THE FIFTEENTH MEETING OF THE SOUTH THAMES GROUP AT READING.

[Regrettably my previously trustworthy digital Olympus camera let me down, and a lot of photographs were lost. I am therefore very grateful to Bruce Scott for the closing three pictures of Joan, Vaughan, Dot and May - Webmaster]

A rather special meeting of this group was held at Dorking on the 6th March 2004.

For the past 15 years Joan Tubbs and Vaughan Dodge have put in some sterling work in organising annual meetings in this pleasant Surrey town. But now they both decided it was time to call a halt so this would be the last at this venue.

But first something about the program:

Three talks were held in the morning -

Maurice Moss talked about 'The Secret Courting of Butterflies', with some fine photographs showing the different mating patterns of various species. He also dwelt on the incredible sensitivity of moth attenae to the airborne pheromones used by these insects to signal their availability to to others; sensitivity such as just a few molecules could attract many males to one female.

Phil Greaves then described the life of one of his heros: James Murray, who was active in polar exploration in the early 20th century. Truly heroic he travelled under extreme conditions while collecting many different species, including rotifers and tardigrades (Phil's speciality)

Finally Brian Davidson described his researches on the provenance of various slides based on the handwriting, even though they came from different suppliers, such as Watson, Baker etc.

After the talks we all enjoyed the usual excellent lunch prepared and served by those stalwarts, Dot and May (see below)

After lunch the two instigators and organisers of this excellent series of meetings were presented with tokens of the participants' appreciation. Above left: Maurice Moss (Club President) presents Joan Tubbs with a bouquet, while (right) a warm, but happy Vaughan Dodge faces the camera.

Those two ladies, Dot and May, who had looked after us for so many years were also presented with bouquets.

After lunch the usual Gossip Meeting was held. I didn't have time to get round every exhibit, struggling with my failing digital camera, but here are some of the things that caught my eye:

Phil Greaves showed material based on amber. This beautiful example of a fly caught in the sticky resin is a fine example. A few years ago I visited the Baltic region of Poland; there was a good deal of amber on sale there. I often had the feeling that in a back room two lads were busy pouring Araldite into a mould... But this is the genuine article!

Tony Jarrett showed some fine slides under polarised light. On the left are 'Scales of elegans'. Neither he nor I are too sure what exactly these are! On the right the slide is simply described as 'Grass Seeds'

This meeting was a great succes, but although it was the last regrets were tempered by the news that Joan Bingley is arranging a meeting next year at Cobham, not far away. More details in due course.