Members’ Corner Bognor Blues Bognor Regis group became more and more savvy with Zoom as 2020 progressed into 2021 and the screenshot which has made a regular appearance on the weekly national newsletters was a result of one of our early meetings. Members were asked to find ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’! This led to a very entertaining evening with a profusion of much-loved teddies, clothes, books, antiques, and some more unusual and quirky items. The photo shows a blue
Cornwall rocks! At the end of March 2019 Playing Place and Carnon Downs NWR went, with our other halves, to visit the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project. Geothermal energy is not new; Iceland and New Zealand both use this form of renewable energy and heat but from more active vulcanicity, closer to the surface. Cornwall’s land of granite hotspots is ideal for this type of energy, these being some of the hottest rocks in the UK. The project builds on research from the 1980s, but aims to go much deeper into the earth, being prepared to drill down as far as 7000m if necessary to reach the hot rocks. As we know, temperature increases with depth but in the areas around the granite it gets hotter more quickly. The intention is to pump water down a pipe drilled into the rocks: the water will become heated and return to the surface as steam, via a second pipe. The steam will be used to generate electricity. This will provide a renewable
energy source producing electricity for about 1,500 homes at present but, if the project is as successful as expected, larger schemes are planned. During our visit we were given a very interesting talk by a geologist who gave us a presentation on the drilling site and how much progress has been made since its inception. We were then invited to go up onto the viewing platform to see the drill but, unfortunately, it was not operational on the day we visited. Since our visit, the first deep hole – United Downs 1 – has been completed, reaching a depth of 5,057 metres below ground level! Geophysical logs will now be carried out and a small production test will determine the permeability of the target structure. After this, the rig will be moved eight metres south and drilling on the second pipe, United Downs 2, will begin.
shawl from Myanmar, a blue homeopathy kit, a special blue pen, a blue boot, a very useful blue stitch unpicker, a blue yoga mat, a blue blouse from travels in South East Asia, an old cuddly toy of great sentimental value, some blue silk and a handmade throw with blue stripes which fitted into several of the categories. Very colourful indeed! Cathy Tucker, Bognor Regis NWR
Stephanie Quinn, Playing Place and Carnon Downs NWR
Playing tag Our September planning meeting on Zoom was well attended and full of its expected enthusiasm and ideas. While we concluded that the way forward was to continue with the certainty of Zoom, at the same time we looked for another way to meet, as the medium is challenging. At that point, in Scotland only two households could meet up, which for all our group meant two people. So, we created our own coffee tag. Names were listed randomly, then lady one met lady two, a few days later lady two met lady three, and so on until the circle was completed and lady 12 met lady one. 18
NWR Magazine Summer 2021
We were able to meet in a variety of settings until the end of the year, including coffee shops, gardens and just taking a walk, sometimes with the family dog. Topics of discussion were various, and members reported back via email, along with a relevant picture, which in itself prompted further super discussions! We all enjoyed these meetings and the different medium of a one to one chat, in fact it was such a success that we repeated it with a secret Santa coffee tag. Janice Reid, Crieff, Comrie and Auchterarder NWR
A few of Auchterarder’s coffee tag settings
