Belfry Bulletin Number 375

1 BELFRY BULLETIN Volume 33 Number 7 (No 375) July 1979 MONTHLY JOURNAL OF THE BRISTOL EXPLORATION CLUB The Bristol Exploration Club, The Belfry, Wells Road, Priddy, Nr. Wells, Som. Telephone: Wells 72126.

The views expressed by contributors to the Belfry Bulletin, including those of club officers, are not necessarily the views of the committee of the Bristol Exploration Club or the Editor, unless so stated. The Editor cannot guarantee that the accuracy of information contained in the contributed matter, as it cannot normally be checked in the time at his disposal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 CONTENTS: Editorial Notes 2 Letter to the Editor 3 Club Notes 5 MINUTES OF 1978 AGM 7 Cavers Bookshelf No.4 8 Crossword 9 Lifeline 10 FINANCIAL NOTES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pete and Alison Hooper (yes they're now wed and we offer them our sincere best wishes SWILDON'S even though they are members of that club at the top of Eastwater Lane - the Wxxxxx!)

HOLE: have made their mark yet again in Swildon’s. After a number of digging trips they have found a passage leading off Shatter Chamber towards the Seven streamway. It is said to be about 150ft long and quite bouldery at the end. The mud stirred up on the stream in the passage emerges under the first boulder pile in the Seven streamway. Although they were digging at another point the stream they have found what must be the one the SMCC heard, and dug for, way back in the early ‘70’s.

IAN DEAR M.F.

Nick Thorne has again been awarded £50 to cover part of his expenses to Austria this month. Members will remember that he was there last year with the Cambridge University Speleos and the result of their work was published in the September 1978 issue of the Belfry Bulletin.

Programme of meets organised by Dave Metcalfe 12th August Little Hull/Hunt Pot - Two potholes within a short distance of each other providing good SRT trips.

8th ~September Grange Rigg Pot - An interesting pot with succession of wet pitches and crawls to the terminal sumps.

30th September Dale Head Pot - A fine pot, but requiring plenty of energy to transport tackle through the initial entrance crawls to the Main Route. From there the pitches following in quick succession.

14th October - Eldon Hole (Derbyshire) 20th October Stream Passage Pot - Roomy pot with big pitches leading to stream chamber, sand caverns and Gaping Gill Main Chamber.

25th November Pippikin Pot – an arduous pot with tight squeezes and dry entrance passages and pitches leading to a couple of steam inlets and chambers totalling 4 miles.

2 Editorial notes: This month sees, I hope, an improvement in the quality of the B. B. as far as the printing is concerned.

Back in November 1977 the club purchased 100 reams of bond paper from Tony Corrigan at an extremely cheap price - so cheap in fact that he could not afford to let it slip through our hands. Anyway, as you will all know, bond paper is not sufficiently absorbent for the gestetner stencil printing process and so ‘off-sets’, sometimes badly, on the back face of the sheet. I hope that the collating team have been selective and not included bad cases in your B.B. If they have, please accept our apologies.

We have now found a supplier in the London area who has let us have one hundred reams of Croxley duplicating paper at £1.74 a ream - remarkably cheap considering the retail price in Wells for the same stuff is about £4.50 a ream! Two further price rises were in the pipeline including the VAT increase anticipated at the Budget and luckily Martin Grass got the order placed three or four days before that took place. The price was £2.20 a ream but providing we collected the paper we could have 20% off. Thanks to Martin he went and collected the quarter ton load. Anyway its here on Mendip and hopefully the presentation has a reasonable improvement.

JULY B.B. This issue concentrates mainly on club business in readiness for the 1979 AGM October. The minutes of the 1978 AGM are included (thanks to Fiona for typing them) and all the available information from Sue Tucker, our Hon. Treasurer, necessary to determine the future subscription rate. A breakdown of these figures per member is given and should give people a good indication of the size of the sub required.

The Committee will be making up mind at the August meeting on Friday 3rd August at the Belfry, when they will formulate a resolution to the AGM. NEW COVERS: Thanks to Garth Dell for the production of the new cover. He's printed them on paper to assist in keeping the postal charges down when the B.B. size is over 17 pages. 7,000 covers have been printed which should give us two years supply. My apologies for a lack of cover for the June issue but when I came to print there were only thirty or so left in the pile - the remainder were backing sheets.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LETTER TO THE EDITOR from an old friend John Stafford (to younger members he's the Stafford of the Stafford's Boulder Problem in Cuthbert's) Dear Dave, Have just returned from holiday in Torridon and Skye and felt that there may be members who would be interested to hear that new licensed premises have opened in a very strategic position for climbers and ridge walkers in the Black Coullin area.

'The Old Inn', Carbost, is run by Steve and Deidre Cooper supplying food, booze and B&B halfway Glenbrittle and Sligachan.

Officially it is a licensed restaurant but the purchase of a sandwich permits one to booze all evening. In actual fact some of the locals appear to have permanent personal sandwiches which are put out for them when they arrive and then cleared away for use again next evening.

For those who actually want food there is a selection of 'basket' meals prices which are reasonable for the area.

My firm is moving me to Kent next month so I hope to be on Mendip more often in the future than I have over the past few years.

Regards to all, Yours aye, John Stafford.

P.S. Is my 16 year old son eligible to apply for Junior Membership when we move south? Yes, Ed. Looking forward to seeing you again.

3 CLUB NOTES compiled by ‘Wig’ Tim Large has given me the menu for the dinner at the Caveman on October 6th 1979. Note the new times: 7pm for 8pm which gives plenty of time for people to get their third pint in before the meal!

ANNUAL DINNER MENU Minestrone Soup or Fruit Juice -----------------Roast Ribs of Beef & Yorkshire Pudding Chateaux & Parsley Potatoes Garden Peas and Brussel Sprouts ----------------Fruit Salad & Ice Cream OR Ripple and Raspberry Tart (hot) ----------------Cheese and Biscuits -----------------Coffee NB: Red wine (1 bottle between two) Sue Tucker has given me the following notes: Annual Dinner Tickets will be available soon. The Committee have put a limit on numbers of 140 so get your NUMBERED ticket from Sue as quickly as possible. Please enclose an S.A.E. with your order. Price for the dinner is £4.50 each. Sue's address is: Mrs. S. Tucker, 75 Lower Whitelands, Tyning, Radstock, Avon.

Telephone: Radstock 35165 -------------------------------Subscriptions: Sue writes, again (!) that would members send their subs to her and not give them to the Hut Warden as this results in delays and much confusion when sending out the BB's. Sue sends her apologies to anyone who has had a reminder on their BB but has already paid (blame it on clerical errors!)

--------------------------------1979 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – official announce of the date--------The meeting will be held at the Belfry commencing at 10.30am. The usual lunch of bread end cheese and beer will be laid on. Members wishing to change the constitution should let Tim Large have the resolutions so that they can be circulated to all members with the August B.B. The new constitution is included with this issue of the B.B. Nominations for the 1979/80 Club Committee is now called for; the closing date will be 8th September.

Please send your nominations to Tim Large, c/o The Belfry, Wells Road, Priddy, Somerset.

Welcome to the following new or rejoined 'old' members: 753 Sue Jago, West Cottage, Church Lane, Farrington Guerney, Avon.

648 Dave Glover, c/o Leisure, Pamber Green, nr. Basingstoke, Hants.

779 Jim Durston, ‘Hill View’, Old Beat, Maidendown, nr. Burlescombe, Devon

4

Address changes: 878 Ross White, P038389Y, 5 Troop, B. Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, Northern Ireland, BFPO 802 935 Lynne Williams, 10 Silver Street, Wells, Somerset.

-------------------------------THIRTY ODD YEARS AGO March 20th, 1943 - first trip after re-organisation of Club. A trip to Goatchurch. Party went through Drainpipe and examined lowest chamber thoroughly.

A dog marooned half-way up Rock of Ages was rescued by T. Stanbury and C. Drummond.

Members present: - T.H. Stanbury, C. Drummond, D.W. Jones, G. Tait, T. Ward and T. Charles.

3rd April 1943. A trip by cycle to Swildon's Hole. The Club made its first test of wire and duralumin ladder on 40ft. pot and found that the ladders exceeded all expectations. On return journey met party of 7 men and 2 girls in Upper Grotto and took them cut as they were lost.

Members present: - T.H. Stanbury. C. Drummond, D. Hasell.

These extracts are from Volume One of the caving log and show that the B.E.C we first again this is the earliest record of electron ladders being used in the UK. The UBSS are usually credited with this record about 1946. This extract from the caving log just shows the importance of keeping a good, detailed log.

AN EXILE RETURNS TO MENDIP. Oliver Wells has recently paid a visit to Mendip with his son, James. Caving has been the priority before he gets too old. Anyway, to make up for list time they both got cracking and descended Swildon's to Sump 2 with Phil Davies. Wayne, of the MCG accompanied them down G.B. and ‘Wig’ down Cuthbert's together with Don Thomson and his son, Justin. When not kipping on old friend’s floor, Oliver stayed at the Belfry and met and talked with current Belfryites.

AUSTRIA 1979 - Graham W-J, ‘Jayrat’ and about 14 others will be on their way to Austria by the time you read this B.B. and pushing a number of holes left unfinished last year above the south wall of the Dachstein. No doubt we shall be having all the news from Graham for the September or October B.B. CORNWALL is a dangerous place - according to the Gospel of Chris Batstone. On holiday in Cornwall with Sue Jago and kids plus Stu Linseys boy Chris, managed to write off not only his aging car but a 'J' registered Jaguar as well. Though shaken up there were apparently was no serious injury except for one of the children who suffered a cut requiring stitches.

The 'Hippies' return to Mendip: About 400 Hippies are at the Mineries Pool area at the time of writing and another 400 is said to be expected. Lord Waldegrave has given them permission to stay but the local ‘bobbies’ are keeping a wary eye on them. The MRO store has been stripped of the useful essentials in the way of medical goods and for the time being these are being kept at Wig’s. Apparently they have already set up a stage of sorts and one wonders if there will be a ‘Pop Festival’ on the Priddy agenda!

5 MINUTES OF THE 1978 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The meeting was held at the Belfry on Saturday 7th October 1978 and convened by the Hon. Secretary Tim Large. A quorum being present the meeting was opened at 2.10pm. The Hon. Secretary asked for nominations for a chairman. Alan Thomas and Colin Dooley were nominated from the floor. A vote was taken and Alan Thomas was elected.

The chairman then asked for any outstanding ballot papers and members resolutions. Also nominations for three tellers were requested. Sett, Garth Dell and Angela Dooley were elected. Roy Bennett proposed a vote of thanks to the constitution sub-committee (Kangy, Mike Palmer and John Turner) for their work.

Seconded by Alan Thomas. Motion carried. The chairman said that the A.G.M. was a place to air grievances about the club or 'forever hold thy peace'. He also pointed out that if anyone was unhappy with any point of the meeting he/she should say so then and have the matter righted immediately if the matter was justified. It was no good complaining when the meeting had ended.

It was proposed by Dave Irwin and seconded by Martin Grass that the 1977 A.G.M. minutes be taken as read. This was carried without dissent. The chairman asked if there were any matters arising from these minutes, which had been published prior to the meeting.

Dave Irwin then said that the B.B. Editors and Treasurers reports for 1977 had not been adopted. Be proposed that they were now adopted, seconded by Joan Bennett -carried unanimously.

Barrie Wilton said that he would like to see the club formally express thanks to Alfie for his many years of service to the club, particularly as B.B. editor. Kengy suggested a formal letter of thanks to Alfie. Barrie Wilton then proposed that a formal vote of thanks be given to Alfie for his services to the club and a letter sent to him to that effect, seconded by King. Carried unanimously.

Tim Large pointed out that last year there was a problem with outstanding Belfry fees. Chris Batstone said that there were a few outstanding but the position was considerably better than last year.

Joan Bennett said that as the club auditor she was much happier with the present position although some stronger action should be taken with persistent debtors. Some discussion took place, the general theme being that something should be done to discourage Belfry debts in future. Joan Bennett proposed that stronger action be taken against Belfry debtors, at the discretion of the committee in order that these debts are retrieved, seconded by Barrie Wilton - carried unanimously.

Joan Bennett then proposed, seconded by Nigel Taylor that the minutes be adopted. unanimously.

Carried

The Hon. Secretary’s report had been published and was taken as read. The chairman asked the Hon. Secretary if be had anything further to add. Tim Large said he had no further comment to make. Dave Irwin proposed, seconded by Tom Temple, that the Hon. Secretary's report be adopted - motion carried.

The Hon. Treasurer’s report was published and available at the meeting. The chairman asked the Hon. Treasurer if he bad any comments to make. Barrie Wilton said he had nothing to add. Bob Cross asked why £247 had been spent on spares this year with only a small sales figure. Barrie explained that much of this figure had been spent on the clubs purchase of caving boots which were in the course of being sold.

Although some boots had been sold, the accounts closed before the money was received. Dave Irwin proposed seconded by Joan Bennett that the Hon. Treasurers report be adopted and a vote of thanks to Barrie for his services to the club. Carried unanimously.

The Auditors report then followed, being previously published. Joan Bennett said the books showed a fair account of the club s financial position. The meeting then adopted the Auditor’s report for the coming year.

The Caving Secretary’s report followed this had been previously published in the B.B. Nigel Taylor said he held nothing to add. Tom Temple proposed, seconded by Chris Batstone that the Caving Secretary’s report be adopted. Carried without dissent.

6 The Climbing Secretary's report was taken next, being published the B.B. Dave Irwin said that Russ Jenkins had accepted the fact that climbing was no longer an active part of the clubs activities. Graham Wilton-Jones said that he thought it a good idea for the club to keep itself informed of climbing information, accommodation, contacts, and the likes, though someone else like the Hon. Caving Secretary would have to relay correspondence back to the club. Martin Grass said there was still much interest in mountaineering and hill walking and that club membership of the B.M.C. should be maintained. No vote was necessary. Nigel Taylor proposed, seconded by Dave Irwin that the Climbing Secretary's report be adopted. Carried unanimously.

The Tackle Master’s report then followed having been published in the B.B. Graham Wilton-Jones said that more tackle had gone missing and he was in a dilemma as to who could have done it and what to do about it. Nigel Taylor expressed concern over finding tackle spread around Mendip for long periods of time which had not been booked out. Jok Orr suggested a deposit system for taking tackle out to encourage people to return it. John Turner suggested more restricted access keys only being available from a few selected people. Dave Turner disagreed with the last speaker, as it would penalise the bone-fide member who caved regularly, particularly during mid-week when the select few could be difficult to contact. Pete Franklin endorsed the idea of a more restricted access to the tackle. Chris Batstone suggested exploring tighter control on the booking out system. Colin Dooley asked whether this meeting could give a directive to the new committee to control the tackle more efficiently. Jok Orr said people should be made more responsible for tackle by paying a deposit. John Turner and Nigel Taylor both suggested better control over tackle particularly the reserve store which often finds its way into the regular store and subsequently goes missing. Tom Temple proposed, seconded by Annie Wilton-Jones that the committee be directed to control the tackle more efficiently but at the same time maintain reasonable access. Carried unanimously.

Bob Cross proposed, seconded by John Dukes that the Tackle Masters report be adopted. Carried unanimously.

The B. B. Editors report was taken next, already having been published in the B.B. Dave Irwin had no further comments to make. John Dukes raised the question of improving printing methods if financially possible. Dave Irwin replied that the club had so far relied on privately owned machines and perhaps the club should consider purchasing its own. Sett said he knows of a nearly new machine (gestetner) going for around £15. The meeting agreed to purchase such a machine. Pete Franklin said he also knew of a printing machine and would investigate the possibility of buying it.

Colin Dooley said that the B.B. had not progressed and the position was no different from the previous year. He reiterated the need for the club to have its own printing facilities, also the need for more material from the members in order to improve the B. B. and this was down to individual members. John Dukes proposed, seconded by Tom Temple that the B.B. Editors report be adopted. Carried unanimously.

Dave Irwin said of the Librarians report that the club had a collection of rare and valuable books. These should be locked away and only be available on application to the librarian. Nigel Taylor suggested storing these books in a fireproof box even if the club had to purchase one. Chris Batstone proposed, seconded by John Dukes that the Librarians report be adopted. Carried unanimously.

Hut Engineer’s report which had been previously printed in the B.B. was next taken. Bob Cross said he had nothing to add. Nigel Taylor referred to a letter in the B.B. regarding half completed work. He suggested that people such as these either come and do some work or keep their mouth shut. The chairman endorsed this comment. Dave Irwin proposed, seconded by Wally Wilkinson that the Hut Engineer report be adopted. Carried unanimously.

Graham Wilton-Jones had nothing further to add to his previously published Publication Officers report.

Dave Irwin proposed, seconded, by Annie Wilton-Jones that the report be adopted. Carried unanimously.

A report on the Ian Dear Memorial Fund was not available as Mike Palmer was not present. Dave Irwin said that there had been one application from Nick Thorne who had been allowed £40 towards an Austrian trip. A report on this should soon appear in the B.B.

7 Tim Large said that Les Peters, Bob Bagshaw and Roy Bennett were prepared to stand as Trustees. Alan Thomas and Roy Bennett were nominated by the committee. Sett was nominated by Nigel Taylor and seconded by Tom Temple. A vote was, called for by the chairman; Les Peters, Bob Bagshaw, Roy Bennett and Alan Thomas were elected.

The committee results were received from the tellers by the chairman. Those elected were :- Tim Large, Dave Irwin, Sue Tucker, Chris Batstone, Graham Wilton-Jones, Martin Grass, Nigel Taylor, Bob Cross and John Dukes.

The following committee members were given the following posts:Hon. Secretary: - Tim Large Hon. Treasurer: - Sue Tucker Caving Secretary: - Martin Grass Tackle Master: - John Dukes Hut Warden: - Chris Batstone Hut Engineer: - Nigel Taylor B.B. Editor: - Dave Irwin The ballot papers were then burned on the Belfry fire. Martin Bishop then proposed that Bob Cross take on the duties of liaison with the climbing and mountaineering world in order to maintain useful contacts the meeting agreed.

The meeting then adopted the Hon. Auditors report and elected Joan Bennett as Hon. Auditor for 1979.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS The chairman then read a letter from Garth Dell regarding an incident which happened at the Belfry and resulted in his membership being cancelled. He appealed to the club for reinstatement of his membership.

Dave Irwin replied on behalf of the committee explaining the position. Much discussion ensued. Eventually two motions emerged. Firstly by Pete Franklin, seconded by Dave Irwin that the suspension be cut to six months. Carried unanimously. Secondly Tom Temple, seconded by Wally Wilkinson that his membership be reinstated immediately. Voting 17 for - 12 against motion carried.

This motion was carried after prolonged and serious discussion and by no means sets a precedent. It was proposed by Jok Orr, seconded by Val Wilkinson that the original committee action regarding Garth Dell should be fully endorsed by the meeting. Carried with a large majority.

There being no other business the meeting closed at4.20pm.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CAVERS BOOKSHELF No.4 a review by Martin Grass of the N.P.C. Journal 1979 The N.P.C. Journal has not been published for two years but this does not that they have been idle as this superb publication bears out. It includes a lengthy account on the discovery and exploration of Link Pot Easegill with a pull-out survey and black and white photographs of the system. Other surveys included are of Vesper Hole - Kingsdale and Ogof oy Herwheliwr, North Wales together with an article (with surveys) on Belgium caves. A rather late report on the exploration of Dale Head Pot can be found as well as lesser original explorations in Yorkshire. Expedition reports on Austria, Ireland and Belgium can be found, though most has already been published elsewhere. A light-hearted report on Mexico by Jim Eyre is certainly worth reading and his account of descending some of the big shafts there will put the hardest caver off SRT for life.

All this is certainly one of the best journals to be published by a club for a long time and the price of ÂŁ1.35p is good value for 68 pages of information. The journal can be purchased from the publications officer of the Northern Pennine Club, Greenclose House, Clapham, via Lancaster, or from the M.C.G. who have a few copies for sale at the Hunters at a weekend.

8 For of some lighter entertainment here is a crossword sent in by Steve Woolven. The answers will be in the next B.B. CLUES ACROSS 1. Mendip cavers paradise 10 “A Mist” in 1 across 11 An alternative for alternative 12 A direction in front the Queen could give you this Mendip cave 15 This beautiful wench could be on the boundary 16 Insert the missing word inside the brackets - "Leave (----) to get through" 19 A possible Mendip cave 21 Derbyshire's “Roadside” Pot, you won't get by 22 Castle? An old B.E.C. dig?

25 Definite article 27 Surrey Heath Caving Club in short 30 Leave it when caving , 32 Chamber in St. Cuthbert's 33 You do this when 33 down is joined together! It sounds like.

34 Mistake!

35 Throw up!

37 Dog, Owl on Mendip, all in a cave.

40 Scarlet dye in a French reservoir.

41 Lie down and turn in the Cathedral.

42 Staging a mock rescue.

43 Horizontal underground passage.

44 Trog to be lost and muddled in a cave.

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CLUES DOWN 2 The way to go when prussiking 3 Wanted?

4 An obscene word in 1 across 5 Proportional term of flow to time 6 Zulu rides the evil explanation 7 Digging’s easy with this.

8 Yemen changed to the opposition 9 A mine in Derbyshire!

13 Bound and jump through pools of water 14 Hesitate!

17 This isn't wanted in 7 down (5,4) 18 Opposite to 26 down 20 Named thing!

23 Animal cave 24 They brew 4 down 26 Negative 28 Chased cad and herd into narrow opening 29 Caves can be formed by this 31 Legendary being wearing caving gear 33 A mine and a wet suit have this 36 It's a rare commodity in the underground world 38 Line twist in the stream is more of a river 39 Glacial phase.

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9 LIFELINE - a regular column for our Hon. Sec. Tim Large…

The Midsummer Buffet was attended by a smaller number than last, but all the same was very enjoyable.

Those who preferred a barbecue would have got rather wet that evening!

It is becoming increasingly apparent that our financial situation is not comfortable. With the shortened financial year reducing the subscriptions to £2.00 it has been necessary to draw from our building society account - in other words - reducing our capital. It is inevitable that the subscription rates will have to be increased at the AGM - but it is debatable what they will be.

The major expense is the printing and distribution of the B.B. With the increase in postal charges it will cost each subscription paying member £2.50 per year. The only way to reduce the figure would be to have a bi-monthly BB. In the past our paper supplies have been very cheap, but now even buying at the cheapest commercial source the costs bear no comparison. The last AGM agreed to the purchase of a new (secondhand) printing machine. This still has to be bought and could cost as much as a £100. Sett is still attempting to get the machine he knows of at his works. At the present time we could barely afford the machine.

However you look prices are rising, not to mention the recent VAT increases. In order to make up the losses of tackle and renovating existing stock it is necessary to spend £170 a year (some £1 per sub paying member). Our Third Party Liability insurance works out at 61p per head at present - next years premium is likely to be more.

At present the Belfry is expected to be self financing but it would appear that disregarding the Navy groups fees it is running at a slight loss. It would be dangerous to rely on the Navy as their usage is unpredictable. The Belfry takings at present also cater for the rates and insurance. It is not unreasonable to expect 50% of these expenses to come from membership subscriptions. This would leave some money for Belfry maintenance costs.

So far I have not mentioned all the other Club expenses including library purchases; various subscriptions to CSCC, BCRA, BMC etc; Secretarial and the occasional non-recurring costs.

Finally we have never specifically allocated a yearly sum towards the Belfry improvements or structural repairs. I think it is important we look to the future and make provision for these. Facilities at the Belfry could be improved but initial could be £1,000 - £1,200. With inflation running at nearly 2% per year we may never be able to afford this type of project if not catered from the subscriptions now. With only allowing £1.00 per member per year for any such improvements the subscription works out to be at least £7.00 - £8 would be much better.

Ed. note: Tim's calculations come as a bit of a shock, I was thinking of somewhere between £5 - £6, roughly doubling the current sub rates. Speaking personally I wonder if there is another approach to the problem of expensive maintenance and improvements to the Belfry. ‘Way-back’ in 1967 Bob Bagshaw started a hut fund by getting members to sign a bankers order for £1 a month for three years - this raised about 800 pounds and was a valuable nest-egg when the new Belfry had to financed. At the current rate this would be about £4 - £5 per month. I wonder how many of our current Belfry regulars would be prepared to do this? Perphaps Sue Tucker might like to think about it!

True or false?

Ben Lyon at the Symposium on ‘Caves and the Community’…”Old cavers never die, they just get married or join the Pengelly Cave Studies Trust”

10 As has been hinted by Tim Large in his 'Lifeline' it appears that the subscription will have to be raised.

The following notes will enable members to arrive at their own conclusion to what level the sub should be raised.

FINANCIAL NOTES by Sue Tucker, Dave Irwin and Tim Large Talking money problems in the B.B. makes for dull reading when the whole Journal could be packed with caving and associated news. Subscriptions. There is one fact that stands out like a sore thumb and that is that the subs will have to be raised from the next club year - 1979/80.

What we've tried to do, hopefully, is to summarise briefly the various expenditure that the club incurs in a year and relate this to the current membership. Note these figures do not allow for any drop in membership due to 'natural wastage' or to the increased sub itself.

In Janubry.1972 the subscription was increased from £1.25 to £2.50 and many members were shocked when this occurred. Some thought that the world had ended and the BEC would be in severe financial trouble - that did not happen. Membership is growing at a faster rate than for many years and the Committee foresees the membership at over 250 before long. The sub was raised again in 1976 to £3.00; the present rate.

Anyway, what we have done is to extract the relevant expenses that is incurred by the club as a whole and not included any item that is part of the Belfry costs except the insurance and rates. We have also included the same costs as they were in 1973 to show clearly the rise in costs over the period of the last six years and reduced these to represent the costs to an individual member. These costs per member have been based on a 175 subscription paying members – remember that the club has 50 Life Members. In a further attempt to stabilise the current situation all the various re-saleable accounts (surveys, boots, carbide etc.) have been frozen and any fresh stocks are to be funded from the profits of the previous sales.

One likely area of controversy is likely to be in the suggested switch of Belfry Insurance and rates to the sub paying member enabling Belfry surpluses to be accumulated for future improvements as well as a levy included in the sub to swell this sum. It is also argued that the Belfry belongs to all members and so the basic annual costs of the buildings should be borne by all members. This argument is countered by the fact that all members, particularly the Life Members financed the building in the first place and the General financing and upkeep is the responsibility of those people using the building at the present time. The Belfry income and expenditure accounts will be published before the AGM so people will have the opportunity to debate this before the AGM. Whatever way the argument on the reapportioning of the Belfry expenditures the Club decided the basic problem is how to finance any major repairs in the future. In theses days of high inflation it is not really practical to raise money slowly over a number of years as the accumulated sum will only chase costs. Any major work to be carried out on the Belfry is probably better to be raised over one or two years by putting a levy on both the subscriptions and the Belfry bed night fee.

The chart that follows indicates the choice of the make-up of the sub and some do include a proportion for a Belfry fund if it is deemed necessary. It is clear that the sub has to be raised. What the Committee will have to do in coming to a recommendation is to assess the amount of floating money it requires for nonrecurring costs £100 has been estimated in the chart, and Belfry improvements. Remember that the Belfry is now 10 years old and will soon need several major repairs and improvements. Let the BB publish your views before the AGM e.g. Where can we make substantial savings without loss of service to members?; Should the Committee raise the sub annually to reflect the National rate of inflation? Get your pens out NOW and don't sit there moaning if the sub more than doubles….

11 £ 1973 BB Printing & Distribution 3rd Party Insurance Tackle Subs (BRCA etc) Belfry Rates inlc.

Water Belfry Insurance Library Belfry Improvement Se. Expenses Non-recurring costs

£ a

£ b

£ c

£ d

£ e

£ f

£ g

£ h

£ j

£ k

173

£ 1979/ 80 450

2.50

2.50

2.50

.70 1.00 .30 .60

.70 1.00 .30 ----

.70 1.00 .30 ----

+ 1.50 .70 1.00 .30 ----

2.50

.70 1.00 .30 ----

+ 1.50 .70 1.00 .30 .30@

2.50

122 175 38 122

+ 1.50 .70 1.00 .30 .60

2.50

47 111 8 72

+ 1.50 .70 1.00 .30 ----

.70 1.00 .30@ @

.70 1.00 .30@ @

45 14 --19 --?

130 30 175 50 100

---.20 1.00 .30 .60

.75 .20 ---.30 .60

---.20 1.00 .30 .60

.75 .20 ---.30 .60

---.20 1.00 .30 .60

.38 .20 ---.30 .60

---.20 ---.30 .60

---.20 ---.30 .60

.38@ .20 2.00 .50 .60

.38@ .20 .50 .50 .60

#

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SUBSCRIPTION RATE---------------- 6.60 6.95 5.60 5.95 6.70 5.28 5.60 4.60 8.28 6.28 + = bi-monthly B. B. @ = Belfry Insurance and Rates NB; g leaves arrangements as they are at the moment without any support funding for the Belfry. It also does not allow any income for Belfry improvements. # tackle – out of position