Kites, Minerals and Starlings

Left Hereford lunchtime Friday and headed for Aberystwyth for a Minerals and Microscopes weekend with Bill and Charlie at the University. We stopped at Water Break its Neck to eat the rest of our sandwiches and got quite excited to see a couple of Red Kites... a couple of miles further down tthe road we saw 4 more... doing well we thought. Then near Rhyader we realised it must be feeding time for kites at Gigrin Farm - there were a couple of groups circling and there must have been upwards of 40 in each. Quite a sight considering how rare they used to be.

Lovely, accommodating hotel in Aber, where they didn't turn a hair as we slowly assembled tables into a longer and longer chain to accommodate our group of 30-ish. The Braines bitter was good too.  Charlie and Bill came to see us after dinner, tell us where to be next morning at 9, and importantly how to get there!

Keen and eager, there we were, ready to get started by 9.15 or so and headed into crystal systems with the aid of neat sets of plaster models and untangled the rotational and mirror symmetry, sustained with coffee and biccies. Some of the models were a little more puzzling than others - like Colin's twinned trigonal example. After a lunch break at the Arts Centre on campus (amazing to find the place so busy and such a centre of the community!) we headed back to get to grips with mineral properties - again with the help of a drawerful of specimens - and then to identifying the minerals in various rock samples.

A quick 'airing' on the prom to blow the cobwebs away -  but too chilly for more. then dinner which was a repeat performance of Friday night as far as the table chain went - oh and the tables were lovely black 'granite'.

Sunday morning we found another way back to the Uni - sort of vertically up a hill behind Llanbadarn church, but at least we found the right car park this time. 

Microscopes were the order of the day - and started off gently enough looking at optical properties of minerals. However after lunch (to the accompaniment of chines music as it was New Year) we began to delve into the esoteric mysteries of the optical indicatrix, slow and fast directions, bertrand lenses, the proper use of condensers etc which left a few of us feeling a bit glazed over but with Bill and Charlie's help we mostly deglazed... partially at least ... and finished feeling we had learnt something.

Nearly 5pm but we had heard there was a starling roost on the pier so headed off for another chilly promenade and were rewarded with quite an amazing sight of masses of starlings turning up to spend the night - we weren't treated to one of their stunning aerobatic displays sadly but I can't say I blame them... a damp chilly evening and time to fluff up your feathers and keep the body heat in!

On right - Janet and Kath numbering their faces

The starlings were amazing! little clouds of them kept arriving.

You can see why they like it - lots of perches...

OUGS SW branch AGM weekend

The venue, Hartland - in deepest, darkest north-west Devon with snow and hail threatening...

Michelle had organised a full programme though so not too much time to feel the cold! We kicked off with a talk about Geomagnetism by Chris Turbitt from the BGS before he took us to the nearby BGS Geomagnetic observatory to show us around. Son Oliver (foreground) did the technical bits with the powerpoint presentation!

Just a tad chilly by the time we had walked back we were very glad of the hot, tasty soup on offer before we settled down to an AGM that perhaps broke some records at 35 minutes! Two of us who were retiring from the committee (Mike Hermolle and myself) were both thanked and amongst other things received a super mounted colour photo, signed by all present - mine was one of the clapper bridge at Postbridge on Dartmoor which Chris Popham, the BO had taken.
After that we settled down to a couple of interesting talks:

• Chris Cornford from nearby Hallsannery Field Centre on the 'Missing geology of North Devon' - i.e. the stuff that was there once and has since been eroded. All based on measurement of burial depths of various strata.
• Peter Keene from Thematic Trails on the 'Geomorphology of the Hartland Peninsula

Jan and I stayed at Hartland Quay hotel so we set out to find it in the dark which was bit interesting as the road at the end just seemed to zig-zag out of sight down the cliff! The full moon helped.

Anyway that was negotiated OK before we all met up again - 30+ of us, for dinner at Fosfelle Hotel. 

Next morning dawned dryish and cold, with a view of Lundy and assorted folds from the bedroom window. I was sorry I couldn't stay for the field trip but with a van full of assorted furniture and a 125 mile drive, and the weather a bit threatening we decided to pass.  

Not before doing our own mini trip though  - OK the view north (above) and the view south (right, with hailstones) from the car park

Chris Cornford had taken the group up the hill - to warm them up he said but we suspected it was because the tide was still fairly high so we were able to give them a last wave as we passed before heading off for the snowy delights of the North Devon Link road.

Great weekend - well done Chris and Michelle!