SECRETARY'S NOTES
The 2001 AGM gets closer. I was hoping that Members would like to show examples of their work (gadgets etc. as well as pictures) and in the last issue of this column I asked you to let me know. You could impress the rest of us and we, in our turn, might get some good ideas for the future. I haven't been exactly overwhelmed by the response. I expect that we have all been busy recently, but time is short so GET IN TOUCH.
As I write Bill Reid's new CRC website is just about ready. By the time you read this he will no doubt have put the final polish on it. At the moment the URL is http://members.madasafish.com/~colourreversalclub/
so those of you who have access take a look and let Bill know what you think. This has been quite a project and I am sure that you will join me in thanking Bill for all the hard work that he has put into this.
The problems of would be weighers and mixers lay behind the PacKit idea which appeared From the Chemicals Cupboard last time. It has occurred to me that some of those who might find the service useful may not have seen it there, so here is another plug. If you have a new recipe that you want to try, let me know. If the CRC stocks the chemicals needed, you can have the ingredients separately packed in the right quantities to make up your recipe. There are only two conditions, that we must have the chemicals needed, and that there must be a reasonable amount, half a litre is the limit so far. This is to avoid amounts getting inconveniently small. You can send the recipe, or, if it's a publicly available one, just ask for ID-1, FD21-P, D-52 or whatever. Read "From the Chemicals Cupboard" in the last News for the full works.
When you have mixed up a litre or so of developer, you need something to keep it in. As you will know, you need to keep the air away. There are several ways to do this, generally by displacing the air with some other gas, using marbles or whatever. There are squeezy concertina type bottles, too, but there is a much more enjoyable way to do it. Use wine boxes. These contain a plastic (mylar, they tell me) bag coated on the outside with aluminium, so that they are impermeable. More important, the bag collapses as the liquid inside is drawn off, so you don't have to add more gas, marbles or whatnot. So get along to your nearest home brew shop. Better still, make that your local wine shop, then you can enjoy emptying the box first. Even if they don't sell good wine in boxes, it will probably still be drinkable when you think how well your developers will keep. Just remember to empty the box well before you do the weighing or the mixing, then everything will stay still long enough to get the job done.
Whilst the weather recently has been the cause of many problems for a lot of people, there have been photographic opportunities, too. Much of the landscape has taken on a completely different appearance. Areas that didn't even look to be low lying have turned into large lakes with wildlife quick to exploit the access to new sources of food. Small creatures such as insects using floating debris as rafts to spread to new areas. These can all provide unusual pictures, so if your area has escaped the worst, try and get out with your camera for an unusual view of your world.