| Minutes of the meeting of Wednesday 4th October, 2006 held at 61 Paddock Close, Bradley Stoke, Bristol, BS32 0EX at 7:45PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, John Toller, Vice-Chairman, Graeme Churchard, Secretary, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Ian Donaldson, Allan Insole, Members. Apologies: Apologies were received from Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Fflyff McLaren, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman reported that she had contacted the editor of “Down to Earth” suggesting that he consider making the newspaper A5 size so that it would avoid larger postal charges. He had replied that printing reasons precluded a change in format and that, because of the change in the letter weight rules the cost of postage had actually gone down. The membership secretaries added that the new postal charges meant that our newsletter cost 23P to post by itself. Combined with “Down to Earth”, the cost became 55P. Postage costs per member are about £3 per annum. Vice-Chairman’s Report: The Vice-Chairman proposed that we clean the Tytherington site on Saturday 14th October at 10:30. He also proposes leading a “Geology for Beginners” trip around the North Bristol Coalfield on Saturday 18th November. This will be useful to new members and enable him to practise his presentational skills before he is unleashed on a wider public. Secretary’s Report: The October lecture is to be given by Tim Elliot of the Bristol Department. This is a high powered lecture but we have been assured that it will be presented in an approachable way. All members should be encouraged to attend. Attendance at this lecture should be recorded using the attendance book. The November lecture may have to take place in a laboratory as the vice-Chancellor has booked the Lecture Room for the afternoon and has not given a stopping time. However as the lecturer is Brian Williams, it is unlikely to require any sophisticated facilities. Sue Flint has raised the possibility of WEGA having a First Aid Policy. This received a frosty reception. We have several people qualified in first aid and also professional medical people who regularly attend excursions. Attempting to run excursions only when we had qualified people and a first aid kit would be a nightmare. We should contact Sue and encourage her to take a first aid qualification, but we should not make a First Aid Policy. The treasurer, who was absent, had suggested two possible excursions. These were to look at the Avon Gorge and the other was Tintern Quarry. Regarding the Avon Gorge it was the consensus that the best, economical method of doing it would be from the cycle track on the southern side of the river. There would be little chance of getting to grips with the rocks but one could see the structure across the gorge. This will be given further thought. Further information concerning Tintern quarry will be sought. An e-mail from Mike Benton was read asking for WEGA ideas for “Local Heroes”, the Geol Soc’s celebration of its 200th anniversary. Allan Insole suggested George Kühne who, while a prisoner of war, looked at Mesozoic mammals in the Mendips. This will be taken up with Mike Benton to see if it fits in with his plans. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer was not present but had raised several things with the secretary. She understood that the £1 fee for excursions had been abandoned for everyone. The Committee said that it understood that this still held for non-members and that their names should be noted. The latter was essential for insurance purposes. She reminded committee members that early payment of fees applied to them as well. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 2nd November, 2006 at Janice’s – 61 Paddock Close, Bradley Stoke BS32 0EX at 7:45 Top
Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 10th August, 2006 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 7:45PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, Graeme Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Ian Donaldson, Allan Insole, Members. Apologies: Apologies were received from John Toller, Vice-Chairman, Fflyff McLaren, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman suggested that discussion of the Emerald Fund be dropped for now. No doubt we will come back to its delights later. Vice-Chairman’s Report: The Vice-Chairman was not present but it was agreed that a small article should appear in the next Newsletter encouraging people to contact him for driving instruction. Also an article concerning the appointment of a part-time, voluntary helper in the RIGGs office will be written. Secretary’s Report: The long awaited excursion to Wick Quarry will take place on Saturday 12th August. Brian Williams will give the November Lecture. Professor Williams will also lead the September 2007 Excursion to South West Ireland The Secretary asked for suggestions for the other excursions in 2007. Various suggestions were made including a long weekend in East Anglia, Sully island, South Wales, possibly led by Allan Insole, the Jurassic of North Dorset and South Wiltshire, something by Nick Chidlaw and something in Mid-Wales, led by someone from the National Museum of Wales. These possibilities will be investigated before the next committee meeting. The last remaining space in the Lecture programme is March. Pat Brenchley, who has just published "The Geology of England and Wales" will be approached. Fred Hicks a former member of WEGA of many years standing is moving to an Old Persons Home and has given us a couple of boxes of books and geological paraphenalia. This was bought by various members of the committee, the remainder will go for distribution at the first lecture. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that we have £1438.85 in the bank She will write an article in the Newsletter to encourage early payment of subs so that there is less of a rush at the first lecture.. Membership Secretaries Report: The Membership Secretaries had nothing to report other than that the new postal regulations would increase the cost of posting the Newsletter and the associated "Down to Earth". The Chairman said that she would e-mail Chris Darmon suggesting that he change the format of "Down to Earth" to make it more convenient for posting. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday 4th October, 2006 at Janice’s – 61 Paddock Close, Bradley Stoke BS32 0EX at 7:45 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Wednesday 7th July, 2006 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 7:45PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, John Toller, Vice-Chairman, Graeme Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Allan Insole, Member. Apologies: Apologies were received from Flyff McLaren, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman summarised some decisions taken at the last Committee meeting. In principal field trips will be self-financing, but the Emerald Fund can fund selected field trips. Field trips to be funded are expected to be those which are easily accessible to all members and which have been publicised as being subsidised in advance. Vice-Chairman’s Report:- The Vice-Chairman said that he had been disturbed by the quality of the driving on the recent trip to the Harlech Dome. He suggested that we ask for volunteer drivers in the next Newsletter and that he can give them some instruction before they are put on the WEGA approved list. He is about to purchase some hand lenses which are cheap and good. We will be able to sell them to the membership. Secretary’s Report: The next “Festival of Geology” (previously known as the GA Reunion) will be in London in November. It was agreed that we would not be going as it is too much trouble for very little benefit. The Insurance paperwork was passed to the treasurer. As only six people were going to the Woolhope Dome it was decided to cancel the hire van and to go by a small number of cars. The excursion to Wick Quarry will take place on the 12th August. Meet at 10 at the quarry. Participants will need hard hats, high visibility vests and eye protection. The Secretary, in his over-enthusiastic innocence, announced that he had instituted e-mail for the WEGA domain through Google. This had the advantage that he would not need to maintain a list of e-mail alias’s for the membership. However it would require that the membership, starting with the Committee, would need to register with Google. Until everyone had done so, two e-mail lists would need to exist. The almost complete indifference to this request meant that the proposal had to be abandoned. The membership details are now available to the Committee on the internet. Details from the Secretary. This means that they are constantly up to date. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that we are solvent. There was a debate about when the Membership Year starts. The Treasurer thought from the 1st of April while the Membership Secretaries thought from the 1st October. The Constitution says it is the 1st April. We decided that we would encourage people to pay in April – the AGM would be convenient. The last date for payment would be the first lecture in October. An article will appear in the Newsletter telling people so. Membership Secretaries Report: The Membership Secretaries said that the membership continued to increase. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 10th August, 2006 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 7:45 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 6th June, 2006 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 7:45PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, John Toller, Vice-Chairman, Graeme Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Ian Donaldson, Allan Insole, Members. Apologies: Apologies were received from Flyff McLaren, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman referred to Gloria Castle’s announcement that she would be resigning her post at the next AGM. She suggested that we should appoint an Assistant Treasurer who could learn the ropes from Glo and be in a position to take over, seamlessly, at the next AGM. An e-mail should be sent to all members inviting people to volunteer. Following on from this she suggested that we change our procedures and make it so that all cheques need to be signed by two people and that four people have the authority to sign cheques. The treasurer should retain control of the cheque book. Secretary’s Report: The excursion to Wick Quarry will be on the 12th August. Neither John Parkins or Elizabeth Devon will be present. Mark Michelmore of the quarry company and John Toller will lead. Mark thinks it is on the 5th but the quarry manager says the 12th. This should be resolved soon A discussion about mini-bus hire for the Harlech Dome excursion led into a discussion about the excursion itself and about the organisation of excursions. There has been a disappointing response to this excursion, with only nine participants so far. This was thought to be because the accommodation is in a bunkhouse. The secretary replied that finding group accommodation in the area was difficult. Hotels which could take our size of group were expensive and comments about the expense of excursions had been made before. Therefore the choice of bunkhouse had been seen as a chance to solve two problems at once. The Harlech Dome excursion, as already mentioned, will be based in a bunkhouse. If we require it, a cooked breakfast, including a vegetarian option, can be had for £4 per person per day. Dinner can be provided at an extra cost of £12 per head per day. It was decided to go for the breakfast only option. Participants will have to provide their own sleeping bags, pillowcases and torches. There were also difficulties with the organisation of excursions. At the moment this was split in a nonsensical way. The Vice-Chairman looked after the list of participants, the Secretary made the arrangements but did not know who was going on the excursion and the Treasurer made the payments but could not exercise judgement as she did not know the arrangements or the numbers. It was decided to add the responsibilities of Field Secretary to those of the Vice-Chairman. The Committee would continue to decide which excursions to hold, but the Field Secretary would be responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the excursions. He would be responsible for liaising with the leader, arranging and hiring transport, finding and booking accommodation, and any other duties needed for the smooth and efficient running of our excursions. His responsibilities will start in the 2006 – 07 session. Expenses for the Southampton excursion, to be paid to the secretary, are £137.14. This is made up of £88.12 for the van hire and £49.02 for the fuel costs. The Vice-Chairman will give the Secretary the names of possible participants on the Woolhope Dome excursion. The Secretary will ask for a £15 deposit for this excursion. The Secretary asked for names of lecturers for the forthcoming session. Names put forward were Brian Williams, possibly in connection with an excursion to Ireland in 2007, Simon Boxall whom we met at the NOC in Southampton, Colin Donaldson of St. Andrews who could talk about Rhum and Ann Allwright who wrote part of the guidea bout the Sgurr of Eigg. A similar request was made about excursions for 2007. Ireland with Brian Williams was suggested. The Trasurer said that she could approach Brian. This excursion could be understudied by Allan Insole if need be. Donny Hutton would be good for Donegal but as he is with the Dept. of Continuing Education, he would be expensive. Suggestions for shorter excursions are awaited. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer said that the group had £1203.92 in the basic account and £1457.18 in the Emerald account. This was after paying Allan Insole for the “Geology for Beginners” course. Membership Secretaries Report: The Membership Secretaries said that the membership continued to increase. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Any other Business: There was a short discussion concerning the use of Horstmann Funds. These are from the Emerald Trust and are kept separate from the rest of the groups funds. There are no stipulations on the use of the money from the donors. There is insufficient money for the group to purchase a second hand mini-bus. We should specify a Horstmann Lecture and excursion each year, even if there is no financial subvention involved. Perhaps we could have a Saturday afternoon of lectures, on a theme, call it the Horstmann Lectures and use it to create publicity for the group. Allan Insole will enquire whether we can use the Earth Sciences Department facilities. Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday 5th July, 2006 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 7:45 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 2nd May, 2006 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 8:00PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, John Toller, Vice-Chairman, Graeme Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Ian Donaldson, Allan Insole, Members. Apologies: Apologies were received from Flyff McLaren, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman proposed that a new crest be devised for the WEGA sweatshirt and new colours be used for the shirts. There would be a cost for setting up a new crest. It was suggested that we have a competition to design a new crest to replace the old one. A crest which would have West of England and Geologists’ Association written out. Preferably with a hammer and some minerals, and possibly a (small) fossil. Details of the competition in the next Newsletter but e-mails to be sent soon to everybody we can. The winner to get a free Sweatshirt. It was proposed that we explore writing a Trail Guide for William Smith, to be financed by the Geol Soc 200th Anniversary Fund. Allan Insole said he would write a guide. It was suggested we compile a list of famous geologists connected with Bristol, with the ultimate intention of having Blue Plaques erected on the places they stayed. In the first instance we should record the names on the web-site. Secretary’s Report: The excursion to Wick Quarry has been moved back to 12th August. Elizabeth Devon will not be present. John Parkins will lead if he can be there. Otherwise the excursion will be led by group members assisted by quarry staff. We will need our group insurance policy. We will get Elizabeth Devon to contact John Toller. We need to hire mini-buses for excursions to Southampton, Harlech Dome and Woolhope Dome. The Treasure will investigate comparative prices for van hire. The Southampton trip will start from the Texaco garage on the A38 at Patchway at 10 on Thursday 1st June. The cost will be subsidised at 50% by the Emerald Trust. The secretary urged members to make use of WEGA’s Google Calendar. Attempts have been made to contact Bob Symes to give us a lecture on Minerals of Mendip. But so far no contact has been made. Tim Elliot of the Bristol Department will give the first lecture of the 2006 – 07 session. His lecture is "Light Weight Constraints on the Fate of Subducted Plates" The secretary suggested that the excursion to Lodeve in April 2007 be led by members of the group as a professional leader would be too expensive. Ian Donaldson suggested that he look for a local leader, starting with the University of Montpellier. This was agreed. The Treasurer said that Brian Williams would like to lead a trip to Ireland in 2007. This was thought to be a good idea and one to be pursued. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer said that the group was financially viable. She intended to get new account books as the present ones were almost full. She also said that she intended to resign in a years time. It was suggested that an assistant treasurer be found and appointed, to ease the forthcoming transition. Membership Secretaries Report: The Membership Secretaries brought up several problems which had arisen. A college lecturer wished to attend the Woolhope excursion, possibly with several students. It was thought that he and they should be welcomed (assuming only small numbers were involved) and all should be charged the normal £1 temporary membership fee. There should not be any group memberships. Student memberships were available at a pittance. It was decided that Student Memberships and the benefits accruing to students, should be discussed at the next Committee meeting. As a result of the publicity for “Geology for Beginners” a member had joined who could not actually attend the lectures. The Membership Secretaries, with the concurrence of the Secretary, had decided that her membership should run until October 2007. This caused some debate as to when membership should run. Theoretically membership runs from AGM to AGM but in practice runs from first lecture to first lecture (October to October). Because of the great cost of the “Geology for Beginners” lecture course, it was made plain that if you joined for the lecture course, you would pay £15 at the start of the course and £15 in October. In the past, people who joined at various mid-summer events were given membership until the October of the succeeding year. Part of the reason for this was to generate good-will, the other part is that our summer (excursion) programme is self financing. The only extra expense of a post-AGM joiner is the cost of a newsletter, and many do not get that. It was decided that the late joining, non lecture attending member’s membership should last until October 2007 and that a final decision regarding membership policy be made soon. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Any other Business: The “Geology for Beginners” lecture course has been a great success. Because of the increased membership we need to increase our order for “Down to Earth” back up to about 100 copies. Alan Insole said that he may be returning to Nigeria for a three year contract. This will not happen before the end of his lecture course A Nigerian Student has applied to join the group, but as yet, has not sent his fee. Dr Insole will contact him and point out that although we welcome his interest, we do not think we can do a great deal for him. If he continues with his application, well and good, but we will not send him our bank details! Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 6th June, 2006 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 7:45 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 21st March, 2006 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 8:00PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Flyff McLaren, Ian Donaldson, Members. Apologies: Apologies were received from Gloria Castle, treasurer and John Toller, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman has communicated with Paul Hayers. He has promised to pay the money owed to the group but as yet nothing has arrived. The March Lecture was reported as being very good with a good turnout. Secretary’s Report: Distribution of leaflets for “Geology for Beginners” is in hand. The anniversary of the Geological Society and various other geological societies are coming up and local societies such as ours have been asked to stage events which can be linked to this. Local events would get national publicity. It was agreed that we would discuss this at the next committee meeting. Aust Cliff was suggested as being a good place to visit in this regard. An excursions list will be distributed with the newsletter. These should be returned to John Toller. John had volunteered for this task at the last meeting and was not present to turn down the honour. The excursion to the Somersetshire Coal Canal will take place on Sunday 2nd April. We are anxious to promote car sharing but also anxious to reduce administrative chores. Therefore we intend to get the membership to arrange their own car sharing. Only those who cannot find a lift or who have empty places should contact the committee. The Membership Secretaries agreed to be the contact point. Elizabeth Devon has given Saturday 12th August as the date for the Wick Quarry excursion. (This has subsequently been changed to the 5th.) Elizabeth Devon has agreed to give a lecture on Tsunamis and Plate Tectonics in December 2006. Approaches have been made to Bob Symes for him to give a lecture on Minerals of the Mendips, but, so far, no response has been received. Arrangements for the AGM were discussed. Judith Hible will look after the wine and cheese. The secretary will give a presentation. A presentation will be made to Reg Bradshaw. Allan Insole has said that he would not mind being elected to the committee. The meetings being arranged by Reading University about Palaeolithic Rivers of the South-west have been publicised by the secretary. But people wishing to attend should make their own arrangements with Reading. There will be a Rocky Road Show at Blaise Castle on the 12th April. The McIntyres will probably attend, as may John Toller. It was suggested that a walking excursion along the Avon Gorge might be possible in September. Alan Hawkins may be able to lead this. This should be pursued. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer was not present. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Newsletter 36 was now available – twenty pages of living colour! It was suggested that there should be an article in the next newsletter showing the best places to park for lectures. This should also be shown on the website. Any other Business: Because some people had difficulty getting to lectures, it was suggested that they start at 7PM. This raised many objections and was dropped. Matters Decided: Suggestions for the Geol Soc anniversary to be made. September excursion to the Avon Gorge to be pursued. Parking directions to appear in the Newsletter. Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 2nd May, 2006 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 8 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 9th February, 2006 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 8:00PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, John Toller, Member. Apologies: Apologies were received from Flyff McLaren and Ian Donaldson. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman has written to Paul Hayers to discover whether he is interested in continuing with WEGA. Also payment of the money owed to the group. Secretary’s Report: Allan Insole will be giving our February lecture on the Geology of Nigeria on the 14th. He will be entertained by the Secretary. The secretary produced 500 leaflets about the “Geology for Beginners” course for distribution. These will go to various places where likely people will find them. The treasurer said that she had investigated advertising in Venue and would be submitting an ad soon. The cost would be in the region of £100. This was agreed The Secretary will be absent for the March lecture. The Treasurer volunteered to entertain the Speaker. Elizabeth Devon has agreed to lead an excursion to Wick Quarry. A date has yet to be confirmed. The excursion to the National Oceanographic Centre at Southampton will take place on Thursday 1st June. A possible excursion to purported tsunami sites in south Wales will have to be postponed until the autumn.. Arrangements for the Rocky Road Show were discussed including arrangements for delivering exhibits The excursion to the Somersetshire Coal Canal will be on the 2nd April. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that we were solvent. There was £1599.79 in the group account and £2442.26 in the Emerald Trust account. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Any other Business: Some details of the Knoydart excursion were discussed. Everything seems to be in hand. Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 21st March, 2006 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 8 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 19th January, 2006 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 8:00PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, John Toller, Member. Apologies: Apologies were received from Flyff McLaren and Ian Donaldson. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: An e-mail from Elizabeth Devon was read describing progress on the Geological Garden at Ralph Allen School in Bath. It was decided that any action on our part would wait until there were further developments. The lack of any communication from Paul Hayers suggests that he has dropped out of WEGA. He has not renewed his subscription and owes money on the excursion to Dorking and on the wine he has consumed. The Chairman will write to him. Secretary’s Report: We have just had our annual lecture from 3 Research Students. It was suggested that perhaps we should have just 2 students and they would be able to talk for longer. A member had asked for another Student Session, possibly in May. Allan Insole will be giving our February lecture on the Geology of Nigeria on the 14th. He will be entertained by the Secretary. The Secretary will be absent for the March lecture. The Treasurer volunteered to entertain the Speaker. Elizabeth Devon will be approached about leading an excursion to Wick Quarry in late April. Accommodation has been found at Bwlchcoediog Bunkhouse for our excursion to the Harlech dome. This will cost £12 per head per night. The possible excursions to the National Oceanographic Centre at Southampton and to purported tsunami sites in south Wales will be pursued. The Rocky Road Show will be on Thursday 16th July. John Toller will find out arrangements for getting the exhibit delivered. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that we were solvent. There was £1569.79 in the group account and £2541.26 in the Emerald Trust account. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. It was agreed that the editor should be paid for his printing costs from the Emerald Trust. His new printer’s running costs are 8.33p per page. Therefore a 16 page newsletter (8 A4 sides printed) will cost £0.67. And 80 copies will cost £53.33. This was universally agreed to be a bargain! Any other Business: The Geology Course for Beginners was discussed. Alan Insole has agreed to give the lectures. There will be 12 lectures in the course and he will charge £750. The Treasurer will continue her search for suitable premises. If possible, the course should start in early April, so that it can finish before the summer holidays. There should be leaflets available at the next lecture and at the Rocky Road Show. At the AGM there should be both a Book, Rock and Plant sale Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 9th February, 2006 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 8 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Wednesday 30th November, 2005 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 8:00PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, John Toller, Member. Apologies: Apologies were received from Flyff McLaren and Ian Donaldson. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman reported that Elizabeth Devon had asked for advice and ideas for a geological garden which may be built at Ralph Allen School in Bath. It was suggested that we find out what sort of rocks were contemplated – big or small, local or far-flung. It was suggested that she contact The Bristol Marble Company [(0117) 965 6565]. The possibility of contributing to the cost of the garden was raised. A decision on this will await further news. Secretary’s Report: The November workshop on the rocks of Syros took place. Some criticism was made that it was a very unstructured event and if any members of the public had attended they would have been disappointed. However as we were only responsible for providing the attendees, there was little we could do about it. In a future occasion we should perhaps encourage the organiser to prepare more thoroughly for the event. The Secretary promised to produce information on the speaker for the Chairman before the next lecture. Jon Blundy will be approached regarding student speakers for the January lecture. Ian Donaldson had mentioned that he would like to visit Wick Rocks and that Elizabeth Devon might be able to lead such an excursion. She would certainly know someone who could. This will be mentioned to her and such an excursion would be a pleasant extra excursion for the group. It was also suggested that she has given a very interesting lecture on plate tectonics and tsunamis which would sit nicely in next sessions programme. In our prospectus for the current session we said that we would encourage car sharing. The mechanism for doing this was discussed. It was suggested that everyone be encouraged to register for the excursions they wish to go on. Then the “contact” person for that excursion should attempt to match up passengers and drivers. It was suggested that this might be easier than it sounds – the WEGA web will have sorted things out long before the Committee gets on the job! It was suggested that excursion slips should be sent out with the January Newsletter. The secretary was given a list of Caravan sites to help him with accommodation for the Harlech excursion. The proposed excursion to look at evidence for the Bristol Channel tsunami is being pursued. It was suggested that this would be a good candidate for using a “free” bus. See below on proposals for using Emerald Trust money A spreadsheet detailing the usage of the Denbies wine was produced. The Chairman wishes to purchase the remaining wine. Paul Hayers will be paying for the wine he drank while custodian. A discussion on how to use the Emerald Trust money ensued. We are having great difficulty in spending the money in ways which meets the scruples of various members of the committee. The concept of using the money to the benefit of only a few members of the group and not to all, is difficult for some to agree to. But finding means of spreading the largesse is not easy. Suggestions made included publicising, in advance, which excursions will be subsidised and by how much, providing free bus transport for local excursions and reviving the idea of providing basic geology instruction free of charge to members. The latter two suggestions provoked most interest. It was suggested that Alan Insole might be persuaded to take on the post of Instructor. This will be pursued. It may also be a useful recruitment tool. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that we were solvent. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Any other Business: Alan Insole will be approached to give our February lecture on the Geology of Nigeria. Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 19th January, 2006 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 8 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 29th September, 2005 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 8:00PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Gloria Castle, Treasurer, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Flyff McLaren, John Toller, Ian Donaldson, Member. Apologies: Apologies were received from Paul Hayers. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted but only after the Treasurer pointed out that she had sent details of the Groups financial position to the Secretary prior to the Committee meeting. This was acknowledged and profuse apologies tendered, which were graciously accepted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman Said that Judy Hible had attended her first meeting of the BRLSI as WEGA’s nominee. The suggestion that her expenses should be met by WEGA were rejected. As she is attending a meeting called by BRLSI, they should meet her expenses. It was suggested that we should use Judy’s good offices to arrange a visit to the collections held by the BRLSI. Secretary’s Report: The secretary said that arrangements for the October lecture were well in hand. The November workshop on the rocks of Syros is being arranged due to the good will of the Dept., especially Mike Benton and Andrew Hook. And, of course, John Schumacher. Our thanks to them should be recorded. It was recorded that arrangements for the Knoydart (or Doune) excursion were well in hand. On a vote it was decided that the Emerald Trust would not subsidise this excursion. The Secretary asked for suggestions for places to stay on the Excursion to the Harlech Dome in June. It was suggested that the use of Caravan Parks be investigated. A report on the Syros excursion was made. In summary’ this was that we liked it. It was pointed out that John Schumacher was not averse to leading other excursions to Syros and we should point this out to other geological groups. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that we had £1695.93 in our account and £2041.26 in the Emerald Trust Account. It was suggested to the Secretary that he should send a thank you to Colin Horstmann’s relatives thanking them for the money. Also we should provide ourselves with some rules on the spending of this money. It is ridiculously easy and cheap for us to get good quality lecturers, so subsidy from the Emerald Trust is seldom needed. Subsidy of excursions is the only other means of spending the money which, realistically, we have. This has the danger of appearing to be a subsidy to the “holiday fund” of the regular excursion participants. Perhaps we should advertise which excursions will be subsidised and the value of the subsidy. This will allow the money to be used in an open way and allow habitual non-excursionists to decide whether they wish to participate. Another possible outlet for unused Emerald Trust funds would be the purchase of a colour laser printer for the Newsletter Editor, but this has the disadvantage of seeming to be a subsidy for his technology mania. Something which should not be encouraged. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Any other Business: Suggestions for Lecturers and Lectures were solicited, and several suggestions were made. These will be followed up. The Geology section of the Bristol Naturalists is now virtually defunct. We should encourage the remaining members to join us. The finances of the wine evening were discussed. Paul Hayers has succumbed to temptation, by drinking wine stored by him, to the tune of £83.94. Subtracting the cost of tasting glasses leaves £62.39 which he will pay by cheque. The remainder of the wine has been disposed of as in the accompanying spreadsheet. Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday 30th November, 2005 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 8 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Wednesday 31nd August, 2005 held at 267 Champs-sur-Marne, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 8:00PM Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Membership Secretaries, Flyff McLaren,Member. Apologies: Apologies were received from John Toller, Gloria Castle, and Paul Hayers. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted following a fulsome encomium from Roy McIntyre. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman said that she could not think of anyone to nominate for BRLSI. Cherry Lewis has resigned from her position. If we do not have to nominate someone, we will not. Liz Loeffler from the Department has been suggested, but she is not a member of WEGA. If she joins WEGA we would very likely nominate her. The proposed excursion down the Avon Gorge would cost £615 for the hire of the boat alone. The possibility of doing the excursion by car and on foot will be explored. Secretary’s Report: The secretary has made some amendments to the Safety Policy following the suggestions from Andrew Bell. These are of a largely minor nature. The major change which has been suggested is that excursions should have some sort of informal grading so that potential participants could gauge whether they are capable of engaging fully with the excursion. In connection with this it was agreed that, in future participants in excursions should give, not next of kin – who may very well be in Wagga-Wagga – but “a person to inform” who should be in the Bristol area. In most cases this will be next of kin. It was decided that, for this year, we should do without Membership Cards. The information contained on them is duplicated on the web site and the newsletter. If there is an outcry, we will re-introduce them in 2006. The October Lecture, the first of the new session, has been confirmed with the lecturer. There was some uncertainty about whether she would be available . The excursion to Knoydart was discussed. There will be some people who will be going to Knoydart but who will not be going on the fast boat. They will be staying at Doune and occasionally be going on the slow boat. We reckon that it should be easy to get replacements for any persons who drop out. Elizabeth Devon was going to lead an excursion to the Bath area in April 2006. But as she thought that Andrew Mathieson, a fellow member of the Bath Society, was better qualified for the job, she had pulled out. Fortunately I was able to persuade Andrew Mathieson to do the job. The exact date may have to change. In the last minutes a possible excursion to Lodeve in the south of France was mentioned. Sid Howells would be willing to lead it but would require a reconnaissance trip, at our expense, before leading the excursion. It was decided to explore other possibilities. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer was not present and therefore did not report. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Any other Business: The finances of the wine evening were questioned. According to information received later we have (in Paul Hayers possession) 20 bottles left. (6 types with 3 bottles of each, 1 red with 2 bottles). Thus 8 bottles were consumed at the wine evening. The total cost of the wine was £225.94. £26 was collected at the door. Advice will be given to the people in charge of the wine and cheese, not to purchase wine for the next few lectures. We may also raffle bottles of wine. Other suggestions will be welcomed. At the December lecture we will have a small 30th Anniversary Party. This may be an opportunity to sell some of the wine. Sweet mince pies will be consumed! Because of difficulties with access it was suggested that the excursion to the Woolhope Dome in July 2006 be done using a mini-bus. It was suggested that we could save £15 by ordering fewer copies of “Down to Earth” Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 29th September, 2005 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 8 Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 2nd August, 2005 held at 86 The Willows, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 7:45 Present: Janice Theis, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Ian Donaldson Member. Apologies: Apologies were received from John Toller, Gloria Castle, Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre, Flyff McLaren and Paul Hayers. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting could not be written as the notes were lost, possibly in France. It is suspected that most of the topics which should have been minuted therein are covered in the present minutes. The Secretary presented his apologies, which were accepted. Chairman’s Report: The Chairman said that she was worried by the relative lack of local, cheap excursions. Some people may feel excluded by the number of expensive, long distance excursions. It was suggested that it should be possible to arrange local, low key excursions, similar to the one John Toller led at Portishead. Suggestions were made about Ogmore, led by someone from the Museum of Wales, Wooky Hole and Wells Museum, and minerals of the Mendips, led by ?John? Alabaster. Related to the topic of easier access to excursions was a suggestion that we determine the people who require lifts and those willing to give them. We will modify the web site to make people aware that they can get a lift; a similar message will appear in the next Newsletter. We should modify the next application form to include two new tick boxes. 1). I may need a lift in order to attend excursions. And 2). I am willing to give lifts to people who wish to attend excursions. Also we should encourage car sharing on excursions. The committee member “looking after” the excursion should encourage car shares among the attendees. Secretary’s Report: The secretary enquired about progress on our trip along the Avon Gorge. The Chairman said that she would approach the ferry company and find a suitable date – a Saturday or Sunday in October - depending on the state of the tide – and approach Alan Hawkins to lead it. The secretary said that he had talked to John Schumacher, leader of the Syros excursion and that everything was under control. John would be flying on the same flight as the secretary and has arranged a very good deal for Dinner, Bed and Breakfast at the hotel. Also various excursions, including the use of a boat, had been arranged. This had been communicated to the excursion participants. The secretary said that an ideal base for an excursion had been found in Lodeve, 30 miles from Montpellier in the south of France. This was a Bed and Breakfast establishment run by an English couple. They have room for 14 people and charge very reasonable rates. There is good public rooms, a large garden and serve good food including an evening meal, served with wine. They would be able to arrange a mini-bus for us. All we would have to do is arrange the participants, arrange transport and obtain the services of a competent leader. This should be possible. The excursion would be about a week in length and be at some date in 2007 – outside July or August. The Chairman said that April 2007 sounded good to her. Details of the B&B can be found at http://paintfrance.com/pages/bnb.htm. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer was not present and therefore did not report.. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Any other Business: The finances of the wine evening were questioned. According to information received later we have (in Paul Hayers possession) 20 bottles left. (6 types with 3 bottles of each, 1 red with 2 bottles). Thus 8 bottles were consumed at the wine evening. The total cost of the wine was £225.94. At present we do not know how much was collected at the door. Advice will be given to the people in charge of the wine and cheese, not to purchase wine for the next few lectures. We may also raffle bottles of wine. Other suggestions will be welcomed. Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday 28th September, 2005 at Janice’s – 267 Champs sur Marne, BS32 9BZ at 8 Later it was decided to have another meeting on Wednesday 31st August, also at Janices. Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 14th April, 2005 held at 86 The Willows, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 7:45 Present: John Toller, Chairman, Janice Theis, Vice Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Glo Castle, Treasurer, Elizabeth McIntyre and Roy McIntyre; Membership Secretaries, Sandra Stead, Ian Donaldson, Babs Bennett, Members. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted Chairman’s Report: The Chairman reported that the excursion to two quarries south of Bristol had been well attended. The site clearance at Tytherington took place and a large area was cleared by a small group consisting of the Chairman and Terry Blake and Joyce Ali. Secretary’s Report: The Secretary reported that the AGM, followed by a book and rock sale, would take place on Tuesday 26th April, at the Earth Sciences Department. In the ensuing discussion it was decided, subject to the decisions of the Membership, that the new committee would be: | Chairman | | Janice Theis | | Vice-Chairman | | John Toller | | Secretary | | Graeme Churchard | | Treasurer | | Glo Castle | | Membership Secretaries | | Roy and Elizabeth McIntyre | | Member | | Ian Donaldson | | Member | | Babs Bennett | | Member | | Sandra Stead | Both Sandra and Babs expressed willingness (if not eagerness) to be replaced if successors could be found. It was agreed that the membership, especially the new members, should be canvassed to find new blood for the committee. The room allocation for the Settle Excursion was discussed. The June excursion will take place on Sunday 19th June. Because of parking difficulties in the narrow lanes of Dartmoor, we will meet in the car park in Crediton, and coalesce into as few cars as possible. Parking is free in this car park on Sundays. Our lecture in June will be followed by a wine tasting workshop. Dick Selley will be contacted to ascertain the best means of holding this. Estimates of potential attendance need to be made and therefore it should be advertised at the AGM and strenuous efforts made to get as many attendees as possible. Members will be charged £1 and non-members £2. The July excursion, which follows on from the lecture should be by mini-bus. Numbers going may be better estimated after the lecture. A mini-bus should be booked soon. The closing date for the SET Calendar is early July and therefore we should have our 2005 – 2006 programme settled before then. We do have several lectures and excursions already arranged but a variety of lectures and excursions were suggested which the secretary will pursue. It was agreed that the secretaries expenses in setting up a WEGA group on Flickr should be reimbursed. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that the group was solvent and that she would have the accounts ready for the AGM. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. He intimated that he would charge the group £30 per edition of the Newsletter. This would pay for paper and wear and tear of his printer. All copies of the Newsletter are “top copies” and there has been a favourable response to the legibility of the publication. Any other Business: The Membership Secretaries have made arrangements for our excursion to Knoydart in May 2006. They will make a presentation about this at the AGM. The first AGM of WEGA was held on Tuesday 7th March 1976. Therefore our 30th anniversary is fast approaching. This will be mentioned at the AGM. Suggestions on how to commemorate the event will be sought. Various excursions may be held throughout the year. In particular a trip by boat through the Avon Gorge was mentioned. Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 26th May, 2005 at a location to be decided. Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 10th February, 2005 held at 86 The Willows, Bradley Stoke, Bristol at 7:30 Present: John Toller, Chairman, Janice Theis, Vice Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Glo Castle, Treasurer, Elizabeth McIntyre and Roy McIntyre; Membership Secretaries, Sandra Stead, Member. Apologies: Ian Donaldson, Babs Bennett, Members. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted Chairman’s Report: The April excursion will take place on Saturday the 2nd. It will be to either or both of Stowey Quarry (Lias) and Stancombe Quarry (Carb. Lst.) The site clearance at Tytherington will take place at 10 on Saturday 12th March. (This has subsequently been changed to 2 on the same day because of a conflict with a very large Severn Bore – not to be confused with the Chairman.) The Chairman and Elizabeth McIntyre are to visit a quarry at UWE. Secretary’s Report: The Secretary enquired if any Committee member wished to take our March speaker, Prof. Richard Fortey to Browns. After a very brief discussion it was decided that the Secretary would be the host. Dr Martin Siegert will be our speaker in March 2006. He will talk on the exploration of Lake Ellsworth in Antarctica. The AGM and book sale will take place on 26th April WEGA’s costs for the Settle excursion will be about £1050. This includes van hire, fuel and, most importantly, Andrew Bell’s fee and other costs. It was decided that the non-refundable deposit would be £70. Any excess would be met from the Emerald Fund. There are no single rooms at the Settle hotel. It was decided that we would only subsidise one excursion per year from the Emerald Fund and that therefore the Syros excursion would be self-financing. This should not be a problem. The certificate for our insurance policy from the GA was passed on to the Secretary. The GA wants to have e-mail addresses for contact purposes. Those of the Chairman and Secretary will be passes on to the GA.. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that we had £1470 approximately in our normal account and about £2000 in the Emerald Trust account. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Both the Chairman and vice-Chairlady said that they would write. Any other Business: Questions were raised concerning our excursion to Knoydart in May 2006. It was decided that the Membership Secretaries would deal with the arrangements at the present as they knew the “lie of the land”. They will contact the boat and accommodation owners. They were also given George Downies address so that dates etc. could be cleared with him. The first AGM of WEGA was held on Tuesday 7th March 1976. Therefore our 30th anniversary is fast approaching. This will be mentioned in our Newsletter and at the AGM. Suggestions on how to commemorate the event will be sought. There may be some material concerning the early days to be published in the Newsletter and on the Web Site. The Vice-Chairman will send details of our programme to Down to Earth. Slips for this summers excursion programme will be included in the next Newsletter. Brian Williams wishes to lead an excursion to Nova Scotia in May 2006, but as this clashes with our Knoydart excursion, it was suggested that he consider September 2006. Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 14th April, 2005 at the vice Chairladies house, 86, The Willows, Bradley Stoke at 7:30. Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 2nd December, 2004 held at 112 Bush Avenue, Little Stoke, Bristol at 7:30 Present: John Toller, Chairman, Janice Theis, Vice Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Elizabeth McIntyre and Roy McIntyre; Membership Secretaries, Sandra Stead, Member. Apologies: Glo Castle, Treasurer, Ian Donaldson, Babs Bennett, Members. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted Chairman’s Report: The Chairman said that Elizabeth McIntyre should be congratulated on her exhibit at the GA Reunion in Cardiff. It had created a lot of interest. The Secretary added that the Chairman should be commended for his exhibit of Bristol rocks throughout the Geological Column. The Chairman said that the turnout of members of the public was disappointing, certainly on the days he was there. Sandra Stead that the numbers on the Saturday were better. It was suggested that, to increase interest in geology in the public, we should cultivate Amanda Parr who was the BBC’s local person for Alan Titchmarsh’s British Isles: A Natural History. We should send our newsletter to her with an invite for her to mention us. Secretary’s Report: The Secretary reported that the December lecture was fully arranged. It was agreed that the Chairman would take the speaker, Jon Blundy, to Browns. Arising from a suggestion from Joyce Ali, the December 2005 lecture has been arranged. The Speaker will be Dr. Andrew Kerr from Cardiff, who will be speaking on Mantle Plumes and Oceanic Plateaus. It was suggested that the April excursion should be to a couple of quarries, south of Bristol. One in Carboniferous at Stanscombe, the other in Lias near the Chew Valley Lake. The leaders would be found from within the group. It was suggested that arrangements should start to be made about the Settle excursion. Andrew Bell will be approached for suggestions about possible hotels. The excursion to Dorking to look at vineyard geology will be by mini-bus. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer was absent and therefore did not report. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. Both the Chairman and vice-Chairlady said that they would write. Any other Business: Arrangements were made to clear the Tytherington site at 10 on Saturday the 8th January 2005. Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 10th February, 2005 at the vice Chairladies house, 86, The Willows, Bradley Stoke at 7:30. Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Tuesday 19th October, 2004 held at the University at 7:45 Present: Janice Theis, Vice Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Glo Castle, Treasurer, Elizabeth McIntyre and Roy McIntyre; Membership Secretaries, Ian Donaldson, Babs Bennett, Members. Apologies: John Toller, Chairman, Sandra Stead, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted Chairman’s Report: The Chairman was to be asked about progress in getting Membership Cards printed. The Chairman has received an E-mail from Simon Carpenter of Bristol Naturalists, asking for a contribution of £50 from WEGA to defray the costs of printing a leaflet about the geological sites of Avon. Mention of WEGA would be included. But as we have not seen the leaflet and as Simon’s letter was sent in early September and the leaflets were to be issued in October, it was decided to postpone payment until we could ascertain whether the leaflets were of sufficient quality and that WEGA’s name was of sufficient prominence. Secretary’s Report: The Secretary reported that a letter had been received from Pat Brenchley thanking WEGA for the cheque we sent him. The McIntyres are to enquire of the Chairman what tables etc have been assigned to them for the GA reunion in Cardiff. When Professor Harris of the Open University comes he will be taken to Brown’s by the McIntyres and the Secretary. The December lecture has been moved from the 14th December to the 7th. This is because the university will be on vacation from the 10th and because the 7th would be more convenient for Professor Blundy. Because of some difficulties with the behaviour of Michael Lieserach during the St Davids excursion, consideration was given as to what we should do in future. It was thought that much of the trouble stemmed from the spartan conditions of the St Davids hotel. It was suggested that Michael might be encouraged to make his own arrangements for accommodation if such circumstances were foreseen on future excursions. Arrangements for the Siros excursion were firmed up. It was decided that the excursion would start at Athens Airport at about 4:30 in the morning of Saturday 10th September, 2005. There are flights from Heathrow (BA0634 or OA266) which get into Athens at about 4. They are operated by BA and Olympic. The cost of each (return flights) are about £140. The excursion would end at 7PM on Saturday 17th September, 2005, when flights returning to Heathrow (BA0633 or OA265) take off. Participants would be responsible for arranging their own flights, but the Secretary said that he was prepared to help participants who did not have internet access. Flights booked over the internet are considerably cheaper. From the airport we would take a bus to Piraeus where we would take a ferry to Siros. This arrangement would allow us to get to Siros in the hours of daylight and in effect give us an extra day of excursion. The relatively late flight back to Heathrow allows us to set off at a reasonable time on the Saturday morning. Participants would be responsible for their own bus and ferry fares (3€ (euros) for the bus and 15€ for the ferry). They would also be responsible for their hotel costs. These are likely to be less than 40€ per night for Dinner, Bed and Breakfast. John Schumacher would prefer to have a maximum of 16 geologists plus a few hangers on. But if there is a very large demand, he might be able to fit them in. We will come to that problem once it arises. He will arrange transport (bus and boat) on the island. He says it will be cheap. It appears that the total cost per participant will be:- · Airfare £140 · Bus and Ferry £25 · Hotel £200 · Mini-bus and boat £35 · Leader’s Costs £25 · Total £425 The cost of transport on the island and the share of the leader’s costs will depend on the number of participants. As most costs will be paid directly by each participant, the question of a deposit becomes difficult. We need a deposit in order to control the number of participants. The best answer is that the deposit should be the sum of the Leader’s costs and island transport i.e. £60. We should get people to pay the deposit and then book their flight. John Schumacher agrees with the dates – we will need to book his flight using group funds – if we can? Elizabeth McIntyre proposed that to celebrate WEGA’s 30th Anniversary she make a 3 dimensional geological map for President Reg Bradshaw. The area covered to be of his choosing. To make it a surprise, it was suggested that the Chairman find out which area he would like done. The AGM (and book sale) will be on the 26th April 2005. It was suggested that at the next meeting we should discuss what should be done to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of WEGA. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that Arnold Bridge had asked for the return of his deposit for St Davids. It was decided that in future it should be made clear that deposits will be non-refundable. The Treasurer reported that we had £1,113.83 in the Bank Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. And Ian Donaldson said he was writing an article which would be suitable. Any other Business: The Settle excursion was mentioned. The secretary said that it would be raised at the next meeting, but that it should be easy to arrange. The main question will be whether the group should arrange transport, and where we should stay. Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 2nd December, at a location to be decided, at 7:45. Top |
| Minutes of the meeting of Thursday 12th August, 2004 held at 60 Gays Road, Hanham, Bristol at 7:45 Present: John Toller, Chairman, G. Churchard, Secretary, Glo Castle, Treasurer, Elizabeth McIntyre and Roy McIntyre; Membership Secretaries, Ian Donaldson, Member. Adoption of minutes of last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were adopted Chairman’s Report: The Chairman reported that the trip to see the building stones of Wells Cathedral seems to be falling by the wayside and may need to be cancelled or postponed. He will try and sort something out soon. The site at Tytherington is becoming overgrown and needs to be cleared. This might best be done in October or November when much of the vegetation will be dead. On August 31 there will be a geological exhibit on the Bristol – Bath Cycle Path near Saltford. WEGA will have a stall. Prospectuses need to be brought up to date and available. The Secretary said that it would be done – and Lo, it was done. The Vice Chairman asked about the duties of Chairman when she takes over the job. In particular she was concerned about meeting and greeting speakers which she would find difficult because of job constraints. She was told that this could be shared out among the committee. She would have the pleasure of introducing the speaker to the audience. She said that that was no problem! Secretary’s Report: The Secretary reported that next years programme had been forwarded to the Universities SET Calendar. There was only one empty space – a day excursion in April. Subsequent discussion led to the suggestion that a tour of some local quarries might be a suitable candidate. The much moved excursion to Nova Scotia, inspired by Brian Williams, has been moved again, to clash with our trip to Siros. It was decided that we can no longer support this excursion. It will however appear as a WEGA trip in the SET Calendar – but in May 2005. The St Davids excursion is proceeding. There were said to be eleven participants so far. Steps will be taken to get the numbers up to 16. On August 19th we will freeze the list and, if appropriate, change the number of places booked in the hotel. Discussion moved on to discuss transport for the trip. Juby Hible had offered to take people in her minibus but it was decided that this would not be necessary. The cost of transport will be collected once the list is frozen. If we have 16 the cost will be about £35. Sixteen deposits of £35 have been paid to the hotel by WEGA. We will need to discuss with the hotel what will happen to deposits for rooms not taken up. Participants will be responsible for their own hotel bills. There was a long discussion about Risk Assessment on Excursions. The Secretary had produced a version of our rules for excursions which will be going into the Newsletter. A sheet with a version of this will be issued with the Membership card and it will be on the website. On excursions people will sign that they have read the rules when they pay the £1 fee and give names of next of kin and mobile phone numbers. It can be expected that we will soon have a data base of next of kins and the process will become more streamlined. The demand for the Group Insurance (~£136) was passed on to the Treasurer. The Secretary has produced small booklets scanned from individual chapters of “Geological Excursions in the Bristol District”. These might be useful for some excursions. As long as we do not sell them we should have no copyright issues. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer reported that she was attempting to sort out the refunds for the Lake District trip. Pat Brenchley is to receive £100, extracted from the refunds. Day members on long excursions should pay their £1 per day in advance She reported that there was about £920 in the account. Editors Report: The editor made his usual call for articles. And Roy McIntyre said he would write about Rhum. As he will be producing all the copies of the Newsletter on his printer he will charge a fee to the group similar to the charge paid to the previous, commercial printers. This was agreed. Any other Business: Elizabeth McIntyre inquired about when she would get her expenses from the Curry Fund. It was asked that a note be put into the Newsletter asking for members to pay in advance, so that the first lecture would be less hectic. Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 19th October at the University, at 7:45. |
