiday (that's the second consecutive year he's done that) and left me with the not-to-be-missed opportunity to add a postscript to my wanderings and bring the scene up to date.

On the Sunday of the Bank Holiday, the Bishops fancy dress party took place. This party, which nobody appeared to be formally invited to, was rather surprisingly well attended and at an early hour a huge number of well disguised bods turned up at the Hunters, to the delight of the weegees for a pre-party pint or three.

Obviously to mention all present would read like pages from Debrett, but I must note that the Bishop was a bishop whilst Liz, until she flaked, was Andy Pandy. Many present were in hired costumes. Butch and Barrie (until Butch, who had recently been vaccinated, retired to bed) as front and rear parts of a pantomime horse. Historically speaking there were Richard and Barbara Stevenson - Medieval; Dick and Anne West Tudor; Bob Scammel and Anne - Quaker and Mike and Maureen Wheadon - Georgian. There were many others bright enough to manufacture their own costumes. Sid Hobbs was, need I say, a Viking, Mac McAnnus and Ken James in drag, Phil Hendy as the Wessex resident amateur brain surgeon, Ian Jepson as Perseus with an extremely lifelike Gorgon’s head, Brenda Wilton as Minnie Mouse and Angie, who worked on almost all the BEC’s costumes, as a second row forward. An extremely good and liquid time was had by all.

The Bishop party also, as it happens, turned out to be an excellent prelude to Priddy Sports Day, when again the BEC turned out in some force (no sign of bicycles though) and, I am pleased to say, Butch was sufficiently recovered to get himself 'into a state' again at the Hunters before travelling to the New Inn where he gave a superb demonstration of how to photograph aircraft passing overhead whilst falling flat on his back. The BEC Priddy residents were well to the fore, with Liz Bishop now recovered and the Hobbs' and the Searle family on parade. The Thomases arrived late though Hilary did not (I'm told) win any events.

John (Jonjon) Hildick caught the envious eye of Barrie because he displayed on his coat lapel a number of badges advertising him as committee member and treasurer. Barrie is now convinced that he should now have a Treasurer's Badge. Before leaving the sports day subject, I must mention just one jarring note. It seems that some partygoers in their exuberance chose to let down the sports day marquee - not on your own doorstep, please, chaps!

The pre-Pyrenean activities continue to provide some fodder for this article. The latest addition to the equipment for the trip is a rather superb modern style goon suit which has a waterproof zip instead of the old neck or chest seal. Anyway, two or three weekends ago saw a small party of new proud owners adorning themselves in these suits on the bank of the mineries ready for a splash about. This, needless to say, provided much amusement for the various weegees who seem to congregate at the mineries these days. All I hope now is that I shall be able to report at a future date that this new apparel was successful in assisting the intrepid B.E.C. party to get through the P.S.M. _______________________________________________________________________________________ INSURANCE SUB-COMMITTEE Set up at the request of the last A.G.M. to look into various knotty problems concerning the state of insurance and associated legal aspects, this sub-committee, aided by various outside experts, have produced their findings. Since there is no need for the entire report to be circulated, a summary will be included in next months B.B. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Since we have had enough fine, and sometimes hot weather lately to form the makings of a decent summer for once, the next article, on survival under desert conditions, may be rather more appropriate than usual. In fact, it comprises some useful hints and tips about dealing with conditions in arid regions, based on 'Wig's experiences in the states a few years ago, and could be of interest to any club members who might be thinking of going looking for caves in these types of region.

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Deserts and their Survival Problems A few years ago in California, I had a narrow squeak in Death Valley - the hottest place in the Western world, which could easily have cost me my life. Early in March 1971, I decided to take a weekend trip to this notorious place, some four hundred miles North-west of Los Angeles. Taking the Baker - Las Vegas road, once you have crossed the Bernadino mountain range to the East of Los Angeles, you enter desert country which, in the winter and early spring months, is one of the more pleasant areas of California. This desert zone - the Mojave Desert (which is pronounced Mo-ha-vay) and known locally as the High Desert (it lies between 6,000 and 8,000 feet above Sea Level) includes a tremendous variety of scenery from the Joshua tree zone to a variety of mountain ranges towering up to 10,000 feet that lie to the east of the massive Sierra Nevada range, whose peaks reach 14,000 feet. Many semi-active volcanoes dot the landscape.

Usually these are not large and peak at about a thousand feet. The volcanoes need no description except that where one spots a mound of greyish-black material, you can be pretty certain that it is best to give it a wide berth!

However, the 15 freeway crosses the Mojave and at Baker, a two lane road heads north towards Death Valley. The weather was typical for the season, a cool 80OF, a bright blue cloudless sky. The terrain gradually changed after leaving the freeway to a variety of coloured mountain ridges reminding one that this was not an area to be toyed with. The mountains displayed angular pointed shapes and were coloured with a fantastic range of reds, pinks, greys, white and green with the lower scree slopes covered with the desert patina of blackish-grey. The valley floors were liberally covered with salt flats stretching for miles at a time, the vegetation being the usual tumbleweed and scrub.

In time, the last township of Shoshone is reached and the road led the way to Salisberry Pass. (Note: both the author and the editor would like to assure readers that this is the correct spelling for this particular pass!)

This is the Southern gateway to Death Valley. The central settlement in the valley, Furnace Creek, lay some 120 miles to the north. It was soon after this point that I noticed that the petrol gauge was looking pretty sick and this sudden realisation of trouble caused an immediate lack of interest in the wonderful scenery! Here I was, with a nearly empty petrol tank and a car that rarely did better than 18 mpg. The temperature was by now about 115 in the shade (with an air temperature of about 120 and a ground temperature somewhere in the order of 130). The only water in the area lay under the salt crystals and was therefore undrinkable.

Anyway, having leaned on the car bonnet and got burned in the process, I headed straight away for Furnace Creek Ranch - the nearest filling station.

The petrol gauge gradually dropped lower and lower and I began to sweat and became tense. The road was fairly straight, taking a route along the edge of the valley floor, about 280 feet below sea level and passing Dante's View; Bad Water and Funeral Point! Furnace Creek finally came into view and, with a sigh of relief, so did the filling station. I pulled up by the pumps and was served by a smiling Chinese attendant who pointed out that the hose was not long enough to reach the filler and asked me to pull the car up a bit. I tried to start the car but it wouldn't. I had finally run out of petrol. Putting it into neutral, we pushed the car the last foot or so and within minutes, the Torino had its twenty gallon tank full of petrol. As I drove out of the filling station, the chinaman called out "Have a nice day!"

This little incident taught me a lesson that was later to be invaluable when I spent many weekends down south in the Anza Borrego desert near the Mexican border.

Deserts are rarely great rolling sand dunes as we tend to picture them, but a very harsh, broken terrain.

The sides of the mountains and floors of the valleys are a mixture of blistered and shattered rock, with little vegetation and very little water. This absence of water can be very misleading. In the Western deserts of the U.S.A. up to a few inches of rain falls in the months of November and December and often this annual total will fall within a space of a few hours with devastating results. The sides of the mountains and the valley floors are incised with deep, narrow canyons that can spell the end of any explorer caught in this winter flooding. The brilliant sunshine at one end of such a canyon can be associated with heavy rainfall at the other end, maybe many miles away, catching the unsuspecting victim without warning. The water flowing through these canyons will often produce a wall of water many feet deep, and the run off from an entire mountain catchment basin will funnel through a narrow canyon and out on to the valley floor. Split

54 Mountain Canyon in the Anza Borrega desert is rarely more than fifty feet wide and extends for over twenty five miles. The sides are precipitous, the walls being of the loose conglomerate associated with the sea deposits of the now receded Gulf of California. Another canyon in Death Valley, Surprise Canyon, led to Panamint City, a mining settlement. It took over eighteen years to build a road through this canyon, albeit intermittently and after its completion, the prospectors had time to drive their trucks through it twice before a cloudburst destroyed the entire road - such is the force of desert water.

With cavers venturing further into remote areas in search of cave sites, it is essential the geography of the area is determined beforehand - otherwise one could land up as a lump of bleached gristle! Men need quantities of water under normal conditions, and considerably more under desert conditions. The body's way of keeping cool is to sweat. For example, a man driving a car on a 110O day, may sweat almost one quart an hour, and the only way of replenishing this loss is to drink an equivalent amount. There is no way by which one can get along on less water by 'training'.

Thirst is a body signal to say 'I need more liquid' and it is the first sign of dehydration. Should the liquid supply not be given to the body, then body functions will slow down, followed by loss of appetite; fever; sleepiness and finally death. Sickness occurs when the body has lost the equivalent of 5% of body weight.

A loss of 6 to 10% produces dizziness; breathing problems and tingling in the limbs. The heart beats harder as the blood begins to thicken and walking becomes impossible. A 15 - 20% dehydration is generally fatal.

Giving the victim water will allow the body to re-hydrate quickly and even if the water is ice cold, the worst that will happen is that there will be temporary stomach cramps. What if there isn't any water, or if it is in very short supply? Some simple rules follow:1. Keep all clothes on, however much discomfort is experienced. A man may feel cooler with his shirt off, but this increases the sweat demand. One cane save over 20% of sweat loss merely by staying clothed.

2. Stay in the shade and rest rather than walk. Lying down reduces the strain on the heart, but NOT on the ground. Ground temperature can be 30 – 40O higher than air temperature so, if possible, get at least a foot above the ground. Walk at night, but don’t start until several hours after sunset to ensure the air temperature has dropped sufficiently.

3. Eat nothing except perhaps a little chocolate, as the digestion diverts the water that would be available for sweating. The drinking of alcohol or urine will only increase the dehydration rate.

4. Keep clothes moist by the use of any available fluid (booze, urine etc.) This will help to reduce the evaporation from the body.

5. Salt tablets should never be taken unless there is ample water available.

In addition to the problems of dehydration, the temperature in deserts zones fluctuates considerably between midday and midnight. Towards evening, cool airstreams sweep across the hot surface causing the temperature to fall rapidly and variations of 60OF are not uncommon. Thus, warm clothing is often necessary at night. During the day, with the temperature maybe up to 120O (higher than this is courting trouble in a big way) in the shade, everyone must be fully clothed to prevent wind and sunburn. Large, widebrimmed hats and neck scarves are essential.

One last but important point. To keep cool during the day, don’t drink iced beer or anything cold. Hot tea or similar beverages are best, as they raise the body temperature, thus reducing the differential between the body and the ambient temperature.

It is absolutely essential to examine the local seasonal temperature and general climatic conditions for any hot area one intends to visit. You are on your own when you get there!

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A Monthly Miscellany, by Wig

181.

182.

183.

Otter Hole: Roy Bennett informs me that the cave length is over 2,500 feet with passages up to 30 feet wide and 80 feet high.

M.R.O. - B.E.C. Team list: Tim Large is compiling a new list composed of members who are prepared to help during a rescue call-out. If you want to be included in this list, please cont act Tim. His address will be found at the front of the B.B. A.G.M. and Annual Dinner: Saturday, October 4th 1975. A.G.M. to be held at the Belfry at 10.30 a.m. and the dinner at the Blue School, Wells (the same venue as last year.)

Price about £2.25.

Swildons now costs 10p: After a quarter of a century, the Maines have decided to put the good will payment for descending Swildons up to 10p. If one considers the value of 1/- in 1950 in relation to average earnings, the present 10p is still much cheaper than was the old 'bob'. The payment should be made at the house next to the field gate as shown below, and PLEASE park your cars on the top green near the village hall.

184.

Swildons Again: I find it quite extraordinary that members have not noted some recent changes in the cave (neither have I seen any mention in other clubs journals.) Quite apart from the fact that the cave is much drier than usual at this time of the year with no active stream before the twenty, two changes have taken place - possibly due to some severe flooding earlier this year. The first is that a considerable quantity of pebbles has been washed downstream, leaving the streamway approaching Kenny's Dig about two feet deep and the small potholes in the floor approaching the Well thoroughly scoured. The larger change has occurred above the Well, where the infill has been removed exposing a ten foot deep rift that interpenetrates the wall of the Well itself, thus providing a possible alternative route. The sketch shown should illustrate the changes clearly. Editor's Note: To enable readers to compare the 'Before' and 'After' sketches Dave has included, they are both being printed on the next page. ____________________________________________________________________________________ MONTHLY CROSSWORD – Number 56 1

2

Across: 1. A pitch still with us, though twice this is no longer! (6)

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3 5

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7 8

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9

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13

14

15 16

18 19

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5. Type of cave passage. (3) 6. and 8. Master calf for this recently dug and abandoned swallet. (6,4) 10. Behold, it sounds deep. (2) 12. Cave dweller, often. (3) 13. Spanish yes, is backwards. (2) 14. May be heard after bang, perhaps. (4) 16. Tweeds otherwise prepared for cavers to eat. (6) 18. Gallery in G.B. (3) in this! (6) 19. First a bit of cave with two missing directions should not leave you Down 1. Aids, perhaps. (6) 2. and 15. Mendip Swallet, otherwise wet satin. (4,4) 3. Not until opposite but shortened. (3) 4. Old cave inhabitants. (5) 7. You can be as drunk as one in an old fashioned way. (3) 9. Short, dry, alternate way. (6) 11. Rarely visited Cuthbert’s rift. (5) 12. Mendip Swallet. (3) 17. Browne’s Hole chamber from Glastonbury? (3)

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