E 17 July 2007 Severnside Branch SSaabbrriinnaa TTiimmeess Branch Organiser's Bit I have just reviewed my last piece for the newsletter and find I made a comment about how the weather would surely be better for our May fieldtrip. How wrong I was! Although the day before had been lovely, Sunday 13th May was very overcast and wet. The Cat's Back was not visible through the cloud but I was impressed by the number of members who turned out in such weather. It was great to see you all. Also, well done and thank you to Duncan who was able to offer us an alternative, lower route, avoiding the cloud if not the rain, and still filled the day with interesting Ever wonder where the exposures. “Sabrina” name comes Our trip to Flat Holm in June was fully booked; from? Here's your answer. as is the week’s trip to Kindrogan in July. Unlike One of a series of carved the Cat's Back trip, the weather for Flat Holm oak statues near the Old was good. It was an excellent day out, and I'd Railway Station, Tintern, like to thank Chris Lee for guiding us. it is dedicated to the Jan and Linda are running a shoestring trip to legend of the Celtic the Sierras in Central Spain in September. goddess, whose latinised There are still spaces on this. In addition to the name is Sabrina. The geology there are many medieval towns in the inset is of the signboard area to explore; not to mention Madrid. near the statue. I hope you enjoy the summer (when it arrives) and get out there to see lots of rocks. For Photos: Jan Ashton-Jones those of you who are studying, good luck with those TMAs, and remember that a day out in Commiittee Contacts the field really does support your studies and Branch Organiser: Janet Hiscott – 01633 781557 (eve) [email protected] increases your understanding of the subject. So Treasurer: Elizabeth Freemantle – 02920 709905 [email protected] don’t feel too guilty about taking a day off and Ordinary members: joining OUGS on one of our fieldtrips. After all, it Jan Ashton-Jones (Events) – 01432 870827 [email protected] is the main purpose of the Society to provide Jan Boddy – 01793 762575 [email protected] field experience for OU students which the Anthony Bukowski – 02920 300080 [email protected] university itself is not in a position to organise. Philip Clark (Library) – 01982 560735 [email protected] The next National event is the Symposium which Elizabeth Edmundson (Newsletter) – 01792 863119 Sa brinaTimes@aol. com is being held in Lancaster this year. In a Scott Jones – 01495 755004 [email protected] change from the traditional dates, this year it is Helen Williams – 01495 774520 [email protected] taking place in August. Perhaps I will see some of you there? Committee member Jan Boddy, working Janet Hiscott hard on all our Remember, I can be contacted via e-mail on behalves. [email protected]. Photo: E. Edmundson Pg 1 On all emails, please put “OUGS Ssi” in the subject or title space, to avoid getting deleted as spam! Sabrina Times July 2007 Editorial Library This issue is a short one and it's late... my excuse As promised, here is the next part of our list of library books: this time is a hard drive failure. You know how it is – Librarian: Philip Clark 01982 560735 [email protected] install a new one, and the d****d thing “updates” ➢ ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY everything, loses stuff and generally creates Coasts Hansom, J.D. electronic mayhem. Of course, it's not always the Cretaceous World, The; Skelton, P. machine's fault. What's obvious to the completely Great Ice Age. The; Wilson, R. et al. computer-savvy amongst you isn't always apparent to Holocene, - An Environmental History. The; Roberts, Neil the merely computer-literate – like me. So I'm Human Impact on the Natural Environment. The; Goudie, A. experimenting with a new look ST in the hopes of Pleistocene Environments in the British Isles; Jones, R.L. & Keen, D.H. streamlining the editing job and reducing the package Urban geology and Earth heritage conservation – Geology on your doorstep; size for electronic mailing (I have been laying out the Bennett, M.R. & Doyle, P. newsletter for printing only, so how many megabytes Urban Geology in Wales; National Museum of Wales it is has not been quite so important). The most important change is in the publicity for our ➢ SEDIMENTLOGY events. The Events Diary remains, but the adverts Applied Sedimentology; Selley, Richard C. page is changed to a Details page. This is easier to Desert Aeolian Processes; Tchakerian, V.P. produce; and to revise, if needed. Both of these Petroleum Geology of the North Sea; Glennie, K.W. pages will advertise Branch events only - this Petroleum Geology; North, F.K. includes Shoestring trips and joint trips with other Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy; Boggs, Sam Jr. Branches. The Diary will, however, list the dates of major national OUGS events as well. ➢ TECTONICS Events organised by other Branches and by non- Geological Evolution of Ocean Basins; Cramp, A., MacLeod, C.J., et al. OUGS societies will no longer have their events lists Geological Structures and Moving Plates; Park, R.G. provided in the ST. There are two good reasons for this: 1, this is only a branch newsletter, produced by volunteer efforts, and we cannot be expected to give OUGS Neighbours everybody publicity; and 2, gathering relevant details Those of you living near any of these regions ought to keep in touch with what they're is very time-consuming. Lists of nearby OUGS doing. Many of their field trips will be conveneintly nearby and it's always good to get branches and non-OUGS organisations, with field experience. Of course, a full list of all Branches appears regularly on page two of the website/contact details will appear in future STs. Any National Newsletter. Ssi member who is involved in an Earth Science society, who would like it to be included may send me OUGS Gogledd Cymru their info, and a short sentence about that group. B.O. Rachel Atherton 01942 270152 [email protected] Write-ups will also be shorter. Most write-up OUGS oxford volunteers are doing OU courses; it's unfair to ask B.O. Sally Munnings 01635 821290 [email protected] them to pen the equivalent of a TMA answer! I'd like to increase the number of photos. If you have a good OUGS Southwest shot of a geological feature from one of our field B.O. Gordon Neighbour 07930 849622 [email protected] trips, send it in, along with a few sentences about it, OUGS Wessex and your first and last name (photo credit). B.O. Sheila Alderman 01935 825379 (eve) [email protected] Lastly, some very bad news indeed... there's no OUGS West Midlands Trilobite Hash cartoon gracing the last page. B.O. Linda Tonkin 01902 746074 [email protected] WHAT? What about Non-OUGS Organisations my freedom ➢ Welsh Stone Forum – Our Librarian, Philip Clark, is an active member of the WSF. To find out more, get in touch with him at 01982 560735 or [email protected] of speech? ➢ South Wales Geological Association – website www.swga.org.uk ➢ West of England Geological Association – website www.wega.org.uk ➢ Central Wales RIGS – website www.geologywales.co.uk/central-wales-rigs ➢ Geological Association – Secretary Sarah Stafford 020 7287 0280 [email protected] ➢ The Russell Society – The RS is a mineralogical interest society; I believe it is based Sorry 'bout that... in South Wales. The only contact number I have is: E. Edmundson (Editor) Lynda Garfield [email protected] Pg. 2 If any of you are members, and have more complete contact details, please get in touch. Sabrina Times July 2007 Events Diary Please note: There is a nominal fee of £2 on day trips (except when otherwise stated) to cover leader's expenses. Events are organised by Jan Ashton-Jones, unless there is a different contact name given. You can ask her for details at: 01432 870827 or [email protected] 2007 ➢ July 23 – 31 Two-day Oceanography Experience trips – OUGS – Three two-day sessions available (Southhampton). Contact: Sheila Alderman at 01935 825379 Email: [email protected] ➢ August 17 – 19 OUGS Symposium (Lancaster ) - Contact: Chris Arkwright 01772 335316 Email: [email protected] ➢ September 4 – 11 Sierras on a Shoestring (Leader: Mark Anderson) – Joint trip with Southwest Branch - Contact: Jan AJ ➢ September 23 Building Stones of Newport (Leader: Stephen Howe) – Contact: Jan AJ ➢ October 21 Tintern Quarry, Forest of Dean (Leader: David Owen) – Contact: Jan AJ ➢ November 17 OUGS AGM (Northampton) – Contact: Polly Rhodes 01420 475548 Email: [email protected] 2008 ➢ January/February Day of Lectures (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff) - Contact: Jan AJ ➢ March (?) Introductory Day (Leader: Dave Green) ➢ March/April (?) Volcanoes on a Shoestring – Tenerife (??????) - Contact: Jan AJ For all field trips Always wear appropriate gear... warm clothing and hiking boots. British weather being what it is, be prepared for that, too. Important Notice "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 Cover and Personal Liability Cover remain the responsibility and personal choice of the participant. There may be an element of appropriate cover included in house insurance or in travel insurance: although OUGS activities are not particularly dangerous members are advised to check whether exclusions apply to activities in which they plan to participate in case they wish to arrange further cover.