1)  A donation of £500 had been presented to the Rosemary Foundation at the Grand Christmas Bazaar on the 3rd of December. A note of thanks had been received from the Foundation. ( See the Notice Board Page ). The Foundation will be giving the club a mention in there next newsletter.

2) The Christmas Dinner at the Hilsea Carvery had been a great success and enjoyed by all.  22 members and 2 guests had been present.

3)  The Weekend Wanderers are holding a rally at Manor Farm Broughton on Sunday the 18th of December. Details can be found at

                 http://www.weekendwanderersdetecting.com/Calendar_of_Events/THE_NEXT_DIG/topthe_next_dig.html

4)   The Solent Metal Detecting Club AGM would be held as part of the normal monthly meeting on the 11th of January 2012.

5)  The time of year has arrived when existing members need to renew their membership. Invitations will be sent out to prospective members. Membership renewal must be made during December 2011 and January 2012. Applications from those wishing to join the club can now be received, up to and including the monthly meeting on the 8th February 2012. No application for membership will be accepted after that date.

6) The chairman formally thanked the Finds Liaison Officer, Rob Webley for his attendance at the meetings throughout the year.

7) The chairman stated that, for personal reasons, he would be standing down as chairman at the end of this year.

Our Finds Liaison Officer was at the meeting to discuss and record members' metal detecting finds.   The raffle was held as usual to provide funds for the running of the club. An excellent buffet was provided at the meeting by the Royal Naval Association Club.

The next monthly meeting will be held on the 11th January 2012.

       As a result of a recent incident, members were reminded that should not carry a detector whilst on private land where there is no permission to search. If you are seen by the landowner he will assume that you are detecting on his land without permission, with the obvious consequences. This applies to public footpaths, which are all on land owned by someone and permission to search is still required. 

       Please note, - Members of the club committee will be attending the Rosemary Foundation Grand Christmas Bazaar at the East Meon Village Hall on Saturday 3rd December 2011 (10.00am to 12.00) The Club will be presenting the Rosemary Foundation with a donation at this event, so it is hoped that as many members as possible will attend.

       As most of our land is available for detecting at the moment there were some interesting finds being shown and discussed.

      The monthly raffle was held as usual, with the profits going into the club funds. As always we are grateful to those who buy tickets and those who contribute items for prizes.

     A number of members have not yet attended the minimum of 3 meetings required to qualify them for continued membership next year. Please check on your attendance record if you wish to be considered for membership again in 2012. Membership can be renewed during December 2011 and January 2012. Application for membership from prospective new members will be taken during December 2011, January 2012 and the time up to, and including, the February meeting on the 9th February 2012. No membership cards for 2012 will be issued after this date. The membership limit has been increased to 50 so there will be a number of places available. However, there is already a very large waiting list. Membership invitations will be on a strict date order from this list. If your name is on the list, and a place is available for you,  you will be contacted by the club in due course.

     As a result of the involvement of some club members with beating for a game shoot, the contact with the farmers has resulted in the possibility of new land for detecting. We have yet to talk to the farmer to settle the terms of the agreement, but we are hopeful that a new farm will soon become available to the club.

     The schedule of club digs for October/November was issued, but members need to note the following. Site U has been seeded but is OK to detect on, on 16th of October. Site Z is scheduled for the 23rd of October, but please do not detect on any land that has been seeded.  Site T has been seeded so is unavailable for detecting until further notice.

     The Rosemary Foundation Grand Christmas Bazaar will take place at East Meon village hall on Saturday the 3rd of December  10.00an to 12 noon. The club will be presenting a cheque to this charity at this event and it is hoped that as many members as possible will attend in support.

    Also on the 3rd of December will be our Christmas Dinner. This year we will be at the Toby Carvery, Green Farm, Hillsea. The cost will be from club funds, although guest of members will be required to pay. Places at this event have now been booked.

   One of our lady members will be taking part in an Aerobathon to help raise money for a cancer charity. The club supported her by taking a collection from members at the meeting. The resulting donation of £31.50 was presented to the lady member, who wished to say a big thank you to all those who contributed. 

   Our FLO attended the meeting and was kept busy all evening looking at, and recording members finds. As a small 'thank you' for attending our meetings and supporting the club the FLO was invited to the Christmas Dinner.

    The raffle was held as usual and continues to generate an income for the club. Please note:- the raffle organiser would be grateful for any contributions, from members, for use as prizes.

     A reminder to members, - to continue membership you must have attended at least three of our club monthly meetings this year.

 -- The Chairman opened this meeting by covering the following issues.

            The club's attendance at the Possingworth Rally had gone well in spite of the rain in the afternoon. Some tokens and some interesting items had been found by members. The event was considered to be a success. The Chairman thanked the member who had organized the minibus and also thanked him for cleaning it after the event. Almost half of the membership had attended the event, but we hope to see an even bigger turnout at the next rally. For a brief report and photos of this rally, click here.

            The time has come for members to put there names down for this year's Christmas dinner. This has to be booked quite soon and members are asked the let the organizer know as soon as possible if they will be attending. The venue for the dinner and the menu available will be given out at next months meeting.

              At this time of year, with fields being ploughed and re-sown it is difficult to keep track of those fields that are available for detecting. Therefore, any member who attends a dig, and those members who pass by the farms, are asked to report back to the club on the state of the fields. This information will hopefully be passed on the other members and will help in compiling the schedule of club digs for next month. If you see fields that have just been harvested or fields that are freshly ploughed or sown, let the club know.

             The information on 'tracer pebbles' as detailed below, was passed on to members at the meeting. Hopefully all members will become aware of just what these objects are and when found, they will replace them, as found, in order to minimize the effect on the beach surveys being carried out.

            The treasurer has stated that the clubs funds are in good order and there is enough in the charity fund to enable us to make a donation to the Rosemary Foundation. It is hoped that the presentation of the cheque to the foundation will be made at this year's Christmas Bazaar, which will take place at the East Meon village hall on Saturday the 3rd of December between 10.00am and 12.00 noon. Once again your support for this event is requested.

             The meeting continued, with the raffle after which members discussed the finds that had been made at the Possington rally and finds that had been made elsewhere during last month. Please note that the FLO will be in attendance at next month's meeting and will be available to discuss member's finds and record any historic artefacts on the PAS database.

     At this time of year there is the reminder to all members that they must attend a minimum of  three of our monthly meetings in order to be eligible for continued membership next year.

    Next meeting, - Wednesday 12th October 2011

Tracer pebbles

                                Some of our members have been finding 'tracer pebbles'. while beach detecting. These are marked pebbles, either natural or artificial, which have been placed on the beach as part of a study of material movement on the beach, in particular 'longshore drift'. Several organizations are currently conducting these surveys locally. The pebbles can be of several different forms. Natural pebbles are used, - hole is drilled in the pebbles and a copper rod is inserted and the holes resealed. Also, 'smart pebbles' are used. These are natural pebbles with an active electronic circuit placed in the hole and sealed in.  Aluminium pebbles have been used in some studies.  Artificial pebbles consisting of a pebble shaped piece of resin containing a large piece of copper rod are also being used. These pebbles, with the possible exception of  smart pebbles, will be inscribed with a number or some form of unique identification. Many hundreds, if not thousands of these are placed on the beach, so it is quite likely that you will find one. These studies are being carried out on beaches along the south coast, including Hayling Island.  The best course of action, if you find one, is to replace it in the same position and at the same depth as you found it.

See :-  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-12617554

Research into longshore drift is being carried out by the University of Sussex. They are using resin tracer pebbles as shown in the picture below. These contain a large piece of copper rod, so will be easily detected.

Arrangements were made for the Brighton and district Metal Detecting Club Rally at Possingworth Manor on the 4th of September. There were two accounts of requests by the public to search for lost rings, both were successful and resulted in a generous donation to the charity we support, the Rosemary Foundation. Congratulations and thanks to those involved. Our monthly raffle continues to provide funding for the club. Our next meeting is on the 14th of September. You are reminded that you need to attend at least three meetings per year in order to continue membership of the club.

       There was considerable interest by members in the Brighton MDC rally at Possington. The cost is £15 pounds and the transport will be provided out of club funds. More details will be provided when we have managed to contact the organizers!  An idea was put forward that we plot our finds from our detecting sites on a large map. This can be done individually or on one map. We have had no response yet from our various efforts to acquire more detecting land but 'watch this space'.  There was little interest in attending the Finds Event at Arundel Castle (See the Notice Board page, but if anyone does go, can we please have a report !   We are hoping that this Event, which will eventually become a high profile ITV TV programme, will put a correct and positive slant on the hobby of metal detecting and that the producers will not be taken in by the wiles of our detractors.

     The treasurer gave his report and stated that there would soon be enough in the charity funds for us to make our usual donation to the Rosemary Foundation. Also, we have made our usual donation to the RN Association Club who allow us to use the room for our meetings.

   We have had yet another request to find a lost wedding ring. A few members have volunteered to search the garden concerned and, once again, we hope for success. Locating and returning lost property is just one of the ways we can can publicize the hobby of metal detecting in a good light.

   Our club income from the raffle continues to be good. Once again, if anyone has anything suitable that they can donate as a prize, please bring it along to the next meeting.

   The next meeting will be on the 10th of August 2011.

          Site X would become available for Sunday detecting on the 3rd of July, but be aware that there will still be lambs in the fields. Please avoid disturbing them. Site X will be open for Wednesday detecting on the 6th of July.

          We are still trying to negotiate an exchange of detecting visits with the Sussex Dowsers.

          The club is hoping to get together a group of members for a rally ( Brighton, 4th September ). Contact the club for details.

The treasurers gave a report on the club's financial state. We are in sound financial position and are building up both the club funds and the charity account.

Our Finds Liaison Officer was available at the meeting to identify and record finds and was kept quite busy by members in spite of the limitations on the detectable available land that we are experiencing at the moment.           

The raffle was held as usual and gave a good profit for club funds as members were ready to support the club by both buying tickets and donating  items.

Please note:- The next monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday the 13th of July.

  Members are reminded that the Finds Liaison Member Rob Webley is due to attend the next meeting, so bring along those finds for identification and recording on the PAS data base.

Next meeting - Usual venue,  8th June 2011   7.30pm  for start of business at 8.00pm

   The Finds Liaison Officer ( FLO ) Rob Webley was present at the meeting. He was introduced to new members and the PAS scheme briefly described. Rob was available to receive finds and was kept quite busy during the meeting with finds from the last month.

   There was a request from some members for copies of the Detecting Site maps. Members are reminded that a set of maps is issued free to new members , but a fee will be charged for replacement maps to cover the cost of photo copying/laminating as required.

  Members of FID will have seen an article in the Spring 2011 of the magazine from a FID member requesting identification of a 'HMS Victory pendant' that he had found. One of our Solent club members was able to positively identify the item as the broken-off handle of a toasting fork.  An email on the subject has been sent to Colin Hanson at FID along with photos of the toasting fork.

  The raffle was held as usual along with, once again, a request for members to donate items for the raffle, with a reminder that the proceeds of the monthly raffle are the main source of income for the club finances.

  The membership of the club now stands at 41. There will be 9 places available in January 2012 when application for membership opens once again. There are currently 4 names on the waiting list.

  Next meeting - Usual venue,  11th May 2011 at 8.00pm

    The retiring chairman was presented with bottles of wine, and our gratitude for her support of the club for many years was expressed by the members.  The raffle was held as usual and members were asked to support the raffle and to bring along any item for inclusion in the raffles such as unwanted gifts etc. By supporting the raffle you will be providing the income which enables the club to function. Members were reminded that other incomes, such as the dig fees go to charity.

Please note that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday the 13th of April 2011 and our Finds Liaison Officer will be in attendance to record and give information on members finds.  

Apologies, Chairman's report, Treasurer's report, Election of the committee, Changes to Club rules, Voting on rule changes, Farms and newly acquired land, Any other business, Motions to the meeting, Conclusion of business.

    As the current chairman was resigning and more committee members were needed, the main business of the meeting was to elect the new committee. A total of 5 members volunteered. The new committee now consists of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Farms liaison officer, and A Raffle Organizer.  The retiring Chairman kindly agreed to be retained as a consultant to the committee.

The revised rules for the club were discussed and agreed on by all members present. The main changes are :-

1)     Membership limit to be increased to 50 full members.

2)     Annual membership fee to be increased to £10.

3)     To retain membership, members must attend three meetings during the year, and record their attendance by signing the club signing-in-sheet.

4)   Free Junior Membership introduced for relatives of full members.

5)    All requests, received by individual members, for the the Club, to search for lost items, must be referred to the committee before starting the search.

After the formalities of the AGM business, the meeting continued with the usual showing of finds and the raffle.