SABRINA TIMES March 2020 Open University Geological Society Severnside Branch Branch Organiser’s Report Hello everyone, Day of Talks Our last event of 2019, the annual Day of Lectures at the National Museum in Cardiff, had a good turnout of thirty- five members who enjoyed four excellent talks. Cindy Howells (National Museum of Wales) gave a talk about dinosaur discoveries and the history of some of the collectors; Prof Susan Marriott (University of Bristol) described the early depositional environment of the Old Red Sandstone in the Anglo-Welsh Basin; Prof. Huw Davies (Cardiff University) presented the background to the relatively new science of mantle circulation modelling; and the talk from Dr. Ian Skilling (University of South Wales) described some of the processes that trigger explosions when hot magma meets cold water. Something for everyone ! Our thanks go to Michelle Thomas for organising this popular event. Branch Annual General Meeting It was good to meet those members who were able to attend our branch AGM in February, at our new venue of Langstone Village Hall. As always, the AGM presented an opportunity to reflect on our collective achievements during the previous year, namely, one overseas trip; two weekend field trips; four day trips; a weekend workshop; a day of lectures; a talk at our branch AGM; and the publication of five newsletters. Both Averil Leaver and John de Caux announced that they intended to relinquish their committee roles as Treasurer and Newsletter Editor respectively at the next AGM in 2021. Hence we are now seeking volunteers to take over these important roles – please contact me if you are interested in these opportunities and would like to help with branch activities. Following the AGM we were treated to five excellent talks from our members, and we hope to have a short summary of some of them in future newsletters. Dilys Harlow started the proceedings with a presentation on the (nearly) submerged continent of Zealandia in the southern hemisphere. This was followed by a talk by Janet Hiscott about the OUGS trip to Arctic Norway and Sweden in 2011. Averil Leaver then described the various fossil specimens of the bird-like dinosaur Archaeopteryx that we saw during the trip to Solnhofen in southern Germany last year. The next talk was given by Elen Statham, who described the laudable work she’s currently doing to establish the Llanbadoc Geology Trail near Usk. And finally Janet Hellen gave an account of a recent field trip to the Lake District led by Dave Green. It was a real pleasure to hear these five ladies talk with enthusiasm and knowledge about wide- ranging subjects that kept us riveted and I would like to thank them all for being brave volunteers. The AGM minutes are published on page 2 Field Trips You may have noticed that many of our recent field trips have been taking place in the northern and western parts of the geographic area covered by Severnside, and trips planned for this year are no exception. We are desperately in need of volunteers to help us organise trips in the southern and eastern part of Severnside. Michelle Thomas is doing a splendid job organising jobs in the north and west, but we do need help to cover areas such as Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, etc. So if you live in these areas and enjoy field trips, here is a golden opportunity to help fellow members. The added benefit is that you can choose locations you would like to visit ! Finally, in this issue you’ll find a report of our successful trip to Mortimer Forest, Ludlow and Clee Hill last September, kindly written by Sue Wellens from the South-East Branch. Thank you Sue! Best wishes, Norman Nimmo-Smith In this issue: Severnside AGM 2 Severnside Accounts 3 Ludlow area field trip 4 Events 9 See page 11 D46 Severnside Branch AGM 9th February 2020 Minutes of the AGM held on Sunday 9th February 2020 at Langstone Village Hall, Old Chepstow Road, Langstone, Newport The meeting opened at 11am. Present: Philip Morgan, Joyce Ali, Terence Blake, Dilys Harlow, Michelle Thomas, John de Caux, Ruth Scantlebury, Janet Hellen, Trevor Hellen, Teresa Jenkins, Freda Young, Janet Hiscott, Averil Leaver, Elen Statham, Norman Nimmo-Smith. (15) Apologies: Kath Addison-Scott, Andrew Harper, Frank McKenzie, Linda Fowler, Jan Ashton-Jones, Guy Moody, Lenore Taylor, Andrew Crossley, Jane Randle, Polly Rhodes, Malcolm Shaw, Lynda Cornish, Kath Jones, Anthony Bukowski, Paul Wheat. Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 24th February 2019. There were no matters arising. The minutes were accepted by the meeting, proposed by Janet Hiscott, seconded by Michelle Thomas, carried by majority vote. Officers’ Reports Treasurer Averil reported that the balance of the account was very healthy due to the exceptional grant received this year. This grant was derived from the demise of Oxford Branch. We have welcomed a third of their members and have subsequently received additional members grant, a one-off reallocation grant and a proportion of their funds. Some of this bonus funding has been added to the trip account and we discussed ways of keeping our balances low to the benefit of all members. Newsletter costs continue to fall as the number of members receiving digital copies increases. We have changed the venue of the AGM this year because the National Museum of Wales is now charging us for the hire of the room. We are also aware that we need to make access easy for the wider area the Branch now covers. Jan Boddy was given flowers on her retirement from the Committee. Acceptance of the branch accounts was proposed by Freda Young and seconded by Janet Hellen; carried by a majority vote. Averil’s full report is available on the Members’ Page of the OUGS Severnside Branch website at https://ougs.org/severnside/members/. Many thanks to Ruth Scantlebury for examining the accounts promptly. Branch Organiser Norman thanked the committee for their continued dedicated support. He informed the meeting that the branch had a successful programme in 2019 with one overseas trip, two weekend field trips, four day trips, a weekend workshop, a day of lectures, a talk at our branch AGM, and the publication of five newsletters. With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, he described the events and showed a selection of photos taken throughout the year. Norman’s full report is available on the Members’ Page of the OUGS Severnside Branch website at https://ougs.org/severnside/members/. Election of Committee Members Branch Organiser: Norman Nimmo-Smith was willing to stand; proposed by Trevor Hellen, seconded by Janet Hiscott; carried by majority vote. Treasurer: Averil Leaver was standing; proposed by Janet Hiscott, seconded by Dilys Harlow; carried by majority vote. Averil mentioned that this would be her last year as treasurer as she had served for 8 years. John de Caux is also looking for someone to replace him as Newsletter Editor. If anyone is interested in either position and would like further information on the duties please contact a member of the committee. Ordinary Members: Current members were willing to stand - John de Caux, Teresa Jenkins, Kath Addison-Scott, Anthony Bukowski, Michelle Thomas and Janet Hiscott. Proposed by Trevor Hellen; seconded by Dilys Harlow; carried by majority vote. Other matters Discussed The proposed Reorganisation of Branches into Regions was discussed following the article in the OUGS Newsletter - its effect on the distance to travel to events; the need for several Trip Organisers; and loss of contact with branch members. No positive views were expressed on the proposal for Regions. We also discussed how we could alter the expenses paid to speakers/leaders, charging for trips and mileage payments for travel – to help reduce the healthy balance in our account. 1 The proposal was made that we waive the fee for day trips this year; proposed by Janet Hiscott; seconded by Michelle Thomas; carried by majority vote. To be reviewed next year. 2 The proposal was made to increase expenses paid to speakers/leaders to £50; proposed by Teresa Jenkins; seconded by Janet Hellen; carried by majority vote. There was further discussion of ways to reduce our balance involving longer trips, such as not cancelling a trip if the number of participants were low. The idea was raised that we combine the Day of Lectures and the AGM into one event; we could perhaps extend the event over a weekend. It was noted that the AGM must be held in January. The meeting closed at 12:45 pm. 2 Severnside Branch Summary of Accounts 2019 3 Mortimer Forest, Ludlow and Titterstone Clee Hill 28/29 September 2019 Leader: Andrew Jenkinson Saturday Located in southern Shropshire, Ludlow is one of those towns that one can never tire of visiting (Fig. 1). It has a lovely location by the River Teme, an impressive castle rises on the cliff by the river, it can boast over 400 listed buildings and has a wonderful large church, St. Laurence, known as the Cathedral of the Marches. And then of course there is the important role it has played in the history of geology in the UK: the famous Ludlow bone bed and the work carried out in the Silurian stratigraphy by Roderick Murchison in the Ludlow area. The town is surrounded by a wealth of interesting geological features – all in all, it was clear that our two days here were going to be action-packed. We were fortunate to have as our leader Andrew Jenkinson, the editor of the updated ‘Mortimer Forest Geology Trail’ back in 2000 and an expert in the geology of the area.