The 2005 - 2006 programme included 15 meetings or field trips, and enjoyed talks or walks from 8 visitors, the rest of the events being organised by our own members.

Attendance at meetings has been high this year, with 20-25 people at each talk.     There were from 2-21 participants on the field trips, with Ian Chisholm's walk around the Marsden area being particularly well attended.     Thanks to Peter Kennett for leading a very small group around Sheffield General Cemetery and giving us an entertaining evening of geological experiments and messing around with rocks, and to Neil Aitkenhead for taking us to Ilkley Moor to look at the rocks and glacial features of the Wharfe valley.     Field trips to Todmorden, Horbury Quarry and Mam Tor, near Castleton, were led by our members.     Five of us went, for a weekend, to Alston in the North Pennines, to join in with a fortnight of geological activities.     We particularly enjoyed a mine tour lasting four hours, through one of the lead mining tunnels at Nenthead and a walk around the Burtreeford Disturbance in Weardale.

Talks on Kilimanjaro and Cyprus show how much we get about and we enjoyed talks on prospecting for gold, deep sea hydrothermal vent fossils, how to understand BGS maps and John Milne, the founder of modern earthquake studies.

Brian is still enthusing his large U3A class about geology, with different topics each year.

Sales of the two Huddersfield booklets are continuing well.     We have plenty of stock left and have continued active selling, particularly because the Chairman has given several talks to other groups and taken booklets to sell.     We have had an interesting connection this year with the West Yorkshire branch of the Dry Stone Walling Association.     The two groups have led combined walks in the Upper Colne Valley, which have been organised through Kirklees Countryside Unit and therefore attracted people new to geology because of wide advertising.

We participated in Yorkshire Geology Month in May and June in cooperation with the West Yorkshire R.I.G.S group and took five walks around Horbury, Castle Hill, Folly Dolly Falls and the centre of Huddersfield.     The walks attracted good numbers, though this rather depended on the weather.     Yorkshire Geology Month is taking place again in 2007 and we plan to have a similar programme.

The connection with West Yorkshire R.I.G.S (Regionally Important Geological Sites) continues, so some of the conservation work that we try to do in this district stems from R.I.G.S initiatives.     The Castle Hill leaflet was published in March and launched publicly in May and is selling fast, through the usual outlets.     The two geological trails have been waymarked and the Castle Hill warden, Julian Brown is selling the booklets in the Victoria Tower shop, open at weekends.     The R.I.G.S group is hosting the next Yorkshire Geology Month meeting at Hall Bower Chapel on Saturday November 4th.

The website continues to be updated regularly. It is very well used locally and gets appreciative comments from similar geological organisations.     I am proud that we are able to advertise our activities so professionally, as well as provide information about the rocks and landscapes of the Huddersfield district to anyone who is interested.     The website has extended the number of people who are aware of what we care about, as it draws on the Rocks and Landscapes book that we produced a few years ago.

Our hospitality at meetings continues and I am very grateful to those volunteers who make tea and coffee and provide cakes for meetings.     Offers for the supply of cakes for future meetings would be appreciated.     I appreciate the help that Hazel and others give after each meeting in clearing up the refreshments.     Please volunteer to help whenever you can.

The Newsletter continues to enable us to communicate within the group, so many thanks to Julie for producing it before each meeting.     It reports and publicises field trips and meetings so that everybody has a chance to become involved in whatever activities interest them.     Thanks also to Ailsa and Andrew who quietly publicise the Huddersfield Geology Group in many ways.     Andrew's beautiful posters are much appreciated and they are getting wider distribution in the area as many members put them in shops, surgeries and libraries around Kirklees.

Planning the annual programme requires imagination and contacts and Julie and I would welcome help this year.     Give us your ideas for field trips and talks, please.

I have started teaching evening classes for 'AS' Level Geology on Monday evenings, as it was clear that there was a demand for a more formal approach to learning about geology.     We have 16 people in the group, some of whom will join us for talks and walks.     The Huddersfield Geology Group will benefit from the interest shown by people who have had the opportunity to study geology for exams and who would support field trips and talks.

It would be a good idea if the committee could be enlarged by at least one person, if the general members believe that this is a sensible proposal.     I therefore suggest that a Vice Chairman is appointed to help with general running of meetings and planning of our activities.

My thanks to all of you who continue to be interested and enthusiastic about local rocks and landscapes.     It is wonderful to see many people participating in other groups and activities and representing the Huddersfield Geology Group more widely.    This enthusiasm is the key to our enjoyment and should be valued highly.

Alison Quarterman