SABRINA TIMES October 2016

OPEN UNIVERSITY GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SEVERNSIDE BRANCH

Branch Organisers Report

Hello everyone, I hope you have all been enjoying the unusually good weather during September and taking the opportunity to indulge in some outdoor geology. Since the last newsletter we have had successful trips to the and Hereford, and you will find reports for these trips in this newsletter. I’m hoping that we also have fair weather during our final trip of the year to the Brecon Beacons on 16th October. Our annual Day of Lectures takes place on Saturday 3rd December at the YMCA Conference Centre in Newport, with three interesting talks by experts in their field, and subjects ranging from geo-exploration techniques to lichens and ice. We will be returning to the National Museum in Cardiff for our branch AGM on Saturday 11th February. After the AGM itself we will be treated to a “behind the scenes” visit to examine the museum’s mineral collection. The branch library will be available at both events, and you’ll be able borrow geology-related books from its large collection. The branch committee have been busy planning and organising our programme for 2017, and we have six events confirmed so far. Our annual Aberystwyth weekend will take place in February when we will have the chance to examine thin sections through real microscopes and learn about the geochemistry of rocks. This will be followed by field trips in March (Waterfall Country), April (Lavernock), July (Chedworth) and October (Abergavenny). We hope to add one or two more field trips to our programme if possible. Please look out for further details on our branch web pages at http://ougs.org/ Finally, I recently joined a trip organised by the South Wales Geologists’ Association to Hock Cliff, which is situated on the east bank of the River Severn, near Frampton-on-Severn. As I now know, this is a classic site for collecting Jurassic fossils. Although my fossil-finding skills are quite poor compared to the experts, much to my surprise I managed to find some Gryphaea poking out from the muddy layers of the Blue Lias (see photo). If you like fossils and haven’t been to Hock Cliff, I can strongly recommend a visit. You won’t go home without a fossil or two!

Best wishes, Norman Nimmo-Smith

Gryphaea from Hock Cliff on the River Severn

Inside this issue

Malvern Hills Field Trip 2

Buillding Stones of Hereford 6

Events 10

Contacts and Editorial 12

D29 Malvern Hills September 4th 2016

Leader: Moira Jenkins

Introduction A group of fifteen members assembled on a dry and warm Sunday morning at Swinyard car park, situated towards the southern end of the 9-mile length of the Malvern Hills. Our field trip to the Malvern Hills was led by Moira Jenkins, a geological consultant with the & Earth Heritage Trust, who lives in Malvern and is very familiar with the local geology. During the day we explored the area between Gullet Quarry (SO 762 381) and (SO 760 400), as shown in Fig. 1. The Malvern Hills include some of the oldest rocks in England and are mainly comprised of diorites and granites formed deep underground about 670 Ma (million years ago). These Precambrian rocks are known as the Malverns Complex, a very apt name given the somewhat complex geology of the area. Before heading off Moira showed us specimens she had brought with her - a dark mafic diorite and a pink felsic granite containing orthoclase feldspar. She also showed us a samples of local Silurian sedimentary rock exhibiting bioturbation and a fossil coral. The succession of local rocks that we investigated and discussed during the day are shown in Fig, 2. Gullet Quarry We walked uphill from the Swinyard car park to Gullet Quarry, the last working quarry on the hills which closed in Fig. 1 Map showing the locations 1977. This flooded quarry displays a visited (map reproduced with massive face of Precambrian rock with permission of the Ordnance Survey) a deep lake at the bottom (Fig. 3). The igneous rocks of the Malverns Complex exposed in the quarry have been compressed and metamorphosed to produce schist and gneiss. Pink pegmatite intrusions could be seen cutting through the well-foliated rock face. In the past it was possible to reach the foot of this rock face by Fig. 2 Succession of rocks walking down a ramp (shown in investigated during the trip Fig. 3) to examine at close quarters the various features of gneiss, schist, fault planes, shear zones and igneous intrusions. Fig. 3 Metamorphosed Precambrian rock Unfortunately, as a result of two tragic fatalities in the quarry’s lake a few years ago, the quarry has now been fenced off for safety reasons and in Gullet Quarry access is no longer permitted. Geological features now have to be examined at a distance - binoculars would have been useful ! Gullet Pass Pit We continued along the track past Gullet Quarry and climbed higher up the Gullet valley. The valley runs along a fault line that had been cut down by erosion. Moira pointed out that the rock exposed on the surface of the path changed from igneous/metamorphic of the Malverns Complex to a sedimentary quartz conglomerate of Cambrian age. This junction between the Precambrian and Cambrian rocks is possibly an unconformity. A little further up the track we arrived at a small quarry known as Gullet Pass Pit which has an exposure of Cambrian quartz conglomerate belonging to the Malvern Quartzite Formation (Fig. 4). The surface had been cleaned last year by volunteers. This was as part of an ongoing Fig. 4 Cambrian quartz conglomerate in geological site clearance project for Malvern Hills AONB and Malvern Hills Conservators where geo-conservation work is carried out at several sites Gullet Pass Pit each year. In the middle of the quarry was a large bedding plane dipping

2 Malvern Hills September 4th 2016 contd. at about 30 degrees, apparently containing surface evidence of fossils and burrows and Moira encouraged us to clamber over the rock to find them (Fig. 5). Despite our valiant efforts we failed to find anything, probably because the subtle surface imprints only become apparent under suitable lighting conditions. The exposure here represents a shallow-water, near-shore Cambrian environment, dated at around 540 Ma, when the Cambrian sea flooded the landmass of the Precambrian Malverns Complex, eroding it and producing the sediment which was laid down as the inter-bedded sandstone and conglomerate of the Malvern Quartzite.

Fig. 6 Upturned Silurian beds near the Gullet Fig. 5 Trying to find fossils and burrows in Gullet Pass Pit unconformity

Gullet Unconformity We retraced our steps back down the track and then climbed up a path on the side of Gullet quarry. On the way we spotted a peregrine falcon flying above the tall quarry face. Philip Clark found out later from a warden that that peregrines have had a very good year on the hills and had fledged nine youngsters. Continuing our climb we eventually reached a famous site where Silurian sedimentary beds with a basal conglomerate unconformably overlie the Precambrian rock. These beds are near-vertical having been pushed upwards during the Variscan Orogeny, but more of this story will be revealed later. The near-vertical Silurian beds comprise a mixture of sandstones, siltstones and mudstones deposited in a shallow sea. (Fig. 6). Ripple marks could be seen on some beds and rock fragments we examined showed signs of bioturbation and broken shells, which were possibly brachiopods. Moira also pointed out a shear zone in the Silurian strata a few metres from the unconformity. The nature of the contact seen here between the Precambrian rock of the Malvern Complex and the overlying Silurian beds has been debated for many years but is now considered to be an unconformable relationship (Fig. 7). Moira explained that the Silurian conglomerate at the unconformity represents an ancient pebbly beach deposited on Precambrian rock near to Precambrian sea stacks. This unit is known as Miss Phillips’ Conglomerate; her discovery of the conglomerate in 1842 was an important step in uncovering the geological history of the area. Interestingly, Anne Phillips was the sister of John Phillips, who started his career as assistant to his uncle the great William Smith, creator of the first geological map.

Fig. 7 The vertical Gullet unconformity, Fig.8 Looking east across the Severn Valley from with igneous Precambrian rock to the right Swinyard Hill of the pen and Silurian conglomerate to the left. Views from the Malvern Hills We then ascended onto the ridge of Swinyard Hill to be rewarded with a spectacular view looking east across the Severn valley towards the Jurassic Cotswold Hills in the far distance (Fig. 8). Whilst we enjoyed the view Moira described the formation of the Malvern Hills and surrounding landscapes. In simple terms, compressive forces from the east during the

3 Malvern Hills September 4th 2016 contd.

Variscan Orogeny in the late Carboniferous period around 300 Ma resulted in the uplift of Precambrian basement rock along a number of fault planes and the creation of the East Malvern Fault running north-south along the eastern edge of the hills. Following a period of erosion crustal extension reactivated movement along fault lines to produce a graben in the Severn Valley whilst still leaving the uplifted Precambrian Malvern Hills in place. The subsiding Severn valley became progressively filled with Permian and Triassic sediments – these are collectively known as the New Red Sandstone. The topmost layer today is the Mercia Mudstone Group, deposited in a hot desert environment around 230 Ma. The total downward movement of the graben was over 2 km. The view westwards from the top of Swinyard Hill was quite different, with a landscape of limestone ridges and clay vales formed when the horizontal sedimentary Silurian rocks were squeezed and crumpled alongside the uplifted Precambrian basement during the Variscan Orogeny. This now explained why the Silurian beds seen at Gullet quarry were near-vertical. Thus the Malverns Hills and the East Malvern Fault mark the boundary between the Palaeozoic rocks to the west and the Mesozoic rocks to the east.

Clutter’s Cave After a welcome stop on the ridge to enjoy our packed lunches we continued our stroll northwards along the ridge of the hills to a rock exposure in which a cave had been excavated by hand sometime in the dim and distant past. This location is now known as Clutter’s Cave (Fig. 9). The rock was volcanic, part of the Precambrian Warren House Formation, found on the lower hills such as Broad Down and Hangman’s Hill to the east of British Camp. These are the only extrusive igneous rocks in the Malvern Hills. The rocks at Clutter’s Cave consisted of spilitic, sodium-rich basalt that had erupted under the sea 566 Ma. Pillow lavas could be seen around the cave entrance. Most of the pillows were deformed and hence were not as instantly recognisable as they are in places such as Anglesey and the Lleyn Peninsula, but even the non-believers in the group were eventually convinced once the rounded outlines of the more obvious pillows had been pointed out (Fig, 10). Fig.9 The volcanic exposure at Clutter’s Moira explained that thin sections of the volcanic rock had shown gas Cave bubbles (vesicles) that had subsequently been filled with epidote. We saw veins of calcium carbonate in the lava. We tried the hydrochloric acid test on some white veins on the path, but we were disappointed when the veins failed to fizz. Thin sections of the Warren House Formation were made by Platt in 1933 (Ref. 1) and he described the rocks as mafic spilitic, intermediate keratophyre and felsic rhyolite lavas with volcanic tuffs and later dolerite dykes. The thin sections are still held by Aberystwyth University though the rock specimens from which they were taken have unfortunately disappeared ! Walking a short distance northwards we could see the line of the northern Malvern Hills stretching into the distance. From this viewpoint we could clearly see that the line of hills from British Camp southwards had been displaced westwards (Fig. 11). This had occurred during later tectonic disturbances in Permian times, around 280 Ma, towards the end of the Variscan Orogeny. Fig. 10 Pillow lava at Clutter’s Cave

Fig. 11 British Camp on the left has been displaced westwards relative to the line of the Malvern Hills on the right

4 Malvern Hills September 4th 2016 contd.

Volcanic Tuff

Our next destination was an outcrop of rock on the eastern side of Hangman’s Hill, not far from Pink Cottage. And yes, it is painted pink! Moira explained that this exposure (Fig. 12) was also from the Warren House Formation but, unlike the exposure at Clutter’s Cave, lava at this location had erupted explosively onto a land surface and formed layers of both lava and tuff. When we examined the rock closely, we could see small vesicles in places, some of which contained green epidote (Fig. 13). On a lower section of the exposure we saw narrow grooves (slickensides) running across a flat surface, providing evidence of movement along a fault plane.

Fig. 12 Volcanic exposure on the east side of

Hangman’s Hill

Fig. 13 Vesicles (gas bubbles) on the

volcanic exposure

Quaternary Gravels We then descended the east side of Hangman’s Hill onto Castlemorton Common and headed in the direction of the car park. As we walked along Moira described how the large area of common land had evolved. During the Quaternary ice ages, under periglacial conditions, frost shattered rock fragments from the Malvern Hills were washed downhill. Because the ground was permanently frozen (permafrost), the gravels spread across the impervious surface rather than being carried away via rivers. The gravels further away from the hill merged with interglacial river terraces and, on the area of the common, only a thin soil has developed that is unsuitable for agriculture. Nowadays the common land is only used for grazing of cattle and sheep. We stopped at two streams trickling down the hillside to examine the gravels that had been washed out from deposits underlying the Common (Fig.14). We soon reached Swinyard car park, where we thanked Moira for leading a very interesting walk around the hills and answering our many questions. It was an excellent day. Fig. 14 Gazing with interest at gravel in a stream bed (only geologists do this)

Reference 1: Platt,J.I. 1933, The petrology of the Warren House Series, Geol Mag 70, 423-429.

Report and photos by Norman Nimmo-Smith

5 The Building Stones of Hereford September 18th 2016

Leader: Linda Fowler. A group of 12 members spent an informative and interesting day exploring Hereford and examining the range of stones used in the construction of the buildings within the old city walls.

The city lies on Silurian mudstones, unsuitable as a building stone and so the earliest structures were constructed from local timber. These have not survived, but later examples from medieval time onwards were evident as we toured the city centre. Some had frames in-filled with lime plaster, while others had later brick inserts. The oldest surviving stone constructions used Devonian Old Red Sandstone from quarries near Ross on Wye, which could be easily transported along the River Wye directly to Hereford. Additionally, Lower Silurian Aymestry and Wenlock limestone were available by land transport from exposures in the Woolhope Dome (a pericline). Brickworks to the north supplied the city later. With the advent of canals and then railways, other building materials were transported from the Potteries and East Midlands. Today sources of modern decorative facings include Norway. The route we followed is shown in Fig.1. We started at Gaol Fig. 1 Our route around Hereford—the capital Street car park, letters refer to the buildings we investigated opposite the sturdy- looking Old Police Station and Gaol (A). They were constructed of micaceous, cross bedded Lower Devonian Old Red Sandstone blocks (Fig. 2). In contrast, the Shire Hall (B), constructed in 1815, has a frontage of massive Old Red Sandstone Doric columns Fig. 2: Old Police Station and Gaol built from reminiscent of the British Museum architecture (Fig. 3). Old Red Sandstone The rest of the building is now faced in New Red Sandstone and contrasting Matlock Peak Moor Sandstone of Carboniferous age. Opposite the Shire Hall stands the War Memorial (C), constructed of Carboniferous Limestone from Fig. 3: Shire Hall with Old Red Sand- Darley Dale, mounted on steps of Cotswold Pea stone columns Green Grit containing crinoids and brachiopod fossils (Fig. 4). The limestone is carved and engraved and supports 3 statues of First World War Servicemen constructed in much paler Portland stone. Along the street from the memorial is the Town Hall (D), its frontage decorated with impressive terracotta mouldings and facings in contrasting colours made by Royal Doulton (Fig. 5). The building base consists of cross bedded sandstone blocks. Opposite the Memorial, St Peter’s Church (E) has been extensively renovated. It was originally built of Old Red Sandstone and has been repaired at various times (Fig. 6). In Fig. 4: War Memorial with the 19th century it was repaired with sandstone blocks and Carboniferous Limestone dressing marks to make it blend in. Later, cement based column blocks with imitation dressing marks have been inserted and, more recently, smooth machine-cut sandstone blocks have Fig. 5: Colourful terracotta been used. facing on the Town Hall

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The Building Stones of Hereford September 18th 2016 contd.

Fig. 6: St Peter’s Church Fig. 7: Rusticated Ashlar carving on Fig. 8: Attractive features in showing stone restoration limestone blocks sandstone facing at Primark

The group next moved past a 17th century half-timbered building (the Old House) with rendered infilling, built on Old Red Sandstone footings, to the shopping area near the Butter Market (F). On the way, a diversion inside WH Smith’s entrance revealed a timbered wall infilled with plaster above the displays. The 1860 Butter Market (F) entrance is formed from limestone blocks whose surface has been carved to imitate weathering in a style known as Rusticated Ashlar (Fig. 7). The limestone contained hollow ooids, bivalves in a micrite matrix – a biomicrite. In contrast, the Marks and Spencer frontage (G) opposite is faced in polished black granite whose quartz crystals seemed, on close inspection, to be shattered. A diversion to view the sandstone block construction of Primark’s frontage (H) revealed planar cross stratification and dewatering structures (Fig. 8).

Fig. 9: Bivalve shells in limestone of Fig. 10: All Saint’s Church (knife and Fig. 11: Polished Serpentinite on HSBC building fork for scale) shop pillar

Returning to opposite Marks and Spencer, the HSBC (I) frontage of pale rusticated Portland limestone contained ooids and bivalves (Fig. 9). In contrast, the black polished Larvikite facings of Boots (J) contained feldspar phenocrysts, distributed increasingly close together up one panel in particular. A schiller effect could also be seen, all suggesting the source is Permian Norwegian granite from Larvik. The 1303 All Saint’s Church (K) at the end of the street is another Old Red Sandstone building (Fig. 10). Because of earthquake damage in the 19th century, the tower was repaired first with Hollington stone and then in the 20th century with modern machine cut sandstone. Diverting to examine the cylindrical columns on the Carpet shop frontage (L) revealed black with purple, green and red polished Serpentinite (Fig. 11), while the adjacent doorway’s similar style polished columns are pale grey limestone, with coral and bivalves, possibly Devonian.

7 The Building Stones of Hereford September 18th 2016 contd.

The route next led past the city walls (M), constructed of Old Red Sandstone blocks and river pebbles to the left bank (N) of the River Wye. The original walls date from 908 AD and eventually were 16 feet high, with 34 foot watchtowers. Amongst the Old Red Sandstone blocks graded bedding in the grit with the coarser quartz being angular was seen (Fig.12). It was also noticeably micaceous with weathered blocks varying in colour from shades of green to dull red. On a section of wall near the Cathedral was a blue plaque commemorating Nell Gwynne. She spent her early childhood in the town. As mistress of Charles II, her surviving son became the Duke of Albany. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.

Fig. 12: Coarse sandstone blocks in the City Fig. 13: Wye Bridge constructed from Old Red Walls Sandstone

The Wye Bridge (O) is also an Old Red Sandstone construction (Fig. 13). It replaced the earlier wooden bridge in 1490 and was damaged in the Civil War. Today it has York (limestone) stone paving slabs. The first bridge was probably built c.800 AD. The group re-crossed the river to look at the Left Bank building (N), built of a pale cream shelly oolitic limestone containing 2-3 cm diameter bivalve fossils. Victorian Gothic style Hereford Museum (S) is constructed with an upper storey of dark grey, Forest of Dean Pennant sandstone over deep red Radyr stone pillars (Fig. 14). The latter is a coarse conglomerate, from the base of the New Red Sandstone Formation. In contrast, the arch around the door is decorated with animals carved into yellow/cream oolitic limestone containing minute gastropod fossils. The granite steps of The Old Post Office (T), now Pizza Express, contain Feldspar phenocrysts in hexagonal cross-section. This location led us conveniently to the Cathedral and a well-earned lunch stop, particularly for our guide, Linda! Adjacent to the Cathedral (U) is the New Library Building (Q), constructed of Millstone Grit from Elton in Derbyshire, built to house the cathedral’s Fig. 14: The ornate Museum building library of chained books and the Mappa Mundi in a controlled environment. The Cathedral (Fig. 15), first constructed on this site pre 1055 was restarted in 1080 and consecrated in 1145. It is composed of gritstone. In 1786 the west tower collapsed as a result of an earthquake and was repaired by James Wyatt. It was restored in 1900, using Hollington stone. The paved area in front of the tower contains a modern image of a tree growing in the fields of Herefordshire, constructed in different coloured stones. The materials used are smooth, pale grey Pennant sandstone, Hereford Red, darker grey Millstone Grit and green Kirkstone Slate. The Mason’s yard is located in the Cathedral Precinct, tucked into the side of the nave at its south east corner. We were able to see pieces of masonry in the process of transformation into replacement blocks to repair damaged parts of the building. The Cathedral’s interior dates from 1200 but was extended and modified by James Wyatt after the tower collapse. Of geological interest are the Fig. 15: Hereford Cathedral from the south- Purbeck limestone columns with rip up mud clasts in their bases and the west

8 The Building Stones of Hereford September 18th 2016 contd. white life-size tomb effigy of a knight who had fought at Crecy and Poitier, intricately carved in alabaster (Fig. 16). The latter would have been sourced from Nottinghamshire. At the far end of the cathedral the tomb of Archbishop Jacob Atlay included another life-size alabaster figure. This tomb included red and black marble in its base, and it was noticeable how much colder marble was to the touch than alabaster.

Fig.16: Alabaster figure in Hereford Cathedral Fig. 17: Lumps of slag used to construct a buttress

Our tour then visited Castle Cliff (W), the last surviving part of Hereford’s Norman castle. It was badly damaged during the Civil War. We then moved on along the bank of the River Wye to the oldest Hereford building, a house built of Old Red Sandstone and located next to the water-gate steps. They were once located in the town’s defensive wall and were gated. Materials and goods were able to pass safely to and from river transport into the walled town at this point. Nearby, a metal Victorian suspension footbridge built in 1897 (X) now provides a pedestrian crossing point over the River Wye. By the steps down to the footbridge we noticed a wall with a buttresses made of what appeared to be lumps of slag (Fig. 17). The Nelson monument (Y) on Castle Green was erected in 1805 to honour this frequent visitor to Hereford. The green is the site of the various traditional fairs held in Hereford throughout the year. The grey base of the monument is of more weather-resistant Forest of Dean Carboniferous sandstone than the pale inset Portland limestone commemorative plaque, while the tall column is of Jurassic Bath Stone, an oolitic limestone (Fig. 18). St Ethelburt’s Hospital (Z), now almshouses, is constructed of Old Red Sandstone and was our last location. It is one of many almshouses that have existed in Hereford to provide for sick, poor and elderly inhabitants. The oldest were established by religious orders or the Church. St Ethelburt’s was established in 1225, rebuilt in 1805 in Gothic style. Hereford has more than 20 almshouse groups, now providing sheltered housing. The group enjoyed sunny weather while discovering a great deal about Hereford’s history in their quest to examine the building stones. Our guide had obviously spent a great deal of Fig. 18: Nelson monument time collating the information she gave us on a thoroughly enjoyable field visit. with its Bath Stone column

Report by Janet Hellen Photographs by Norman Nimmo-Smith

9 Severnside Branch Events

2016 EVENT LEADER DETAILS We will look at the litho-stratigraphy of the ORS and at soft sediment deformation by examining two parallel north-south Old Red Sandstone in October 16th Dr. John Davies traverses through the Brecon Beacons. the Brecon Beacons Meet at Craig-y-fro car park on the A470 (SN971208) YMCA Conference Centre, Mendalgief Road. Newport, NP20 December 3rd Day of Lectures 2HF See Page 13 2017 National Museum of Wales. Cardiff February 11th Branch AGM

Geochemistry and Microscopes February 24/26th Aberystwyth Charlie Bendall

The itinerary will include: Penwyllt, Henrhyd Falls, Clun Gwyn Falls, Sgwyd Gwladys, River Nedd Fechan Waterfall Country March 19th Gareth George Copies of both Gareth's books (Sedimentology in South Wales Brecon Beacons & A field guide to South Wales) will be available for sale on the day for a discounted price

23rd Aprll Lavernock to Penarth Steve Howe

2nd July Chedworth Paul Olver

Gilwern Hill and Clydach Gorge October Abergavenny Dilys Howell

Other Events

FESTIVAL OF GEOLOGY Weekend of 5-6 November 2016 University College London A varied programme of displays, talks, walks and more. Free entry! Geology displays and talks at UCL on Saturday 5th November Local trips on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November

10 Event Notes

EVENT DETAILS CAN CHANGE Any last-minute changes of times or arrangements are on the OUGS website.... www.ougs.org Or...... Contact Norman Nimmo-Smith - 01684 891859 [email protected] If you are not receiving email reminders from Norman regarding forthcoming events or if you get a new email address please let him know so that he can keep in touch. Transport If you are able to offer a lift to any event or if you have local knowledge regarding bus or train services etc. that might help those without their own transport to attend an event please let Janet know. Updates Why not try the following link to a service for keeping an eye on changes in the events list. http://www.changedetection.com

THERE IS A NOMINAL FEE OF £2 ON DAY TRIPS (UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED) TO COVER LEADERS EXPENSES. ALWAYS WEAR APPROPRIATE GEAR...WARM CLOTHING AND HIKING BOOTS. BEAR IN MIND THAT MANY SITES, ESPECIALLY QUARRIES, REQUIRE THE WEARING OF HARD HATS. ACTIVE QUARRIES REQUIRE HARD HATS AND YELLOW JACKETS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT PARTICIPANTS BRING HARD HATS TO ALL FIELD TRIPS - JUST IN CASE !

IMPORTANT Each person attending a field meeting does so on the understanding that he/she attends at his/her own risk. The OUGS has Public Liability Insurance cover for field and indoor meetings but Personal Accident and Personal Liability cover remain the responsibility and personal choice of the participant. There may be an element of appropriate cover included in house or travel insurance. Although OUGS activities are not particularly dangerous members are advised to check whether exclusions apply to activities in which they propose to participate in case they wish to arrange further cover. An annual travel insurance may be the best solution for any member who regularly attends field events. This is again a matter of personal choice. All members participating in overseas events will be required to have travel insurance for the duration of the event. Participants should be covered for Medical, Repatriation and Personal Liability expenses. The Personal Accident element remains the personal choice of the member. Disclaimer None of the information in any of the advertisements for field trips or other events in this newsletter constitutes a brochure under the Package and Travel Regulations (1992)

INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTION RATES

At the Society AGM, held on 16th April 2016 in Scarborough, the Members voted to increase the membership subscription rates from the 1st January 2017. The increases are: Single membership from £18 (€21) to £22 (€27) Joint membership from £26 (€30) to £32 (€39) Family membership remains unaltered at £2 (€2) MEMBERS ALREADY PAYING BY STANDING ORDER : Now is the time to change your Standing Order, do not leave it till later, you may forget! If you use electronic banking, you can do this on- line or otherwise visit your bank branch. Calculate your new subscription amount Ensure that the payment date is 1st January – not in December, or later in January, and definitely not in February or March (see Note 1 below) Ensure that your membership number (or membership numbers in the case of Joint Members) is in the reference field (see Note 2 below). MEMBERS WHO DO NOT PAY BY STANDING ORDER : Why not take this opportunity to set up a Standing Order? A Standing Order Mandate form is enclosed. If you do not want to set up a Standing Order please remember to make your subscription payment by 31st January (see NOTE 1 below) and ensure that your membership number is quoted (see NOTE 2 below).

Note 1: At the AGM it was proposed that a Constitutional change should be raised at the next AGM (13th May 2017 in Milton Keynes) to change the final subscription renewal date from 31st March to 31st January and that this would come into force in 2018. This would mean that in 2018 any member not renewing by the 31st of January would cease to be a member on that date, and therefore, would not be entitled to a copy of The Proceedings; which is generally sent to the printers in February.

Note 2: The membership number is very important as some subscription payments are made from non-members accounts and the actual members cannot be identified. There have been numerous occasions in the past where this has occurred and it is a lengthy process to identify the member. If you cannot remember your membership number, please contact the Membership Secretary at: [email protected]

Please advise the Membership Secretary of any change to your name, address or email address. This is important because undelivered Newsletters and OUGS Proceeding will not be forwarded at the Societies expense.

11 Severnside’s OUGS Neighbours and other Organisations

It’s worthwhile taking a look at what other branches are doing. Many of their events could be convenient to attend. OUGS Oxford Branch Organiser: [email protected] OUGS Southwest Branch Organiser: [email protected] OUGS Wessex Branch Organiser: [email protected] OUGS West Midlands Branch Organiser: [email protected]

Many of our members belong to other Earth Science related organisations which also do interesting events; Welsh Stone Forum http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/364/. Geologists Association [email protected] Affiliated Regions: South Wales www.swga.org.uk West of England www.wega.org.uk Bath Geology Society www.bathgeolsoc.org.uk Avon RIGS Group The Avon RIGS Group are re-launching their newsletter, Outcrop, as an on-line blog. The relevant websites are: www.avonrigs.org.uk http://avonrigsoutcrop.blogspot.com

South East Wales RIGS Group Contact: Janet Hiscott 01633 960845

The Russell Society www.russellsoc.org.uk

Teme Valley Geological Society Based in Martley, Worcestershire http://www.geo-village.eu

OUGS Sales

Is your fieldwork kit lacking a few items? If it is check out OUGS sales ! They can supply all you require...... Hand lenses, Lanyards, Notebooks, Reference Cards and much more ! www.ougs.org/sales

OUGS Severnside Branch Committee

Norman Nimmo-Smith - Branch Organiser 01684 891859 [email protected] Averil Leaver - Treasurer 01446 418592 [email protected] Jan Ashton-Jones - Events co-ordinator 01432 860736 [email protected] Janet Hiscott - Librarian 01633 960845 [email protected] Jan Boddy 01793 762575 [email protected] Kath Addison-Scott 01179 538085 [email protected] Anthony Bukowski 02920 300080 [email protected] Linda Fowler 01432 860465 [email protected] Teresa Jenkins 07542 895244 [email protected] John de Caux - Newsletter Editor 01633 875955 [email protected]

Editorial

If you are still receiving Sabrina Times by post why not get the much better colour version of this and future issues of this newsletter by email (in .pdf format). Just send a request to your editor at: [email protected] Contributions for the newsletter will be very welcome from members, as will any suggestions for improvement. We are able to read or scan most data formats or documents. For photos please send the images as separate files, preferably in jpeg (.jpg) or bitmap (.bmp) format. For large files OneDrive or Dropbox may be used.

12 Severnside Day of Lectures

Our Day of Lectures will take place at the YMCA Conference Centre, Mendalgief Road, Newport NP20 2HF

Starting at 10 am. Coffee, tea and lunch included

Speakers and subjects are: Hazel Trenbirth: How can we date the retreat of glaciers from the last 500 years? Using Lichens? Dr Paul Brabham :Environmental Geophysics Exploration techniques Dr Neil Frewin: Gas and Oil Exploration.

Some holiday photos

460 mm

The Azure Window - Gozo - Globigerina Limestone Scutella fossils in pavement slab This has appeared in: Clash of the Titans (1981), Lower Coralline Limestone The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) and Valletta, Malta The Game of Thrones

Do any readers have interesting holiday photos that could fill blank spaces in future issues of Sabrina Times ?

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