• Out now!!

    'Descent issue 291 is published on 1 April, so subscribers' copies will be posted out next week. Please note: we are currently away on a caving trip, so our online shop will be closed until 20 April. While we are away, individual copies can still be bought from Inglesport and Starless River.'.

    New Descent board here:

Search results

  1. andrewmcleod

    Caving Illnesses

    I suspect radon cavers is not the worst poison most intake on caving weekends...
  2. andrewmcleod

    Nominations deadline for the AGM closing midnight Sunday 19th March

    Regional councils, hopefully, in the absence of direct P&I work. Not ideal though.
  3. andrewmcleod

    Repairing oversuit?

    And the last (and probably most important) piece of advice: a stitch in time saves nine. Try and fix your tears earlier rather than later and you can often make it last a lot longer. Remember that if you have a tear, it's likely that all the surrounding fabric is also knackered, so use a bigger...
  4. andrewmcleod

    Repairing oversuit?

    ah yes; while it is probably possible to repair any oversuit, at some point the effort probably exceeds the effort of sewing yourself a new one (which would also have the benefit of having a new oversuit rather than a tatty old one!), and the time that you _don't_ want to have a knackered old...
  5. andrewmcleod

    Nominations deadline for the AGM closing midnight Sunday 19th March

    I can confirm that the Manual of Operations is horribly out of date and AFAIK is effectively no longer in use. However, it isn't a constitutional document, so there is no strict requirement for BCA to maintain it. I don't think the documentation is really the problem (although lack thereof...
  6. andrewmcleod

    Caving Illnesses

    Sitting at home all day isn't good for you :P One good way to reduce your annual dose of background radiation is to go live on an oil rig near the equator.
  7. andrewmcleod

    Nominations deadline for the AGM closing midnight Sunday 19th March

    Fortunately indifferent members rarely do anything to change the status quo (of having a single national body). The BCA does most of its useful work just be existing. Insurance without a national body would be almost impossible, and limit access to a lot of sites. The Regional Councils do all...
  8. andrewmcleod

    Nominations deadline for the AGM closing midnight Sunday 19th March

    I was under the impression the BCA as a matter of (potentially unwritten) policy left all of the island of Ireland to the SUI; for example, I don't think there are any BCA clubs in Northern Ireland? (I could be misremembering)
  9. andrewmcleod

    Nominations deadline for the AGM closing midnight Sunday 19th March

    The Vision group didn't really get anywhere, I think. The Constitution and Operations group (technically) still continues to (just about) run on and off. They put forward or were involved with most of the recent constitutional changes in the last (possibly excepting the major change of...
  10. andrewmcleod

    Repairing oversuit?

    I have also found that a reasonable non-cotton thread (I use Gutermann 'extra strong thread') is sufficient for most repairs. I use what some googling suggests is something like a blanket stitch to secure the patches on at the edge.
  11. andrewmcleod

    Nominations deadline for the AGM closing midnight Sunday 19th March

    maybe we need to tabulate the level of cakes required to convince someone to take on a BCA position. I reckon Treasurer has to be worth at least a three-tier wedding cake plus a party-size portion of profiteroles...
  12. andrewmcleod

    Repairing oversuit?

    I have realised that (after reading previous messages in the thread) my brain substituted Aquasure for Seamgrip. I use Seamgrip, not Aquasure. It is basically the same stuff (same manufacturer, same chemicals etc) but Seamgrip is runnier which makes it better at soaking into fabric but less good...
  13. andrewmcleod

    Nominations deadline for the AGM closing midnight Sunday 19th March

    Perhaps someone should organize a coup? I don't think most of the people reluctantly filling (or, after the AGM, not filling) the positions would object very much... if anyone wants to take over my group I would even buy them some cake or something :)
  14. andrewmcleod

    Repairing oversuit?

    So... Firstly, 3 years is pretty good going for an oversuit for me! Mine tend to last about a year or two at most (and that's after lots of coating the bum seams with Aquasure before first using it)... Secondly the Mendips might be muddy but it's generally smoother than hard sharp snaggy...
  15. andrewmcleod

    “Old” Stops for sale, excellent condition

    I'll take one please :) to Ingleton
  16. andrewmcleod

    Schecc - Thanks from the old'uns for a good weekend

    And thanks to the CHECC Committee, the chefs, and the rest of the general helpers and volunteers who do the organizing, setting up, running and (most important and terrifying of all) the clean-up afterwards :)
  17. andrewmcleod

    Schecc - Thanks from the old'uns for a good weekend

    Thanks to Cardiff who let us borrow the rope for the SRT training in Powell's cave, and the other SRT instructors who made sure I didn't go too off the rails - and of course all the students who hopefully learned some useful skills! (PS extra well done to the people on the Sunday training who...
  18. andrewmcleod

    Oversuits and wellies

    I always wear my Bestards, so neither really...
  19. andrewmcleod

    Caving Snacks

    The EUSS favourite is the chocolate orange - perhaps better suited to a tackle sack than a pocket, but extremely robust. That said, a loaf of Soreen once saved the life of an Exeter caver, or so the legend goes, after they clutched and plummeted down a pitch. They landed heavily on their back...
  20. andrewmcleod

    Wezzit?

    Maybe the bit between New Henslers and Mud Henslers, near the top of the Hensler's Master Cave?
Top