Fairy Cave Quarry. The Last 45 Years.

[Cookie]

I never did ask him why he carried the hammer around. Like I said he probably used it to discover the cave.
He and Conway seemed to disappear after the discovery of Shatter Cave. I wonder where they are now.

I don't believe I met Ray but as Membership Sec. I did speak to him a couple of times on the phone. He was a member of the Wessex right up until his untimely death in 1999. Last time we spoke he was fighting a resurgent brain tumour.

It's great to see these magnificent photos with him.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Oh dear. That is so sad. John Keat died of colon cancer. Enjoy life while you can. Thanks Cookie.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

From the log 1966 - 1969.

First trip in Stoke Lane Slocker.



Summer 1969.

Most of Shatter explored. Sketch survey based on false assumption that the cave went along strike.



Quarry faces 1969.



Shatter. Corrected survey sketch. 1969.



Digging at Erratic Rift.



Balch Main Chamber doomed.



Sadly I never saw Balch Cave in it's entirety as the central area was quarried away about 1965. A black and white film was made of it for TV which as far as I know now resides with Cerberus.
Now a uTube copy would be very nice. Jack Hill had it originally. Pete Rose and I went to ask him for it but Mrs Hill said he was caving with Pete Rose and Nick Chipchase. Ahh lies in marriage will always catch you out. Later Pete Rose did some film though I can't recall seeing it. Pete also has a stack of early slides which never see the light of day. I would be the main subject I guess.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Pete somewhere in Withyhill. Martin Grass asked me why we wore those wet suit tops in a dry cave. Answer havn't a clue but having spent ages gluing them all together we had to use them somewhere. Made us look like real cavers and a change from old oily boiler suits.



The Letterbox, Shatter Cave early 70's.



Duncan Price and Naomi on the post 2000 re survey. Seen here in the large passage beyond Plug Hole Chamber in Shatter.



Naomi with the survey team in Four Ways.



Nick's little secret but I did show Naomi.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Two by two of a kind. Pete Roses identical twins and double stal ( long gone ) G.P. Junction, Withyhill Cave.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Young Pete Rose and Graham Price, Withyhill. Early 70's.




Still pristine. The Porridge Basin , Shatter Cave.



WL Cave. Malcolm Hayes a young schoolboy we used to take caving 60 this month.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

John Kidd and famous double stal, Withyhill.

 

[bograt]

I see what you mean about "male models", do they think its more macho to grimace? :-\ :-\

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Ah. I did say. John above was one of the worst. How about my brother Simon then ?

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Femail stunning models required for nude cave photography. Please contact The Young Ruminator.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Nah. I will just stick with the teddy bear.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Well a bit of a challenge there Bograt. This is the closest you ever get to a John Kidd smile.

 

[bograt]

Looks more like an academic appraisal!

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Maybe I should stick to helectites. WL Cave.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

John Keat, Shatter Cave.

The eyes are smiling.



Trouble about today,s cave photos they are so formulaic . So many rigidly posed multi flash shots. No sense of fun or insight into character. Oh yes technically superb but " the moment " is lost.
First rule must be that the subject should look as though they want to be there. Not thoroughly pissed off with the length of time the photographer has taken to get the shot.

 

[dunc]

Trouble about today,s cave photos they are so formulaic . So many rigidly posed multi flash shots. No sense of fun or insight into character. Oh yes technically superb but " the moment " is lost. First rule must be that the subject should look as though they want to be there. Not thoroughly pissed off with the length of time the photographer has taken to get the shot.

OR; is that true of all photographs or just the ones people choose to show to the world? Maybe people see their photos as just average and decide they wouldn't stand up to the fantastic technical shots that are so frequently seen in publications etc. Anyway, just random thoughts, never been to the caves in this thread, but interesting all the same 

 

[bograt]

Re:John Keat, Shatter Cave.

Expression  says "Its mine, gerroff it"

, (I have experience of body language)  : :

 

[The Old Ruminator]

I have been thinking about the connection of WL and Balch. Brian Prewer said under stal in the lower area of Crystal Chamber and I think that probably correct. Certainly a part of the cave where there would never be any digging. This sketch overlay shows the area concerned.



Desolation and destruction where Crystal Chamber used to be.
The scree slope  is the remains of the stalagmite flow in the chamber. Above this the oil drum entrance to the final two Balch Chambers. In the alcove below the entrance to WL Cave with part of the fault plane on the left.

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Withyhill Cave, Broken Curtain Chamber. The curtain was broken by quarrying operations. The current route into the cave goes through original streamway below the chamber. ( Hence the tape ).

 

[The Old Ruminator]

Crystal Chamber was almost unique as the entire floor area was covered in stalagmite. This all descended into a 2 metre deep pit in the centre possibly the origin of WL Cave . Hindsight is a wonderful thing but looking at the Balch survey it would seem an unlikely point to start a dig. Balch had the appearance of random chambers rather than the more defined fossil stream routes we see in the other quarry caves. WL itself was entirely sealed by stal at either end but does exhibit that linear appearance associated with the stream routes together with a considerable more scalloping. The final point of Pink Pool Chamber clearly showing the ancient ongoing phreatic route. I have found some more stuff from my archives which will follow. Meanwhile the obligatory photograph.

Pink Pool Chamber.