It's York so it must be Thursday

The caravan moved on; as the BC conference concluded in London, some hardy souls got on trains to York. Dawne Riddle was there.

For most, the Bicentennial Conference finished on Wednesday. However, as the British Association had subsequently chosen the same week for its annual Festival (in York), some hardy souls found their next job was a trundle towards King's Cross.

To make the best of the clash, this year the Society collaborated with the BA Geology Section, led by Dr Richard Waller (Keele University), in providing a Bicentenary-related programme of speakers. The session proved extremely popular – and who would be surprised when the speakers included: former President Prof. Peter Styles (Keele), Dr Gabi Schneider (Director, Geological Survey, Namibia), Dr Jon Gluyas (Fairfield Energy), Dr Chris Carlon (Anglo American), Dr Richard Fortey (President), Dr Cherry Lewis (University of Bristol), Prof. Bill McGuire (UCL Benfield Hazard Research Centre) and Dr John Ludden (Director, BGS)?

Ted Nield, a veteran of "about 25" BA festivals (he says he's given up counting because it's too depressing) told me: "We divided the day-long session into two – Geology in the Service of Society in the morning and What has geology ever done for us? in the afternoon. The Society really is very grateful to all those who worked so hard to make "Day 4" (as I have come to call it) such a success. The sessions enjoyed average attendances of over 50, which was remarkable, with so much else going on. The Society will continue this relationship next year and looks forward to many more years of fruitful collaboration with the BA Festival. "