The Sounds and Smells of Caving When on the 19th June 2014 Johann Westhauser was finally brought to the surface after an 11 day long rescue in Riesending cave in Germany a small caving media storm erupted. Around lunchtime I was contacted by Chris Jewell who does media relations for the British Caving Association, saying…
It was raining. Heavily. And the wind was whipping through between the hills. Andy, Pete and I had on only thin oversuits and thin fleece undersuits beneath. We were fast getting wet and cold, but we were already committed. We were committed from the moment we walked away from Beardy and Mark who had dropped…
This semester I again went to help out at the Southampton Constructionarium. The Constructionarium is an amazing piece of teaching where students get to have a very hands on experience of construction. It is organised by a not for profit organisation and is based at the Construction Industry Training Board college in Norfolk. At Southampton…
This Easter I had four days of canyoning and caving on the fantastic island of Sardinia. Cordula Fuili A short, but beautifully wild canyon near our accommodation. It was straightforward with just a few pitches, but gave a good introduction to the island. Grotte Su Bentu One of the great subterranean systems of Sardinia, we…
This week I have been out on site installing temperature sensors in building foundations which will be used as “energy piles” as part of a ground source heat pump system. Although an increasing number of successful test and operational energy piles schemes have now been completed, there are still very few case studies where the…
This morning I have been privileged to attend Voice of the Future on behalf of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This event gives young (yeah I am still young after all) scientists and engineers an opportunity to put questions to the Science and Technology Select Committee, the Minister and Shadow Minister. You had to submit…
Saturday was a beautiful day and an equally beautiful night. We used it to escape to one of our favorite spots on south coast where you can get away from it all and enjoy a little bit of wild Britain surprisingly close to home. We stopped only for a pint in the Square and Compass…
undertheground 