"....... this ....... horrible ....... cave with ....... deep water and ..... dodgey boulder chokes. ...... Westlake and his ...... ideas, dragging us down this ....., and these ...... idiot radios which obviously won't ...... work in such a ..... stupid place....., Westlake, you .... can you .... hear me? ..... off, Westlake ......."

"Good afternoon, Steve."

"Oh, er, hello!"

The tirade I had scarcely been able to interrupt was delivered over the radio by Steve Smith at the Fourth Boulder Choke of Ogof Agen Allwedd, while I was at the end of Biza Passage. The scheme was entirely my own fault because I thought it was time to establish, once and for all, whether the Fourth Boulder Choke was as close to Biza Passage as Harold Lord's survey indicated. Steve had been conned into setting off down the main stream passage with Joe Duxbury and two BSA members. Meanwhile Paul Deakin and I were sampling the unique enchantments of Southern Stream Passage. Each party was equipped with a radio, kindly lent by Bill Little, and, as important, a specific time to use it.

And so here we were, apparently not at all far apart. Paul and I decided that the 2¾ miles back to the entrance now seemed a bit shorter. Naïve excitement overtook all of us and we didn't look at the possibilities for extension very carefully, though we could hear through the choke rocks bashed together. Joe took over the radio and a very silly conversation ensued while we decided how much he owed for food - he reckoned he would have left for home before I was out. We set off, the irrepressible Deakin photographing enthusiastically. Steve's opinions of the Third Choke are not recorded.

All this had happened at Easter 1971 and it was the following January before we returned. I had mobilised a few Eldon cavers, while Joe had told Southampton University Caving Club what a nice cave Aggy was. It was bloody cold that weekend and there were ice-stals 100' into the cave. Joe and I reached the end of Biza Passage first and tuned in, this time to hear the Southampton mob having a picnic. On this trip we were able to burrow down a good deal, but it was obvious that we would have to come back. As usual, Joe started caving very violently on the way out, so we had to give him a few bags and ammo boxes to slow him down.

"You've certainly changed my ideas about Aggy", Nick Reckert wrote to me after his experiences at Easter. The cave was in mild flood continuously, which didn't stop numerous cavers doing some rather fierce caving. When I had been down to the fourth choke on Saturday, we had little trouble in negotiating a squeeze up into a rift chamber, high above the streamway and hopefully nearer Biza passage.

On Sunday, Southern Stream Passage was tramped by Nick and I, nine other cavers, and a minor mountain of John Parker's diving gear. Under the prevailing water conditions, the Main Stream Passage was a scene of some majesty. At the end of Biza Passage there were still seven of us left. Even without radios we could hear Andy Nichols and the others of the Fourth Choke party moaning because we were late. In the couple of hours we spent here, I wiped out the bracket of a carbide lamp, George Cooper decided the passage was too dry and so generously threw our vegetable soup all over it, while Nick assisted Wayne Rickett and Gordon Parkin in various perilous boulder landscaping operations. Most people were down ten or twelve hours that day, but it was clear that we'd have to come back with explosives to finish the job.

I made a brief visit with St. Albans Caving Club, but the next onslaught featured Paul Deakin, Dave, Bill and me, while Joe and Andy again appeared with their Southampton friends. They were intent upon visiting Summertime, but with exemplary enthusiasm - so we thought - carried our ammo boxes to North West Junction; maybe they were unaware that the contents were nearer than usual to the names on the outsides. Anyway, some violent hours later we found ourselves squeezing gingerly into Biza Passage. As Joe had come with one of his Southampton mates, he came to inspect the connection, but said he would not accompany us on the Grand Circle. Though he would never admit it, this was because his mate was so tired he should obviously go out the shorter way. However, Joe did have the satisfaction of completing the first Figure of Eight. In June, he and Andy stayed at Whitewalls and together they went round the Outer Circle and the Grand Circle in seven hours.

Various alarming conclusions can be drawn from the CUCC participation in creating the Grand Circle. First, graduate members seem to be experiencing extreme difficulty in evaporating into decent and respectable retirement. Secondly, these ludicrously well organised trips lead to yet other ludicrously well organised trips. Oh for a good, epic shambles which leaves you determined never to visit the cave again. Thirdly, other clubs who thought they were good and CUCC weren't are having to think again.