The following report was written by Jon:
“With some members away at conference, some away on courses and others convalescing overseas, the Saturday meeting was barely quorate. Tav, Nick, Jake and Jon attended; just enough to clear spoil back to the Lake.
The team made a prompt start, arriving early at the hut and finding it in a remarkably clean and tidy state. Knowing that the Hut Warden was overseas, the team quickly concluded that Ladies Day had been a huge success. A motion was proposed and passed uncontested; henceforth, women will be allowed to enter the changing hut.
In an extraordinary departure from previous practice, the team immediately identified the correct key and took it with them to the entrance rift.
The aim of the day was to remove the bang debris from Vince’s midweek visit. Jon took the lead position and was presented with a veritable scree-slope. Once cleared, the access into the Aven was somewhat wider than previously. On the right-hand side, below the Aven, small fractured pieces of rock were removed from around the calcited blocks, one of which is now loose but still in place. It is now possible to see beyond the blocks. The view is similar to rest of the cave, appearing to be a shallow bedding with airspace above.
Given the recent rainfall, it was expected that the ‘lake’ would be full. None of the team had brought a wetsuit, but Tav volunteered to take that position. Surprisingly, the ‘lake’ was completely dry. 32 bags of spoil and 18 skips of rock were initially stacked there, and then removed to the surface. The team then retired to a local hostelry for light refreshment.”
