Author Topic: Caving Audio Archives (Read 39406 times)

JasonC · « **Reply #100 on:** October 25, 2013, 04:05:58 pm »

Well, thanks for taking the trouble Langcliffe.

As I said, I managed to listen to it - it fair makes your blood run cold !

TheBitterEnd · « **Reply #101 on:** October 25, 2013, 07:08:19 pm »

I've listened to a number of the recordings and they have all been worthwhile but had not heard that one before - fantastic (if that's an appropriate word $:-\$ ), keep up the good work.

langcliffe · « **Reply #102 on:** December 16, 2013, 07:02:05 pm »

I have been given three fantastic interviews with Dave Cobley relating to the original Peterson Pot exploration, and to the Skreen Hill 2 and 3 explorations in Marble Arch Cave. I hope to put them online in the next couple of weeks.

What I'm now after is some photographs of Dave to illustrate the interviews, preferably from the 1960s / 1970s, and preferably caving shots. If anyone can help, I would be grateful.

Thanks.

langcliffe · « **Reply #103 on:** December 19, 2013, 10:20:17 am »

I have now put the Dave Cobley interviews online. I think that they are absolutely splendid.

The first describes the lead up to the explorations of Skreen Hill 2 in Marble Arch.

The second describes the exploration of Skreen Hill 2 and Skreen Hill 3 in the company of Mike Boone, Pete Livesey, John Ogden, Colin Vickers, Bill Frakes, et alia.

The third describes the incredibly committing exploration of Peterson Pot on Leck Fell.

I hope you enjoy them.

ianball11 · « **Reply #104 on:** December 19, 2013, 01:15:39 pm »

superb

langcliffe · « **Reply #105 on:** January 22, 2014, 07:55:11 pm »

We have just published a new interview on the BCA Audio Archive - this time with the legendary Jochen Hasenmayer. The interview was conducted in German by the Icelandic journalist Jan Murtomaa, but we have provided an English transcript for those of us whose linguistic skills are not up it. Many thanks to Jan for making the recording available.

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selected.php?id=208

langcliffe · « **Reply #106 on:** September 05, 2014, 01:28:29 pm »

With thanks to Andy Chapman and Ben Wright, we have published a further ten interviews on the Audio Archive lasting about an hour. These are with the Brook Brothers, and the subjects covered include the ULSA explorations in Mossdale, Hangman's Hole, Black Shiver, Kingsdale Master Cave, PSM, and New Guinea 1975.

The complete list is here:

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/listbyinterviewee.php?interviewee=Alan%20and%20Dave%20Brook

Further treats coming up are four interviews with Bob Toogood. Watch this space!

ianball11 · « **Reply #107 on:** September 05, 2014, 07:32:38 pm »

Excellent stuff!

Paulaner · « **Reply #108 on:** September 09, 2014, 07:36:38 pm »

Echo that great stuff !

langcliffe · « **Reply #109 on:** October 05, 2014, 01:48:10 pm »

As promised, and with thanks for the efforts of Andy Chapman and Ben Wright, we are delighted to publish five interviews with Bob Toogood on the Audio Archive.

If ever there was a case for nominative determinism, it's Bob Toogood. During his sixty years of active outdoor life, Bob has excelled in the fields of caving, climbing, mountaineering, and fell running. During his caving career, Bob was on Ken Pearce's world record breaking trip down the Gouffre Berger, and has made original explorations all over the country including a mile in Agen Allwedd.

These are great recordings of a great caver, and may be found here.

langcliffe · « **Reply #110 on:** October 14, 2014, 11:02:17 am »

I've started on the rather tedious job of updating the two dozen or so audio archive PHP transactions from using the mysql library for accessing the database, to the mysqli library. I obviously try to make sure that a transaction works properly before replacing the old version, but if you do come across something that doesn't seem to be working, I would be grateful if you would let me know.

langcliffe · « **Reply #111 on:** January 19, 2015, 07:16:58 pm »

With thanks to Johnny Latimer, we have been able to release two further interviews in the Audio Archive. In both cases, the interviewee is Stuart Whitmey, who was one of Ken Pearce's right-hand men on the 1964 and 1967 Gouffre Berger expeditions.

As many people will be aware, the 1964 expedition didn't achieve its objectives, with flooding preventing the team from reaching the sump, but it was eventful as Stuart recounts in the first interview. In the days of electron ladders and wetsuits, Stuart describes how a continuous eleven day underground session included two days sheltering from flood waters on a ledge, and helping two injured people up the entrance series.

In the second interview, Stuart describes how Ken Pearce got together a larger team for a more organised attempt in 1967. Unfortunately, the shadow of the Mossdale Caverns incident from a couple of months before loomed over it, and the expedition soon began to splinter under the psychological pressure. Pooling resources with the Pegasus expedition led by Peter Watkinson, Pearce managed to pull it back together, and made a successful attempt on the sumps, passing sumps 1 and 2 before being stopped by a pitch.

These are fantastic first-hand accounts of important events in British caving history, and are strongly recommended.

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selected.php?id=246
http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selected.php?id=247

langcliffe · « **Reply #112 on:** January 27, 2015, 11:10:15 am »

We have just released a new interview on the Audio Archive, courtesy of Martin Baines. This is something different - it isn't by a caver, but by Margaret Hunter Scarr who, with her husband, farmed the land around Ease Gill and Bull Pot of the Witches between 1958 and 1968. She came into frequent contact with cavers whilst living at Gale Garth, and this interview casts a fascinating light on the relationship between farmers and cavers. It's a lovely interview, and well worth a listen:

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selected.php?id=248

Jenny P · « **Reply #113 on:** February 05, 2015, 06:34:51 pm »

It is indeed well worth a listen! How refreshing to hear someone from the farming world who liked chatting to cavers and was interested in what they do. It's great to hear her talking about being taken down Lancaster Hole by the Red Rose - she clearly wasn't a slouch when it came to lively activity and she must have been pretty fit.

Also worth noting what she says about the damage done to the farm land after a major rescue - something that cavers perhaps don't think of as they tend, understandably, to be focussed on getting the casualties out as fast as possible.

It's an excellent interview and Mrs. Scarr obviously enjoyed reminiscing about the past and the people she knew.

ianball11 · « **Reply #114 on:** February 05, 2015, 09:32:44 pm »

Agreed, I wonder what happened to the Alsatian?

langcliffe · « **Reply #115 on:** June 08, 2015, 07:15:49 pm »

We have just added four new recordings about Mike Boon.

Many of you will have seen / heard three of them before, as they are audio extracts of the Vimeo films taken by Bill Steele at Mike Boon's wake in Alberta (with Bill's permission), which were drawn to this forum's attention by rhychydwr1. I make no apologies for the duplication, as I feel that the Audio Archive is a logical home for them:

John Donovan - Memories of Mike Boon
Ian Drummond - Memories of Mike Boon
Daryl Donovan - Memories of Mike Boon

For technical reasons, we are unable to add Peter Thompson's tribute at the moment, but we intend to do so.

We do have, however, a new tribute provide by Bill Steele himself, recorded by Andy Chapman and Ben Wright during the 2015 Huatla Expedition:

Bill Steele - Memories of Mike Boon

We are also hoping that we will be adding a recording by the great man himself in the not too distant future.

langcliffe · « **Reply #116 on:** December 01, 2015, 04:17:54 pm »

Courtesy of Andy Chapman, we have just published two interviews with Bob Gillibrand.

Bob began caving in the early 1950s, and by the mid-1950s had became a very active member of the Northern Speleological Society, being involved in the early explorations of the back end of Ingleborough Cave with Bob Leakey. He later became a member of the Burnley Caving Club. In the early 1960s he became a founder member of the Northern Section of the Cave Diving Group, and he and Mike Boon were the first to pass the Ireby Fell Cavern sump and explore the passages beyond. He was also involved in the explorations on the far side of the Langstroth Cave sump. In 1963 he wangled an invitation to join Ken Pearce's first expedition to the Gouffre Berger which was successful in breaking the world depth record.

In the first interview he remembers how he got into caving, and managed to get himself invited onto Berger expedition.

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selected.php?id=257

In the second interview he gives a vivid account of the trials, tribulations, and rewards of working with Pearce in the Berger.

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selected.php?id=256

Enjoy!

susie · « **Reply #117 on:** December 07, 2015, 11:24:26 am »

Yet again courtesy of Andy Chapman, we have published three more interviews on the Audio Archive - this time with Frank Barnes.

Frank started caving at the age of 15 with John Ogden, who was to later die in Mossdale Caverns, and they were both active members of the Happy Wanderers Cave and Pothole Club in the 1960s. In these interviews, Frank describes how he and Dave Ogden started caving, recalls some memories of Dave, and provides a vivid description of his part in the Ken Pearce 1967 Gouffre Berger expedition when after the expedition fragmented, a small group of mainly Happy Wanderers members picked up the gauntlet and managed to get Pearce's diving equipment to the sump, where Pearce passed the second sump to discover a pitch, breaking the world depth record in the process.

Frank Barnes: Early Beginnings
Frank Barnes: Memories of Dave Ogden
Frank Barnes: Gouffre Berger 1967 Expedition

These are great interviews, and thanks are due to Andy Chapman, Frank Barnes, and Mick Melvin for their efforts in allowing us to hear them.

langcliffe · « **Reply #118 on:** January 10, 2016, 08:03:10 am »

By courtesy of Sid Perou we have published a great recording of Derek Ford sharing his memories of Mike Boon.

For those younger members of the forum, Derek Ford was a Mendip caver and academic who founded the Karst Research Group at McMaster University in Ontario. The Canadian karst was pretty well unexplored at that time, and he recruited Mike Boon, amongst others, to help him in that task, resulting in Mike emigration to Canada. In this recording, Derek talks about recruiting Mike, and of Mike's great solo Castleguard exploration.

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selected.php?id=261

Enjoy!

langcliffe · « **Reply #119 on:** February 01, 2016, 08:30:50 am »

To playback the MP3 recording files the Audio Archive uses third party software from JW Player, which gets regularly updated.

For the technically minded, this software uses the standard HTML video audio facility by default, but falls back to Flash if the HTML facility isn't available, whilst preserving the skin.

I have a version that implements the latest offering from JW Player, but have been told that it failed to work on an Apple Mac. I would like to pin this down a little further, so I would be grateful if any one with a Apple Mac could let me know if the following link works as expected, and what version of the operating system their Mac is running:

http://caving-library.org.uk/audio/selectedV7.php?id=56&test

Thank you.

AR · « **Reply #120 on:** February 01, 2016, 08:45:28 am »

It may be browser-specific; was it reported as happening on Chrome/Firefox on a Mac or just on Safari? I can try and have a quick look on the work iMac if I get chance today, that's running El Cap and has Firefox as well as Safari.

langcliffe · « **Reply #121 on:** February 01, 2016, 09:00:32 am »

Quote from: AR on February 01, 2016, 08:45:28 am

It may be browser-specific; was it reported as happening on Chrome/Firefox on a Mac or just on Safari?

Good point - I suspect that it was Safari, but knowing the browser would be useful.

AR · « **Reply #122 on:** February 01, 2016, 09:50:26 am »

OK, I've had a quick try of that link on the work iMac (as mentioned, running OS X El Capitan) using Safari and JWplayer was behaving on that, the audio was playing fine for me? From my experience of JWplayer (we use it in some of our stuff at work) I'd expect it to behave the same on Chrome and Firefox regardless of platform though there are occasional oddities.

I suggest you go back to the person reporting it as not working on their Mac and find out what version of OS X they're running and what browser they're using.

Jenny P · « **Reply #123 on:** February 01, 2016, 08:39:22 pm »

OK, just tried that link and it doesn't work for me.

I'm using a MacBook Pro, running Safari 5.1.10 and Mac OS X 10.6.8.

I've been told I can't upgrade this so hope there is a workaround as I can't afford a new laptop.

AR · « **Reply #124 on:** February 01, 2016, 09:17:38 pm »

Jenny, I'd suggest installing Firefox and seeing if you get the audio OK on that?