Photographic Competitions There will be three photographic competitions this year. Entries must be emailed to David Ifold no later than Thursday 31 August. Please submit your entries early so that any problems can be resolved. We welcome photographic entries from members who are not able to attend the Symposium in person. All entries will be combined into three separate pdf files, one per class. These will be emailed to members so that every member with an email address will be able to submit votes for their three favourite images prior to the Symposium. The results will be announced following the AGM on Sunday morning. The three classes are as follows. A competition open only to those members that have never won a BMS photographic competition before. To encourage participation the subject may be anything to do with mineralogy or geology. The mineral topaz. A red mineral. Maximum of two entries per class, per member. Winning entries will be published in the BMS newsletter and will be made available to both Steve Stuart and Steve Sorrell for the publications they edit. Copyright will be credited to the photographer. Mineral Competitions The theme for the Micromount Competition this year is hematite and entries may be from any location worldwide. Entries must be mounted in a standard box and either be glued or on tack. Maximum of two entries per person. The Micromineral Competition is restricted to British specimens only (including Northern Ireland but not Eire) and is judged on ‘wow factor’ only, […]

This year’s symposium will be held at a new venue (Salwarpe Village Hall, Salwarpe, near Droitwich, Worcestershire. WR9 0AH). The hall is easy to reach from the M5 motorway and has ample car parking with step-free access to the hall. The Symposium will start at 09:00am on Friday 15 September, 2023, and end at around 12:00 on Sunday. As advertised in the Newsletter, the BMS will cover the cost of the venue hire for 2023 meaning that attending the Symposium itself will essentially be free of charge, with only a small cost for teas and coffees (and lunch if required). Further details on refreshments and booking lunch will be provided nearer the date, maybe £15/head). The new arrangements mean that delegates will be able to book to attend for one day, two days or the whole weekend without penalty. We very much hope that this will encourage some of our friends who we have not seen in recent years to consider coming back to the Symposium. If you have not attended the Symposium before, please be assured that you will be made most welcome. The BMS membership includes many knowledgeable people who will be very happy to share their expertise with newcomers. The weekend includes a range of practical sessions, talks, exhibits, swap sessions, specimen and equipment sales, an auction in aid of BMS funds on the Saturday and the ever-popular ‘grab table’. Please note that delegates are responsible for booking and paying for their own hotel accommodation. Many delegates […]

The 2022 BMS Symposium has now been and gone and planning underway for 2023. Save the dates! 15th, 16th and 17th September. The venue is different – the Salwarpe Village Hall. Salwarpe is just off the M5 to the south of Droitwich. Please contact Roy with any questions.

16th, 17th and 18th September 2022. Everything is in place for our Forty First BMS Symposium to take place at the College Court Conference Centre, Knighton Road, Leicester. It will be great to get back to a real event meeting friends in person and talking about minerals which we can share and enjoy together. Everyone is looking forward to the weekend. For those wanting the extra day of mineral chat and socialising, we will start to assemble at the Conference Centre on the afternoon of Thursday 16th September and there will be the opportunity to join other delegates for an evening meal. The Symposium will officially start first thing on the Friday morning as further delegates arrive. We have the usual Oak Room booked where we can set up our microscopes and put out material for viewing and sharing with the other members. Ample space will allow for the usual range of micros and hand specimens to be displayed, exchanged and sold. After two years of Covid it is likely that the traditional “Grab Table” of “excess to requirements minerals” will be more than usually laden. Buffet lunches and evening meals will be available on the Friday and Saturday. As usual, a range of experts will be on hand to identify minerals or give advice on almost any mineralogical subject from UK locations to specimen photography. A number of talks are planned. As always, Nigel Hoppe will provide a microscope cleaning service. And of course there will be the usual […]