MCG Occasional Publication No. 550th Anniversary Celebrations1954-2004The Group celebrated its fiftieth birthday in style and each event was reported in the newsletter The following personal recollections remind us of the wonderful events which took place during the year. Swildon's NostalgiaFriday 26th March 2004 saw a commemorative trip down Swildons where 1950's style caving gear was much in evidence. A few old 'stinky' carbide lamps and at least two original waist lengths made their appearance. Arthur Spain provides us with a description: The 50th Anniversary of the MCG on the weekend 26th - 28th March 2004 was full of interesting activities and surprises dreamed up by our enterprising committee. Because Swildon's Hole was the highlight of the 50's caving scene when the club was formed, it was decided to have a trip to Sump 1. Then, of course, the cave still had the Forty Foot pitch and the entrance series was undisturbed by the 1968 floods. Certainly my memories of a trip into Swildon's in the late 1950's was one of inadequate clothing; no specialised oversuits for us, only woollen garments next to the skin covered by a very un-waterproof boiler suit, capped with an old compressed cardboard miner's helmet and of course the ubiquitous carbide caplamp, giving a good light when working well and a sooty flame when not, coupled with a tendency to expire if water hit the jet leaving you in darkness at the most inopportune moment. Finally of course were the leather boots with Tricooni studs, not too grippy on smooth calcite!!! So with this in mind some of us dressed for the occasion complete with ammo box housing a candle, non too waterproof matches, spare carbide, glucose sweets (years old) and anything else thought essential. Boiler suited and armed with carbide lamps (where available) fifteen hardy souls of various ages gathered outside Main's barn on Priddy Green for the mandatory photo shoot, then off following the familiar route over the stone stiles to Swildon's entrance. We divided ourselves into two groups, one of which went to the Water Chamber, via the Wet Way, the other (my group) went via the Long Dry Way (the Short Dry these days has a small stream so not so dry).
Naturally the Forty Foot pitch had to be tackled using an electron ladder but, without the pipe pouring water down your neck, compared to then it was very tame; still, the Twenty Foot pitch made up for it. There was a fair amount of water in the stream so the next part of the trip proved to be quite interesting, especially at the twin pots which those in my party negotiated successfully without falling in, a frequent occurrence in the early days. It must have been a mammoth trip in Herbert Balch’s day – early photos show very wet conditions. Finally Sump 1 was reached, which was an insurmountable obstacle up until 1936 but is now a simple duck under a six foot ledge holding the guideline (not in our case though). Yet another photo shoot then back up the streamway following the familiar route to the Twenty and Forty Foot pitches and back via the Wet Way to the entrance, emerging into an overcast but dry day, eventually returning to Priddy Green very wet but satisfied that all had gone well. The sequel as far as this scribe was concerned was that his dry clothes were locked in the van belonging to a member of the second party, so several laps of Priddy Green were necessary to keep warm; the joys of caving!! Arthur Spain, MCG member since 1959
In the evening, Malcolm entertained a packed cottage with a slide and film show beginning with the period when, as Linda put it, "the bobble hat ruled." 50th Anniversary DinnerThe Anniversary Dinner took place on Saturday 27th March at Coombe Lodge, Blagdon, where the Group welcomed almost 140 guests, some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Canada and Brasil. Richard Woollacott recalls that in May 2003 he received an email from Malcolm Cotter: "Next year the MCG is having a 50th celebration. Hope you will both be present. I will give your e-mail address to Linda Milne the main organiser so that you receive news e-mails." Fiftieth - what a shock! How time flies. We had been exchanging Christmas cards with Malcolm and Robbie over the years and had met a couple or so times but one could not decline this chance to experience the resurrection of one's past. When the time came, off we set. Who would be there? Would we recognise and remember each other? We went to the hotel first. This perhaps was a clue to what we might find. A bit smart for MCG? Still it was a special occasion. After booking in perhaps we should try to find some members, but where to look? The Hunters of course. In we went to find a room full of unknown but strangely familiar faces. Behind a face we could discern another that rang bells, indeed with many, we could pull out a name. It did not take long before we all sorted things out. One or two however seemed hardly to have altered at all, Jack Green and Arthur Spain in particular. No one said that I hadn't though. Others, who in the past had been, shall we say, characters were now all solid establishment sort of figures. In the evening, we descended to the restaurant area to find an incredible display of photographs of people and events spanning those 50 years. Cries of "do you remember him/her?", "I had forgotten that" and "Wow!" filled the air. The labour of locating, identifying and putting that lot together must have taken many months. The meal went magnificently. The speeches were good but not too long, and left plenty of time for drinking and circulating afterwards. Everyone I am sure had a very, very enjoyable evening reliving their past and renewing old friendships that they will remember for many a day. How good it was that Malcolm was there Our thanks to the organisers for the vast amount of work and planning that must have gone into an event as big as this which went without a hitch. It is so good that there are still enthusiastic people in the club who will take on such a task. Has work started on the planning of the 100th? We cannot promise, but we will be there if we can. Richard & Maureen Woollacott. The dinner was a resounding success with fine food, a display of photographs from the last 50 years, a Grand Auction (which raised £400 each for the Mendip Rescue Organisation, the Council of Southern Caving Clubs and J’Rat’s Bang Fund, as well as for MCG) and a raffle. Guests at each table were asked to sign their names as a permanent record of attendees.
Competitions
Summer CelebrationA Summer celebration took place on 2nd - 4th July, billed as a weekend of fun and activities. There was a quiz on the Friday evening, huge cooked breakfasts prepared each morning (courtesy of Ann Pittman who masterminded the weekend), visit to Wookey Hole Show Cave, cycle ride and a walk from the New Inn to the Hunters via Ashen Hill and Priddy Nine Barrows. The social highlight was the Barn Dance at Chewton Mendip Village Hall where the Velvet Bottom and Backroom Bands provided the music
Slovenia[Participants:- Cara Allison, Peat Bennett, Ben Cooper, Natalie Field, Tim Francis, Joan Goddard, Julie (Hesketh) Ross and Eva Laird, Tony and Denise Knibbs, Linda Milne, Louisa Minahan, Martin Peck, Jonathan Roberts, Yvonne and Martin Rowe] SpeleoCamp bunkhouse in Laze was the base for the 50th Anniversary trip in August. Slovenia was chosen because it had 'something for everyone' - challenging caves, beautiful caves, show caves, wonderful scenery and comfortable accommodation - Julie and Ross checked its suitability while on honeymoon the previous year! Yvonne's article described the walks and show cave visits while Peat Bennett reports on the activities of the younger set!
Mendip Caving Group. UK Charity Number 270088. The object of the Group is, for the benefit of the public, the furtherance of all aspects of the exploration, scientific study and conservation of caves and related features. Membership shall be open to anyone over the age of 18 years with an interest in the objects of the Group. |
