Derbyshire Caving Association

Information Circular 2007/2, March / April 2007

NEXT DCA MEETING

DCA Open Council Meeting, 10am. Saturday, 28 April 2007 at Monyash Village Hall

The Hall will be open from about 9.30am with tea, coffee and biscuits available. The Old Smithy Cafe, next to the Pub, does an excellent breakfast from about 9am.

Meetings for the rest of this year -all at 10am on Saturdays at Monyash Village Hall:

Remember that Council and Annual General Meetings are open to ALL members.

CONSERVATION & ACCESS

If you have any queries or problems about Conservation or Access in the region, please contact the Conservation Officer, Dave Webb, 0115-840-1109 or the Access Officer, Iain Barker, 0114-253-0112, 07710-689704.

Please note that, due to increasing quantities of "spam", the email address of access@theDCA.org.uk for general queries has been discontinued.

Bagshaw Cavern
Members will be sad to hear of the recent death of Peter Reville, the proprietor of the Cavern for a number of years and a good friend to many cavers. It is expected that his sister will take over the running of the Cavern but details have yet to be finalised so it is suggested that you wait until we have more information before attempting to contact her. We will let you know the new arrangements as soon as possible.

Ashford Marble Mine
Some white paint appeared in Ashford BMM during the week ending Friday, 2nd. March. It is thought it must be somebody surveying the site as there are 5cm diameter dabs of paint periodically on the roof in various areas of the mine, noticeably towards the "loop". Some of the names and distance markings on the walls have also been liberally repainted in places. If anyone knows who was responsible for this, please could you contact David Webb.

Access to Rowter Hole and JH
The farmer at Rowter Farm, Mr. Hall, has recently informed us that the fees for access for JH and Rowter Hole have been increased to £2.00. Other access arrangements remain the same. (Note that cavers are asked to stay away during lambing time: April/May.) A reminder also that farming is his livelihood and cavers are there as visitors -please behave sensibly and don't make a noise late at night as you leave the area. The lid on Rowter is in poor condition and currently only has one hinge intact, so please take care. It is DCA's intention to reconstruct the top of the shaft and replace the lid some time this year.

DCA NEWSLETTER 126 & AGM 2007 MINUTES

Following the death in February of Roy Paulson, who has been responsible for all DCA printing since 1993, we are having to look at new ways of producing the next Newsletter and other publications, papers, etc. The Newsletter is nearly ready to "go" and we hope to be able to circulate it to members in the not too distant future. Don't forget that items for the Newsletter are always welcome, by email or post, to Editor Paul Lydon. We also hope to be able to circulate the AGM 2007 Minutes shortly and they will also be on the DCA website. Our apologies for the delay.

INSTALLATION OF ECO-ANCHORS

If you have any queries about Eco-anchors installed in the region, please contact the Equipment Officer, Dave Cowley, 0114-255-1285, 07956-560055. Work on testing the Eco-anchors installed in Derbyshire during previous years continues, using the tester supplied by BCA to "proof load" each installation. There still remain a few to be tested out of over 400 installed but so far ALL anchors tested have passed -including some dating back to 1992. We have already agreed on some new sites: Nickergrove, Giants (Filthy Five) and Winnats Head

DCA OFFICERS FOR 2007/2008

The Officers were re-elected en bloc at the 2007 AGM on 24 February to serve for the coming year:

DCA Conservation & Access Team:

Cave Discovery Fund Panel Members:

NEWS FROM BCA

The BCA Membership Administrator has been working his way down a huge pile of CIM membership cards, starting virtually from scratch and building a new database as he goes. By now we think all clubs who renewed at the start of this year will have had their CIM cards. Also sent out recently has been formal acknowledgement of receipt of Club subscription plus the P.L. Insurance Certificate for 2007. If you paid late, the cards will get to you shortly. Any problems or queries, please contact Glenn Jones on membership@british-caving.org.uk. BCA Newsletter No. 8 should be with members shortly.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

HIDDEN EARTH 2007 - New Venue: This has been re-arranged for 21-23 September at Tewksbury School, Gloucester. Details will be posted on www.hidden-earth.org.uk and we'll let you know as soon as we have news.

FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER / NOTICEBOARD

www.theDCA.org.uk

19th April 2007