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Geologists’ Association - South Wales Group Cymdeithas y Daearegwyr - Grŵp De Cymru

President John Davies sion_cwm_hir@hotmail.com

Vice- President

Lesley Cherns cherns@cardiff.ac.uk

Secretary Janet Hiscott secretary@swga.org.uk

Programme Secretary

Stephen Howe Steve.Howe@talktalk.net

Membership Secretary

Caroline Davies 72 Heritage Park, St Mellons, Cardiff. CF3 0DQ membership@swga.org.uk 07850 556947

Treasurer Hazel Trenbirth hazel.trenbirth@btinternet.com

Publicity Marnix Roels marnixroels@gmail.com

Newsletter Editor

Roger Liggins ligginsroger11@gmail.com

Webmaster Rhian Kendall webmaster@swga.org.uk

Ex-Officio Vice President

Rhian Kendall webmaster@swga.org.uk

Editor Rhian Kendall webmaster@swga.org.uk

Other members of the committee: Tom Sharpe, Nigel McGaw, Cindy Howells, Geraint Owen, John Nudds

2018 Indoor MeetingsThere are two remaining indoor meetings left in this session. These are:

Tuesday 6th March: Volcanoes in Iceland: Ian Skilling. Cardiff. 6.00pm

This is the annual joint meeting with the South Wales Branch of the Geological Society and is held in our usual lecture theatre in Cardiff University. Refreshments will be served in the common room beforehand from about 5.30 pm.

Saturday 24th March: AGM & Presidential Address. Rise of the Welsh mountains – and the Old Red Sandstone - Some more detail in the story: John Davies. As many of you will realise the title is different to that advertised previously but is still the same talk! Please remember that the lecture begins at 11.00am but that the AGM begins at 10.30am. Accordingly, refreshments will be served from 10.00am.

February 2018 Fifty-ninth session

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SWGA SUMMER FIELD MEETING PROGRAMME 2018

Saturday 21st April: The Two Ridges, Cefn Onn, Cardiff: a geological ramble

Leader: Stephen Howe

Meet at 10.00am in the car park at Cefn Onn Country Park, Cardiff (ST 179 837 / CF14 0EP), which is located just north of the Lisvane/Thornhill railway station in north Cardiff. There are toilets in the car park but none afterwards until our return.

On this ramble we will walk up the southern rim of the South Wales Coalfield, along the two ridges and back down to Cefn Onn along paths that are a combination of tarmac, gravel, and earth. The ascent to the top of the ridges, which will be at a gentle pace, involves a vertical climb of 170 m (550 feet) and, on the return leg, the path is quite steep at first and, depending upon the time and weather, may involve negotiating a long flight of steps.

We will be looking at the structure and stratigraphy of the southern rim of the coalfield where the rocks range in age from the St. Maughan's Group of the Old Red Sandstone up to the top of the Carboniferous Limestone, which here is heavily dolomitised. We will also look at the remains of the industrial history of the area. There are extensive 360-degree views from the ridge top that allow the geology of the surrounding area and coalfield to be appreciated - weather permitting! The total walking distance is approximately 5 kms

Sunday 20th May: The Tortworth Inlier, Gloucestershire

Leader: Dave Green

Meet at 10.00am at the small car park next to the Gloucester Sharpness canal (use the lane side if full) opposite the chapel in Purton, Gloucestershire ( SO 692 042).

This trip will aim to examine the nature of the Lower Palaeozoic, Tremadoc to Ludlow sequence that here is brought up along the line of the Malvern fault system. This is of interest because the succession is more akin to that in the Cardiff area (mainly siliclastic) than the classic Welsh Borderland stratigraphy, as seen at nearby May Hill. There are also two basaltic lavas, of Llandovery age, that are the feather edge representatives of a thick igneous sequence that lies beneath the Jurassic of the Cotswolds

The first location will be the Severn estuary, where wellington boots may be advantageous. After lunch at the widely respected Salutation Inn, in Ham, the rest of the day will be spent visiting small disused quarries along narrow lanes for which car sharing is going to be essential if we are a big group. We will be no more than 10 miles from our starting point at any stage during the day.

Saturday 16th June: Penderyn: disturbed ground.

Leader: Alan Bowring

Meet at 10.00am at the car park beside the Red Lion pub at the top of the hill in Penderyn (SN 946 087 / CF44 9JR).

From here we will walk around and over Moel Penderyn looking at aspects of the Neath Disturbance and the legacies of the limestone and silica rock quarrying that fed the Hirwaun

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Ironworks. If there is time we will also visit Sgwd yr Eira waterfall, which is nearby. There will be some rough walking in parts. Finish about 4.00pm

Saturday 21st July: Flat Holm ** ADVANCED BOOKING AND PAYMENT ESSENTIAL

Leader: Chris Lee

Meet at 11.15 prompt. Location details will be given on booking. We will board the boats (RIBs) and catch the 1200 lock out of the Bay to sail across to Flat Holm for a 2 - 2.5 hour visit. Our return journey will entail a circuit of the island after which we will sail north to look at Sully Island from the seaward side and then cruise along the Jurassic / Triassic Coast to catch the 15.45 lock back into Cardiff Bay. We will be back in Penarth for 1600.

As the most southerly pub in Wales (the Gull and Leek) may or may not be open on the day you will need a packed lunch with a hot/cold drink. As the trip can be ‘bumpy’ (nautical term!) H&S precludes all those with back problems or who are pregnant. Otherwise just normal fitness levels are required. There is a steepish, stepped incline up from the island jetty but once on top it is pretty flat (the clue is in the name), with otherwise just the usual scrambles.

Bay Island Voyages will take a decision on whether the trip will go based on meteorological considerations some 48 hours before hand so there should be no last minute cancellations. The cost is £30 for the boat plus a £5 landing fee giving a total price of £35. With the boats available we can take a maximum of 32 people. You need to book a place and pay in advance on a first come basis. If for any reason the boat cannot sail then you will get a full refund. To book please contact: Rhian Kendall: rhian@carreg.org.uk Payment an be made by cheque or bank transfer.

Saturday 11th August: Family Geology Day, Penarth

Leaders. tbc

This is a public geological event aimed at encouraging families to come along and, hopefully, get interested in geology. We will be looking for fossils, minerals and rocks along the beach and pointing out other things of geological interest. This is an open-ended event where people can come for as long or short as they wish and we would be grateful for support from as many of you as is possible. If you are willing to attend and help out please let the Programme Secretary know in advance.

Saturday 15th September: Three Cliffs Bay and Ilston Gower

Leader: Paul Wright

Details to follow

Saturday 13th October: Murchison versus Sedgwick – The field evidence for the disagreement.

Leader: John Davies

Details to follow

Friday 9th - Sunday 11th November: South Pembrokeshire Weekend

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Leaders: Brian Williams & Gareth George Friday 9th November: 7.00pm, Tenby Museum.

We are invited to the launch of Brian and Gareth's new book on the Old Red Sandstone of Pembrokeshire, in the museum. Brian will give an introduction and then both Gareth and Brian will introduce the book to everyone. SWGA members will be joined by members from a wide range of other local groups.

There is a full weekend geological field programme: Saturday 10th November: Freshwater East and Freshwater West; Sunday 11th November: Marloes / Albion Sands and Manorbier

Other Events 2018

The group will once again be participating in a few public events this year. At each we will be running some hands-on activities, showing specimens and publicising the Group. These are very rewarding days out and we are always looking for volunteers to help out on the day. If anybody is interested in volunteering for any of these please let the Secretary know.

Wednesday 31st May: Fforest Fawr Geopark Open Day, Craig y Nos.

Saturday : Tredegar House, Newport

Saturday 3rd November: GA Festival of Geology, UCL, London.

Important Message from the Membership Secretary

You may have heard from elsewhere that there are changes to the Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into force in late May this year. The GDPR applies to personal data. This is any information that can directly or indirectly identify a person and can be in any format.

How it affects the SWGA is that there are stricter rules for obtaining consent regarding how we use the information you provided on your membership form, in particular how we contact you.

In order to comply with these new regulations, we need ALL members to complete a consent form. There is one accompanying this Newsletter. Please complete it, including signatures of all family members, and return to the Membership Secretary by 16th April 2018 either by post or by email. Her contact details are on the front page. If you would like an SAE please contact her to send you one.

Committee Posts Stephen is stepping down as Programme Secretary after 15 years of hard work on our behalf. Can you replace him? Do you know someone who could? He has put the summer programme together so there is time for a new person to settle into the role. It could be two or more people - it would be easy to split this into at least 2 sections. If you can help, please let Janet, the Secretary know as soon as possible.

We would also like to encourage keen members to join us on the committee, people who can maybe assist in looking after field events, suggest leaders and interesting locations

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Obituaries

Sadly we have lost 3 members in the recent months: Howard Bartlett, Eric Broadbent and Jim Evans. Our condolences go to their families and friends.

Howard Bartlett

Born in 1952, Howard joined the staff of the Geology Department of the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire (now Cardiff University) as a Junior Technician straight from school in April 1967. He worked in the department for 45 years, retiring as Senior Technician in 2012. His duties were wide ranging, including making thin sections, assisting in a major way in the department's drilling programme and curating the department's collections, as well as maintaining the microscopes and projectors.

In 1968 he spent two weeks at Silbury Hill in Wiltshire on a joint venture with the Archaeology Department investigating the hill, which was filmed by the BBC for the Chronicle series. In 1970 he appeared on "Very Very Varied" a children's programme made by HTV, with Dr. C. Blundell, Mr W Thomas and the drilling rig. In 1970 he assisted with measuring the effects of Concorde's Sonic boom on the cliffs of St. Brides Bay, Pembrokeshire, as part of "Exercise Trafalgar" and also assisted Dr Robert Appleby with his work on the Analogue Video Reshaper. After retiring he continued to work for the WJEC preparing Geology practical exams.

Howard joined the SWGA soon after its formation and attended his first meeting in October 1965. He acted as the Group's projectionist in Cardiff for over 25 years, recognition of which came with the Group awarding him a 'Long Service Award' in 1987. In the more recent past he spoke to the Group about his trips to China at Holiday Geology on a number of occasions and gave a lecture on the same subject in October 2006. In 2013 he was given Honorary membership of the Group and didn't miss a single Cardiff meeting for 52 years, until February 2017. He was always willing to help out with arrangements for the Group in the university donated his geology books, maps, microscopes and specimens to the Group in his will to be sold to raise funds for the SWGA. We will miss him.

Eric Broadbent

Eric has been a long time member of the U3A geology network and was very well liked by all other members. He has attended many sessions, both field trips and lectures over the years and always took a great interest in the subject. We always found him friendly and straight talking. He was a lovely chap

Jim Evans

In his professional life, Jim worked as a Maxillo-facial Consultant Surgeon in the South East of England and I believe he had also worked abroad at different times in his career. Both he and his wife are from South Wales and on his retirement, they returned to their roots.

He studied Geology with the Open University and became an active member in the parent GA in London and the OUGS as well as the SWGA and was an active and enthusiastic participant in activities run by all 3 organisations. He was committee member of SWGA for a short period before he was diagnosed with his final illness. He passed away in February and will be missed by all who knew him.