I'd like one for myself and could see if other Orpheus members would like them. Obviously this would be from the next print run. As for it being "distressed" - I think I can manage that myself thanks ;o)

Pitlamp said: There used to be an annual DCA Congress in the Peak District, which was also really good (you've been around long enough to remember it). I never did understand why it ceased to happen (unless there was a shortage of willing organisers). Jenny may remember. Apart from the hassle...

Looks as if mice have been at the handle!

Hi Stu, All of these will be in the British Caving Library so, if you don't have them to hand, email us and ask for scans of these. Check out our website www.caving-library.org.uk and you'll find the contact details for the Librarian.

It's the curse of sports which go in for competitions because they can get money from UK or England Sports officialdon as they have a chance to win gold medals. It's bedevilled university sport with some caving clubs being told they now don't qualify for support from the Student Union (or...

There is a BCRA Cave Studies Series no. 20 booklet called "The Cumbrian Ring", written by Phil Murphy, which has details of mining remains in this area. It specifically mentions the haematite mines and also refers to the natterjack toads. Can't lay my hands on a copy at the moment but it may...

We had a Bible left at the Orpheus Cottage. I had to post it back to its rightful owner but she did refund the postage. We also once had a complete set of clothes: trousers, shirt, pullover, jacket, etc. left. Did make us wonder what the person went home wearing ...

That book is totally magic! I have the reprint which was done a few years ago now and it is absolutely fascinating to read - well worth nacquiring a copy if you get the chance.

Wow! But what a task to keep it from being spoiled by mud - do hope they manage to keep it pristine.

Orpheus were founded in 1949 and did have a sort of duplicated Newsletter going even at that time. I don't think they exchanged Newsletters with any other clubs though. Trevor Ford led a SUMC "expedition" to Assynt just before the breakaway when they became SUSS. This was written up in 2...

Don't forget that you can already be hauled over the coals and made to comply over fire safety issues; although the "standards" applied by different fire service areas don't actually appear to be "standard" when you look at what has been considered acceptable in different club huts.

I always used to carry Kendal Mint Cake (the brown variety) when walking but went off the idea when I was caught in a rainstorm while having an open packet of the stuff in the top pocket of my old anorak. The anorak turned out not to be waterproof after all and thereafter, whenever it got damp...

I do recall once coming across someone on a Lancaster/Easegill through trip who was carrying a tin of sardines in the top pocket of his boilersuit. (The word "boilersuit" is a gave-away as to the date of this episode.) I did wonder what he was going to do with the tin afterwards, though he...

Wow, a massive thank you to all you cavers out there who have come up trumps for us! We didn't have this as a separate survey in the British Caving Library and I didn't twig that someone like Mouldywarps would likely have been involved in a survey. Or that North Yorkshire Moors Caving Club...

The British Caving Library (BCL) has been asked if it has a copy of the survey of Sod Hole Gill Cave (or Sodhole Gill Cave), originally produced by the Yorkshire Underground Research Team (YURT). This is known to have existed as a separate survey. It turns out that BCL doesn't have a separate...

Hi Dave, Good to hear from you and guess you are still involved with caving. Can you still get through 6 and a quarter inches? You were the Orpheus ultimate thin man as I recall.

I do recall that when we first used carbide lamps as late as the 1960s you could buy the carbide in tall narrow tins from bike shops as the lamps were first sold as bike lamps. However, when this source dried up we found the best way to buy carbide was to go to the local agricultural supplier...

Alas, no. As I said, I always wore a boiler suit over it to protect it so I don't think there are any photos of it "in the raw".

I also made my first wetsuit out of other people's "cuttings" back in 1965. At the time the neoprene came in sheets (probably about 2 ft by 3 ft I think) and I had one complete sheet of single-skin but that was all. However, nothing daunted, I begged the cuttings left over from other people's...

I recall a fellow club member who made his first wetsuit out of lined neoprene - the lining was a fetching baby-blue towelling-type material. He did all the right things, followed the pattern and glued it all together but didn't have time to stitch the lining together, as was advised in the kit...