SABRINA TIMES OPEN UNIVERSITY GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SEVERNSIDE BRANCH DECEMBER 2015

Branch Organisers Report

Hello Severnside

We enjoyed an excellent Day of Lectures in Cardiff of Saturday 28th November, with interesting talks about Dinosaurs in South Wales, including the latest find of the first terrestrial dinosaur to be discovered in South Wales; the Geology of Penarth; and the Evolution of very early life forms, particularly focused on Ediacaran fossils with examples from Newfoundland where the Branch visited in 2008. Lots of books were borrowed from the library and at the end of the afternoon, after a cup of tea, many of us enjoyed browsing two exhibitions in the galleries: William Smiths Maps and one about the new Welsh dinosaur. The paper writing up this find is due to be published very soon at which point its name will be made public. At present it is still a secret!

Annual General Meeting I hope you all have the date of Saturday, 13th February 2016, in your diaries for the next Branch AGM? The agenda is elsewhere (page 14) in the Newsletter. It is important this year to have a good attendance as…..

…. a New Branch Organiser is needed The Branch still needs a replacement Branch Organiser as I am standing down in February. I have outlined the duties in earlier Newsletters but am more than happy to discuss the post in person if you want contact me. I have really enjoyed my time representing the Branch and I am sure that my successor will get similar fun and support from everyone. If you would like to know more, please have a chat with me.

The National AGM next year will be taking place in April in Scarborough. The programme is very interesting and it’s an opportunity to visit the north east and see some very different geology as well as meet old friends and enjoy two quality lectures. Please think about coming along.

The Symposium in 2016 is being held in Exeter. Severnside is one of the three Branches responsible for organising this although Wessex is taking the lead this time. A good programme of speakers has already been advertised and we are open for bookings! Lots of information and the booking form can be found on the website - look under ‘Society Events’. There are additional events being organised before and after the main weekend if you would like to take a longer break in the area.

I look forward to seeing you in the New Years and wish you all the best for Christmas Season.

Best wishes Janet

In this issue:

Wye Valley 2

Cardiff Building Stones 4 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A Events 9

HAPPY NEW YEAR Branch Library selection 12

TO ALL OUR READERS Contacts & Branch 13 Committee

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Wye Valley 13th September 2015

Leader: Elliott Carter

It was a lovely September morning as we stood by the side of the B4260 Wilton Road leading up into Ross. There was a good group of us come to be introduced to the geological history of the lower Wye Valley and to be shown how it has shaped the landscape.

We were all strung out along the pavement looking at a road cutting which may have once been a quarry. It is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and has been kept cleared of most vegetation and has a display board. Elliot described the depositional environment for this sandstone from the Brownstone Formation of the upper Lower Devonian. During this period subduction of the Iapetus Ocean created large mountain ranges behind the subduction zone. These shed erosion material into the area, carried south by large rivers. The cross bedding that we could see (Fig. 1) shows the variety of material brought by these changing braided river systems. The variety of Fig. 1 Wilton Road SSSI showing cross bedding pebbles embedded within the sandstone give an indication of the from a braided river system source of material and these have been mapped by JR Allen.

A short drive brought us to a car park above the Biblins. From here we took a footpath through the woods and into King Arthur’s Quarry (Fig. 2). We were now up into the Carboniferous Gully Oolite. The oolite limestone was deposited in a shallow sea with little contamination from runoff. The seawater would have been saturated with calcium carbonate and, with small waves agitating the water, oolites were produced. This quarry has been used as a source of aggregate as the limestone has been altered by burial, warming and recrystallization producing a hard grey rock. It is now used by rock climbers. The alteration has destroyed many features in the limestone but some cross bedding was still discernible (Fig. 3).

Fig. 2 Walking into King Arthur’s Quarry Fig. 3 Altered Gully Oolite, King Arthur’s Quarry, in which some cross bedding can still be seen.

Further along the quarry wall a change in material had caused the quarrymen to leave a corner of rock. Elliot pointed out the encroachment of a band of sandstone in the upper level (Fig. 4) which would have contaminated the aggregate. This sandstone indicated a change in environment with sea level falling to bring the coastline closer and river borne sands into the area.

Fig. 4 King Arthur’s Quarry showing change in depositional environment giving a sandstone feature

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Wye Valley 13th September 2015 (contd.)

Taking a footpath downhill we passed several short tunnels into the limestone which Elliot explained may have been carved by the River Wye when it created the valley it now occupies. In the process of down-cutting the river left benches and excavated the valley walls along lines of weakness. Natural England hold the PhD paper from the 1930’s which plotted the course of the Wye at different levels in the valley and it is available to be studied in their offices. The Cave known as Arthur’s Cave (he did get everywhere in the West of England and Wales) was probably constructed in the same way as there is evidence of a large fault which was a line of weakness (Fig. 5). This cave was excavated in the 19th Century by Rev. Symond and found to contain Prehistoric flint tools and animal remains! The path led down to the Seven Sisters Viewpoint where we had lunch overlooking the River Wye (Fig. 6). Here the river has cut a deep, steepsided valley through the resistant Carboniferous limestone and the Upper Devonian sandstone and conglomerates. Later we would look out from Symonds Yat Viewpoint to a different landscape (Fig. 7) where the river has taken a wide meander through the softer Sandstone of the Lower Fig. 5 King Arthur’s Cave Devonian. The overall pattern of developed as a result of water the Wye is of a series of looping action along a fault meanders that cross back and forth from the harder limestone to the softer sandstone ignoring the difference in resistance. This is a superimposed river pattern. The original meanders formed on a level, wide floodplain then as sea levels fell during the Ice Age the river cut down through the rock and the differences in resistance showed only in the width of the valleys. We continued on to the riverside near Biblins youth campsite where we Fig. 6 Wye Valley from Seven Sister’s viewpoint studied the cliff (Fig.8a). Once we found our way through the vegetation a closer inspection revealed the reason for the shiny surface to the rock. Rain water, saturated in calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from its passage through the limestone, had seeped out of the cliffs and the CaCO3 was precipitated out of solution and deposited on the surface of the rock as Tufa or flowstone giving some strange forms (Fig. 8b).

Fig. 7 Wye Valley from Symonds Yat viewpoint

Fig. 8a The Biblins – recent deposition of flowstone observed from path along Wye

Fig. 8b Closer inspection of flowstone

Elliot had given us a good introduction to the geology behind the impressive landscape of the Wye valley and had shown us how it had been Report by changed. Averil Leaver BSc (Hons) Geoscience 3

Cardiff Building Stones 25th October 2015

Leader: Linda Fowler

Introduction This field trip to Cardiff was led by Linda Fowler, and explored the stones used in a number of buildings (old and new) in the Cardiff Bay waterfront area, which is situated in South Cardiff. We also walked along the Cardiff Bay Barrage to examine some in situ rocks in the tall cliff at Penarth Head. This report is based on Linda’s commentary during the day and her written notes. Most of the pre-lunch part of our outing is described in Leaflet 13 “Building Stones of Cardiff” produced by the Geologists’ Association - South Wales Group. A map of the Cardiff Bay area is shown in Fig. 1, and pinpoints the key parts of our route during the day. A more detailed view of the Waterfront area is shown in Fig. 2. This shows the route we took during the morning as we zig-zagged around various streets examining a variety of stone.

Fig. 1 Map of Cardiff Bay

We all met at the Havannah Street car park adjacent to the Wetlands area of Cardiff Bay. Once assembled, Linda explained the proposed itinerary for the day and gave a potted history of Cardiff over the last 200 years or so. Cardiff came to prominence with the building of docks and other infrastructure for export of the vast amounts of coal mined from the valleys of South Wales. The docks were built between 1830 and 1907, with the first one opening in 1839. The last cargo of coal left Cardiff in 1964 and, since 1987, the area has undergone considerable redevelopment. Fig. 2 Map of our route in the Waterfront area of Cardiff Bay This included the building of a barrage across Cardiff Bay and substantial renovation of the waterfront and docks. Wetlands Reserve Before setting out on our walk, we enjoyed the view of Cardiff Bay from the car park, looking out across the man-made Wetlands Reserve opened in 2002 when the Barrage was finished. This was previously an area of raised salt marsh, but has now changed to a freshwater environment, losing the intertidal areas. The Wetlands Reserve is a great spot for bird watching. Interestingly, the Cardiff Bay Barrage incorporates a specifically designed “fish pass” to allow migratory salmon and sea trout to return to the rivers Taff and Ely. The “fish pass” allows the fish to swim at all states of the tide from the estuary up and into the Bay. Geologically, Cardiff is built on Triassic Mercia Mudstone, which was deposited in a hot desert environment between 200 and 250 million years ago.

Ocean Reach Building A short walk from the car park took us to our first building of the day, the relatively new Ocean Reach apartment block. It is clad in two types of stone, one green and one yellow (Fig. 3). We quickly identified the yellow stone as a medium-grained sandstone. Variations in iron content had produced different coloured patterns in the individual sandstone blocks. Linda pointed out a number of coloured bands in the sandstone, a feature known as Liesegang Rings. Fig. 3 Examining the two types of facing They are produced when the pH and Eh conditions of pore water stone on the Ocean Reach building chemistry allow deposition of iron, which in turn causes colouring of the sandstone.

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Cardiff Building Stones 25th October 2015 (contd,)

The identity of the green polished facing slabs was not quite as obvious. It had a sedimentary-like structure with graded bedding and rip-up casts (Fig. 4). After a lot of discussion and helpful hints from Linda, we were persuaded that the slabs were composed of volcanic tephra from ash up to lapilli size which had been deposited in water and subsequently metamorphosed into a slate. The green colour resulted from the presence of chlorite, and the rock was probably Upper Ordovician from the Lake District.

Mount Stuart Dry Docks On our way to the Pilotage Building we passed the Mount Stuart dry docks, built Fig. 4 Rip-up casts in the green slate for the maintenance and repair of ships. In later years it was used by British of the Ocean Reach building Rail car ferries, Royal Navy ships, and tankers.

Pilotage Building The Pilotage Building is the oldest building in the area, and was used as the administrative centre for the pilots who operated in the Bristol Channel. Despite the misleading sign on the wall, the building dates back to the 1880s. It is now used as a restaurant (Fig. 5). The building is constructed from grey sandstone, most probably Carboniferous Pennant Sandstone which crops out widely in the South Wales Coalfield. A pair of polished granite columns of unknown origin grace the entrance door.

Fig. 5 Grey sandstone was used in the Fig. 6 A wedge-shaped Pinna fossil in the oolitic lime- construction of the Pilotage Building stone of the old National Provincial Bank building

113/116 Bute Street Our next stop was at the old National Provincial Bank building at 113/116 Bute Street, built in the 1920s. It is constructed from prestigious white Jurassic Portland Stone, an oolitic limestone originating from the Isle of Portland in Dorset. With the aid of a hand lens, we could clearly see broken shells and ooids. There was a very fine example of the distinctive bivalve fossil known as Pinna on the stone surface. Viewed end-on it has a wedge-shaped cross-section (Fig. 6). Portland Stone formed in a marine environment on the floor of a shallow, warm sea probably near land. Back-and-forth movement of the shallow sea allowed the spherical ooids to grow on the sea floor around small nuclei created from precipitated calcite. The ooids were then cemented by more calcite to form a hard limestone.

54 Bute Street We then walked a short distance to Pascoe House at 54 Bute Street, built in 1875 for a coal company. We quickly spotted three different types of stone used in its construction; these were coloured grey, red, and yellow-buff. A fourth polished stone was used as an ornamental pillar on either side of the entrance door (Fig. 7). The buff coloured stone had been carved and used to decorate the building. With the aid of a hand lens we saw that this stone contained ooids and fossil shells, similar to the Portland Stone seen in the previous building. It was therefore an oolitic limestone and, as Linda explained, was in fact Middle Jurassic Bath Stone extracted from a quarry near the city of Bath in Somerset. Fig. 7 Examining the four types of stone used in the construction of Pascoe House

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Cardiff Building Stones 25th October 2015 (contd.)

The red stone used along the bottom of the building and in the arches above the ground- floor windows had a much coarser texture consisting of angular clasts of various sizes within a fine-grained matrix (Fig. 8). This was clearly a breccia. Linda explained that it was local Radyr Stone from the Upper Triassic, formed in a hot dry climate where occasional torrential rain led to flash floods. These carried rock debris along wadis which was then dumped as alluvial fans at their mouths. Over time, the fragments were cemented together with sand and calcium carbonate. The Radyr Stone, which was quarried just north of Cardiff between the years of 1850-1910, helps to confirm date the building (1875). The grey stone used in the walls between the ornate windows was similar to that seen Fig. 8 Close-up of the Radyr earlier in the Pilotage Building, and was presumed to be Pennant Sandstone. Finally, we Stone breccia on Pascoe quickly concluded that the two polished ornamental pillars at the doorway were granite. House Linda explained that it was known as Bessbrook Granite and came from the Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland. However its age was a matter of debate, with one source (the GA Guide) quoting 50 million years old and another (Ruth Siddall from UCL) quoting 400 million years old – yet another example of the uncertainty associated with some rocks! If Ruth is correct, the rock would be Newry Granodiorite, intruded during the Caledonian mountain building phase. If the GA are correct, the rock would belong to a much later felsic intrusion into the Newry Granodiorite, the Paleocene Slieve Gullion ring-dyke complex.

Craft in the Bay We continued our stroll through the streets of Cardiff and arrived at the “Craft in the Bay” building. Currently used as an exhibition gallery and craft shop, it is an old dock warehouse that was moved and enlarged about 15 years ago. On the surface of the slate pavement outside the building we spotted some yellow cubic crystals of pyrite (iron sulphide or “fool’s gold”). Pyrite frequently appears in metamorphic rocks such as slate, and would have formed during the metamorphism of anoxic sedimentary muds containing organic matter (Fig. 9). Not far away was a granite bollard from one Fig. 9 Gold-coloured iron pyrite of the old docks (Fig. 10). This possibly came from crystals on the surface of a slate Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. paving slab adjacent to the “Craft . in the Bay” building

Millennium Centre Fig. 10 Granite bollard from Our next stop was at the splendid Millennium Centre, a prestigious arts centre clad in one of the docks, now relo- Welsh slate. Five types of Welsh slate, each with its own distinctive colour, were used in the cated outside the “Craft in construction of the building, the colours resulting from differences in their composition. the Bay” building (Fig. 11). All slate came from waste quarried material.

Roald Dahl Plass Adjacent to the Millennium Centre is Roald Dahl Plass, a public space built on the former Oval Basin. This was the oval-shaped entrance to the large West Bute Dock which turned Cardiff into a major coal port when it opened in 1839. Although the dock has now been filled in, when operational it allowed up to 300 ships to berth at any one time. The new architecture of Roald Dahl Plass still retains the old upper stonework of the Oval Basin dock Fig. 11 The Millennium Centre with its five different entrance. The dock walls types of slate Fig.12 Top of the Oval Basin dock were originally built of wall showing the granite blocks used Pennant Sandstone, and hard granite had been used to protect the top lip of at the top, and a block of red Radyr the dock wall from the battering of moored ships. We noticed, however, local red Stone beneath used for repair of the Radyr Stone had been used in places to repair sections of the dock wall, no doubt wall an economy measure (Figure 12). 6

Cardiff Building Stones 25th October 2015 (contd.)

Scott Harbour Compass Rose After a much longer walk than originally planned we arrived at Scott Harbour, named after Captain Scott, whose ship the Terra Nova sailed from Cardiff Docks to the South Pole in 1910. The new buildings on the dock side, built in 1997, are clad in Rapakivi Granite, a Finnish granite noted for its large rounded (“orbicular”) orthoclase feldspar crystals containing specks of dark minerals (Fig. 13).

At one end of Scott Harbour we came across an ornate compass rose constructed from a number of decorative stones.

With Linda’s help we identified gabbro, gneiss, migmatite and Fig. 13 Close-up of the Rapakivi a number of differently Granite used to face buildings at -coloured granites (Fig Scott Harbour, showing the 14). distinctive orbicular feldspar crystals

Fig. 14 The ornamental compass rose at Scott Harbour with its decorative polished stones Atradius Building Heading further along the dockside, we came to the Atradius Building, opened in 1995 to provide commercial office accommodation. It is clad in two types of decorative stone, which have apparently been described as granite. However, examination showed that they were something quite different. The lighter-coloured stone contained small red garnet crystals and was technically a “garnetiferous gneiss” (Fig. 15). The darker stone exhibited spectacular banding typical of a migmatite formed by the partial melting of a gneiss (Fig. 16). Some of the features we saw in this stone, a “migmatitic biotitic granodioritic gneiss” according to the GA leaflet, included boudinage and pegmatite.

Fig. 15 Close-up of the light-coloured Fig. 16 Close-up of the darker-coloured facing stone on the Atradius building, facing stone on the Atradius building, showing numerous red garnet crystals showing the coloured banding within the migmatite

Waterguard Pub Now a very fine pub, this building was built in 1870 as the HM Customs and Excise House using grey Pennant Sandstone and buff Bath Stone. A new addition to the building is faced with a fine-grained cream Magnesian Limestone from Yorkshire.

Norwegian Church Mentally exhausted by the vast amount of information imparted by Linda, we sat outside the Norwegian Church in the warm sunshine to recuperate, looking over the Bay and enjoying our lunch. The Church, established in 1885, was built to provide religious and social care to the thousands of Norwegian sailors employed by the Norwegian merchant fleet. Having fallen into disrepair, the Church was rescued by The Norwegian Church Preservation Trust in 1987 and carefully dismantled and re-erected on its present site. It is now used as an arts centre.

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Cardiff Building Stones 25th October 2015 (contd.)

Barrage Coal After lunch we walked across the Cardiff Bay Barrage, stopping to look at information boards about coal mining and the coal trade on the way. Nearby were a couple of enormous lumps of coal that clearly showed the original bedding planes of these ancient deposits (Fig. 17).

Penarth Head Having crossed the Barrage to the Penarth side of Cardiff Bay we headed towards the tall cliff-face nearby at Penarth Head. This displayed horizontal layers of sedimentary Triassic and Jurassic rock (Fig. 18). Towards the base of the cliff were distinctive red and green mudstones of the Triassic Mercia Mudstone Group, with intermittent bands and nodules of white and pink gypsum. Many blocks of gypsum had fallen from the cliff-face onto the beach as a result of erosion and we came across two varieties, alabaster and satin spar. Further up the cliff were the marine sedimentary layers of the Penarth Group and Blue Lias Formation. Blocks from these layers were scattered across the beach and we soon found bivalve fossils in some of them, as well as slabs with wave ripples (Fig. 19).

Fig. 17 A large lump of coal from a Welsh mine, now displayed on the Cardiff Bay Barrage

Fig. 18 The cliff-face at Penarth Fig. 19 Our beachcombing finds at Head, showing horizontal layers of Penarth Head included bivalve fossils Triassic / Jurassic sedimentary rock embedded in rock, gypsum blocks, and slabs with wave ripples

Pierhead Building We returned to the Cardifff Bay Waterfront by water-bus and headed towards the impressive Pierhead Building, a Grade 1 listed building and our final stop of the day (Fig. 20). Opened in 1897 as the headquarters of the Cardiff Railway Company, the exterior of the Pierhead is finished in Ruabon glazed terracotta bricks, some of which are very ornate.

Summary It was amazing how much variety was packed into this field trip. We examined building stones from far and wide, collected local rock from Penarth Head, learned about the industrial history of Cardiff and had a cruise on a water-bus. Our thanks go to Linda for answering our many geological questions and for making this a most memorable day.

Report and photographs by Fig. 20 The Pierhead Building, clad in Norman Nimmo-Smith glazed terracotta bricks

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Severnside Branch Events

2016 EVENT LEADER DETAILS Saturday - Microscopes Aberystwyth Charlie Bendall February 5th - 7th Sunday - Stereographic projection weekend Bill Perkins See advert on page 11

To be held in the Oriel Suite, National Museum of Wales, February 13th Branch AGM _ Cardiff

Introductory Day Caroline Deans March 20th Weston-super Mare Limited numbers (ex OU Tutor)

Other Events

Cardiff University - Isotopes in the Earth Sciences The 2015-16 monthly series of evening lectures in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences considers the role of isotopes in solving major problems in Earth and planetary history spanning origins to human influences. http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/events/category/series/isotopes-in-the-earth-sciences/

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Event Notes

The Open University Geological Society Code of conduct for field trips

It is important to realise that all field work involves a level of personal risk and responsibility, however, awareness of hazards, use of common sense and thought for others can greatly reduce this risk.

Code of Conduct 1 Take all reasonable precautions to maintain your own safety and not endanger other members of the group as directed by the leader or organiser and recommended in the “Risk Assessment for OUGS Field Trips” overleaf. 2 Obey the Country Code e.g. close gates, leave no litter, do not disturb wildlife or plants. 3 Seek permission before entering private land. 4 If you smoke have consideration for others. 5 Children and dogs must be kept under control by the members responsible for them. Children under 16 are not usually allowed into working quarries. 6 The OUGS organiser should ensure that the leader does not move on from a stop until everyone has caught up and have had as much time at the stop as they need to recover and ask questions. 7 In large groups, arrange for a back-marker to ensure that the slower attendees are still kept in the group (see 6, above). Use of a hi-vis jacket for this person is advised, especially in traffic. 7 The trip leader may refuse to accept anyone who is inappropriately dressed for the conditions on the day. 8 Any member of the group who is behaving in a manner likely to jeopardise the safety of the group may be asked to leave by the leader or organiser. 9 Tell the leader or organiser if you decide to leave the trip early. 10 If you have a medical condition such as asthma, angina, diabetes etc. it would be prudent to inform the organiser discretely at the start of a field trip - unless you attend with someone who knows your circumstances. Collecting 1 Keep collecting to a minimum.

2 Avoid removing in-situ fossils.

3 Do not leave exposures in an untidy or dangerous condition.

4 Never collect from walls or buildings.

Health and Safety at Work & Mines and Quarries Acts Working quarries, mines, opencast and other industrial sites, whether working or idle on the day of the visit, are subject to the above legislation. These acts require anyone entering such premises should wear hard hats, boots and protective clothing as required. Failure to observe these rules could result in you being prosecuted under these Acts.

Children under 16 are not usually allowed into working quarries.

Don’t forget to renew your membership for 2016

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Event Notes

Note: EVENT DETAILS CAN CHANGE Any last-minute changes of times or arrangements are on the OUGS website.... www.ougs.org Or...... Contact Jan Ashton-Jones Tel: 01432 870827 Email: [email protected] If you are not receiving email reminders from Janet regarding forthcoming events or if you get a new email address please let her know so that she 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)

Open University Geological Society Severnside Branch

Aberystwyth Weekend 2016

February 5th/6th/7th 2016 Leader: Charlie Bendall and Bill Perkins

Saturday - microscopes Sunday- stereographic projection.

All to be held at the hotel.

Bed & Breakfast at the Park Lodge Hotel, Aberystwyth Cost: £35.00 pppn for a twin/double. £55.00 pn for a single.

There will be extra costs for lunches and leaders expenses.

Details from Jan Ashton-Jones 01432870827 [email protected]

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Another Selection from the Branch Library

The Map that changed the World Simon Winchester 2002 338 Pages

Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological map of anywhere in the world. Its maker was a farmer's son named William Smith. Born in 1769 his life was beset by troubles: he was imprisoned for debt, turned out of his home, his work was plagiarised, his wife went insane and the scientific establishment shunned him. It was not until 1829, when a Yorkshire aristocrat recognised his genius, that he was returned to London in triumph: The Map That Changed the World is his story.

Geology of the country around Weston-super-Mare Geological Survey of Great Britain 1983 147 Pages

Memoir for 1:50,000 geological sheet 279 New Series, with parts of sheets 263 & 295

The red stone Geology of the country around Llanilar and Rhayader used along the Geological Survey of Great Britain 1997 279 Pages

Memoir for 1:50,000 geological sheets 178 & 179

Geology of Bideford and Lundy Island Geological Survey of Great Britain 1979 143 Pages

Memoir for 1:50,000 Geological Sheet 292, New Series, with Sheets 275, 276, 291 and Part of Sheet 308

Petrology of the Igneous Rocks Hatch F.H., Wells, A.K. & Wells, M.K. 1972 551Pages

Demonstrates the principles of petrology through the evidence of the rocks themselves. Special emphasis is placed on the identification and classification of igneous rocks based on their mineral compositions and textural characteristics

The Branch Book and Map Library list can be found on the Severnside Branch website.. The library is in the care of Branch Organiser Janet Hiscott Request a catalogue from...... [email protected]

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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: Sally Munnings 01635 821290 [email protected] OUGS Southwest Branch Organiser: Richard Blagden 07530 502837 [email protected] OUGS Wessex Branch Organiser: Sheila Alderman 01935 825379 (eve) [email protected] OUGS West Midlands Branch Organiser: Sandra Morgan [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 Secretary: Sarah Stafford 020 7287 0280 [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

Janet Hiscott - Branch Organiser 01633 960845 [email protected] Averil Leaver - Treasurer 01446 418592 [email protected] Jan Ashton-Jones - Events 01432 870827 [email protected] Jan Boddy 01793 762575 [email protected] Kath Addison-Scott 01179 538085 [email protected] Anthony Bukowski 02920 300080 [email protected] Philip Clark 01885 483697 [email protected] Elizabeth Edmundson 01792 863119 [email protected] Linda Fowler 01432 860465 [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 [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.

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Branch AGM Agenda

Open University Geological Society AGM of the Severnside Branch

Oriel Suite, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff

13th February 2016 11.00 am

AGENDA

Apologies for absence

Matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting held on14th February 2016. (Published in March 2015 edition of Sabrina Times.)

Officers Reports: Branch Treasurer Branch Organiser Other Officers

Election of Officers Branch Organiser Branch Treasurer Committee members

Other items for discussion

Programme

Coffee will be served from 10.00am.

There will be talks from members in the afternoon

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