"The first rule of Orford Ness," the ferryman told me once, "is never believe anything you're told about it

The Untrue Island

This article in the Guardian;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/jul/08/untrue-island-orford-ness-macfarlane

is about Robert Macfarlane' s libretto (words of an opera) called Untrue Island which is about/inspired by Orford Ness. The Libretto was included in an event called 'On Location'  exploring British landscapes in words, sound and film.

The libretto is essentially the voices of the Ness, formed by its history and location through time, and the idea that it is the history and location that shapes the experience at Orford Ness.

Macfarlane has tried to uncover the many languages of the Ness: the specialist dialects (military-technological, ornithological, geological, conservationist) that it has generated; the many voices (human, avian, mineral) with which it seems to speak.

 "it speaks gull, it speaks wave, it speaks rust, it speaks lichen."

The Ness was an MOD site, where the 'physics of death' were practiced. This is remembered in the crumbling outbuildings, bunkers and watch towers. This reminds of the brutal, secret past of this site but also, now that these buildings are crumbling, enhances the sense of the power of the landscape to reclaim, and the ghosts of the previous uses remain.

The site is now under the National Trust - but still seems to feel militarised due to the Trusts policy of controlled ruination. If something breaks or rusts, they let it.

'The splintered, the fissile, the ruderal: these are the Ness's textures.'

The Ness is also a wild place.  The front-line North sea: big storms in winter. The landscape a mixtre of  mudflat, salt marsh, grassland and shingle. With much wildlife living on its rich muds.

The Ness, like other east coast spits (Spurn Head, Blakeney Point, Dungeness), is a dynamic structure. Created and shaped by tide, current, shore-drift and weather.

It is an eerie and intricate landscape in which the military and the natural combine, collide and confuse.

The descriptions of the site by Macfarlane are very poetic but are easy to imagine as true, 'brambles coil and loop like barbed wire. Orange lichen camouflages the concrete of pill-boxes.'

It is a place of strange juxtapositions and encryptions - although im not sure i like the work as it seems a bit twee and obvious.

Orford Ness no longer an 'awful mess'

Former nuclear base Orford Ness is enjoying a green half-life, says Jack Watkins

Blast from the past: looking across Orford harbour Photo: ALAMY

By Jack Watkins

12:00PM BST 20 Aug 2009

5 Comments

It's synonymous with the days when Britain was still trying to cut it as a military superpower, a desolate spot where, alongside experiments in aircraft and radar technology, tests on our first atom bomb, Blue Danube, were performed. Today, Orford Ness is a world-renowned nature reserve and the veil of secrecy that hung over much of what went on here has been lifted. But the air is still charged with an undercurrent of Cold War menace.

"It's one of the few places you can come to that you can truthfully describe as 'strange,'" says Duncan Kent, visitor services warden of the 10-mile shingle strip, now owned by the National Trust, which balances public access with protecting its military and wildlife value. "It's only a couple of minutes across the River Ore to the Suffolk mainland, but people say it feels like they've come miles into a different country."

We are on the roof of the former bomb ballistics building, from where drop-testing of newly designed bombs was monitored from the Thirties. The iron railings give off an eerie hum in the unrelenting breeze. Around us stretch vast, flat acres of vegetated shingle, a precious habitat not widely admired because of its bleak, wind-blasted unloveliness.

To the south-west are the famous Suffolk coastal landmarks, the so-called Pagodas, built as test labs for nuclear weaponry in the Fifties and Sixties. Away to the north the huddle of grey buildings forms the Cobra Mist site, from where a project into the detection and tracking of aircraft missiles and satellite launches operated. This was an expensive white elephant that was soon abandoned. Today the World Service transmitters are located at Cobra Mist, but some claim it was really built to monitor UFOs and that a downed spaceship is still housed within the complex.

"I've never seen any sign of one when I've been inside," says Kent, but he agrees that the Ness is the sort of alien landscape where you feel such a thing could exist. Even before the military arrived it had a ghoulish reputation. In 1749, there was a report of a winged crocodile-like creature rearing up from the surrounding water and attacking the local fishermen.

The Trust has resisted the temptation to turn it into a kind of sci-fi theme park. They had inherited a property with such a bad reputation it was known as "Awful Mess".

"After it was abandoned by the Ministry of Defence in 1986 there was random access and the scrap merchants moved over in a big way," explains Kent. "Local vandals were falling into pits and breaking their arms. Our policy has been one of non-disturbance, allowing nature to reclaim the place, rather than to embark on a debris clearance programme. The sense of dereliction adds to the atmosphere."

The bomb ballistics building is one of the few pre-war brick structures to survive. In Lab 1, where the first major test on an atomic weapon took place, the pit into which the Blue Danube was lowered by a 10–ton crane is now covered in duckweed and green slime. Lichens and mosses have colonised the walls. The roof, designed to blow away in the event of an accident, is now open. A rusting air duct hangs precariously, looking as if a sudden gust could bring it down and skewer you to the floor.

Many Defence sites have large, undisturbed areas where flora and fauna can flourish and the soil is free of farmland pollutants. But opening up the shingle spit to the public has created a new challenge. Orford Ness is one of only three major shingle landforms in England. The pattern of shingle ridges that have formed so as to enable colonisation by plants is quickly destroyed by walkers so access must
be limited.

"It's a difficult case to sell," admits Kent, "because vegetated shingle doesn't grab people's imagination. But it's as precious as coral and we must protect it."

On a bank of shingle beside one of the pagodas is a patch of yellow-horned poppy, a characteristic flower of a shingle beach. Poets may sing the praises of primroses and bluebells, but I've never seen one to match this dusty-looking species.

They're angular, spiky things with thick, scrunchy leaves. Everything you see growing around here has a pretty hard time of it, because, quite literally, they're living life on the edge," laughs Kent. The poppies might even serve as an emblem, for there's nothing normal about Orford Ness.

• Orford Ness is one of the most heavily protected areas in Britain for its range of undisturbed wildlife habitats. Access is by boat (five minutes) from Orford Quay, operated by the National Trust until September 30 (01394 450900; www.nationaltrust.org.uk)

£3m to safeguard haven

78 By Richard Cornwell

79 PURCHASING Orford Ness, the coastal shingle spit once used for atomic weapons research and now a wildlife haven, will cost the National Trust £3.11 million, it was revealed yesterday.

80 Ministry of Defence officials are willing to sell the 1,548-acre site for £300,000, but the trust has to find nearly £3 million to guarantee the area's future. 81 The money is needed for staff costs in the years ahead, clearance work, projects to make buildings safe, and long-term maintenance.

82 County council chiefs believe the project is important both locally and nationally -- and propose the authority gives "substantial funds" to help, although it is not yet known how much. 83 Negotiations between the National Trust and MoD have been taking place for two years and have reached a critical stage.

84 Trust officials have secured much of the money they need -- the £3 million will be set aside in an endowment fund -- through the body's own resources, and donations from the Environment Department and Countryside Commission.

85 However, there is still a shortfall of £500,000 which has to be found before negotiations can be concluded.

86 Orford Ness is one of Britain's most unusual coastal features. 87 A nine-mile bleak shingle bank -- growing each year -- separating Orford from the sea. 88 Its main use has been military. 89 It was one of the first air bases in 1915, between the wars was used for gun and bomb testing, and from 1951 - 71 for atomic weapons research.

90 Today it is a haven for wildlife. 91 It features many rare plants, and extensive areas of mudflats, saltmarsh and grassland of botanical and ornithological value, with breeding sites for 8,000 lesser black backed gulls and 2,000 herring gulls.

92 The trust's aim is to protect Orford Ness in "as natural and wild state as practicable". 93 Historic buildings would stay but need much work to make them safe, while an "ugly legacy" of derelict property and fences require demolition, a major task. 94 Public access will be provided, and club-organised fishing and wildfowling.

95 In a report to the policy committee, county planning officer Edwin Barritt says purchase of the ness for conservation is a long-cherished aim, a very special opportunity and the Trust deserves as much help as possible.

summary of R.Holden's article

To summarize the article 'Favourite Landscape' by Robert Holden in the Architects Journal, 02 June 2005:

• 1993 - the National Trust took over the site and started: restoring the shingle habitat (very fragile type of habitat), conserving the nature and preserving the military structures.
• The Pagodas - 2 massive concrete structures, ex-atomic testing lab, stand out in the landscape like a "Neolitic site, memorials to Cold War military science"
• "Shingle was used as aggregate in some foundation structures so the landform became the buildings". The history, geology is built in those structures, surrounding them and now the nature starts testing them; it may reclaim the shingle after some time.
• "Orford Ness is a place of transition and memory".

Favourite Landscape by Robert Holden

The Eu's Life + Nature Project

Orford Ness

• Best preserved vegetated shingle site in the UK and only cuspate foreland land

The Eu's Life + Nature Project

• This is the EU's main funding programme for environment and conservation works and aims to implement the EU Birds and Habitats Directives on Natura 2000 Network Sites
• The programme is run with the support of DEFRA and the site is now in its 3rd round of funding
• The aim is to initiate long-term improvements to the management of the site under  National Trust and RSPB (Havergate Island) custodianship
• Improve water management and reduce 'disturbance'
• Manage tourism

Work to lagoons and marshes

• Aim to establish a 'functional, efficient and sustainable systems of water management' to improve the quality of the coastal lagoons and marshes whilst responding to lower rainfall
• This has been done by constructing new ditches, creating new lagoons and introducing water controls
• Rebuild sea wall

Why?

• Protect vegetation
• Protect invertebrates
• Protect variety of bird species, especially ground nesting birds

Monitoring reports available on

• Species monitoring
• water quality
• ecological monitoring
• invertebrate monitoring
• Hydrology
• Predator plan
• Sea survey
• 'working together' leaflet
• interpretation boards

Stuart

Cold War Research etc Site Survey Report 2009 - Summary

COLD WAR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SITE SURVEY

October 2009

Wayne Cocroft and Magnus Alexander

Summary

Background

Atomic weapons research site between 1956 and 1972.  Simulated conditions that nuclear weapons would experience in service.

Very remote area and prior to 1956 land used for grazing animals on reclaimed marsh

Royal Flying Corps had a flying field and buildings during WW1.  Experimental work  on guns, bombs, navigation through and after WW1 and from 1935 experiments with radar.

Orford Ness is a rare and fragile natural environment, extremely for important bird, plant and insect life.  Protected as an Environmental Sensitive Area, Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Ramsar (www.magic.gov.uk).

In 1993 the National Trust purchased 628 hectares for £292,500. Today, most of the spit, with the exception of the former Cobra Mist wireless station to the north, is managed by the National Trust.

Access on to the spit is by boat and then either by land train or on foot. To protect the nesting birds and plant life, and due to the risks posed by unexploded ordnance, visitors are restricted to set routes. To further increase the biodiversity of the area parts of the former flying field are being allowed to flood.

Other References

Gordon Kinsey published Orford Ness – Secret Site - its 20th century military history.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England - topographic survey of the strip of First World War and later buildings, known as ‘The Street’.

Ground and low level oblique air photographs of the site in the late 1990s and these are deposited in the National Monuments Record, Swindon.

Between 2001 and 2004 English Heritage’s National Mapping Programme ran a project to plot all the pre-1945 archaeological features along Suffolk’s shore, including Orford Ness (Hegarty and Newsome 2007, 32-33, 85-6).

National Trust - research on the range, including a summary of its historic importance, which partly contributed to the site guide book (Musson 1993,National Trust 2003). Taped interviews with a number of former employees. These and other archive material is held on site at Orford Ness and their regional headquarters at Bury St Edmunds.

The National Archives holds a number of files relating to the site.

History

Marshland reclaimed in medieval times.  Cattle & sheep grazing.

Oyster beds on north side of Stony Ditch.

Small group of buildings to the south of Slaughden known as Marsh House, it or a predecessor was depicted on a map dated 1736 and survived into the 1950s

Series of lighthouses from late 17^th century

Martello tower from early 19^th century, now holiday accommodation.

WW1 – flying field, buildings along ‘The Street’ and tramway to the quay.  Seawall constructed (‘Chinese Wall’).

In the early 1930s the Bomb Ballistics Building was built from which to monitor the fall of test bombs.

Around 1930 a hexagonal building known as the Black Beacon was constructed on the spit

Photograph taken during the 1990s of the First World War Royal Flying Corps

buildings that were used during the 1930s for radar research, to the left is C13 and to the right

C8, most of the buildings in the centre have subsequently been demolished

WW2 – airfield covered with concrete blocks to prevent enemy use, small number of buildings, batteries and radar added.

Postwar – trials of dropping bombs from aircraft.  Radar station built – see below.

The jetty area in May 1952, at the centre is the long rectangular radar building with SCR

584 radar trailers to either end and a third trailer to the left.

Model Ballistic Firing Range that was built at the southern end of the former RFC area

 

Model ballistics firing range in about 1958.

Early 1960s - five laboratories built equipped with eight large vibrators, which could be used in association with thermal and altitude simulators, and a radiant thermal heat shock facility.

Vibration Test Buildings E2 and E3, or Pagodas, they were built about 1960

Supposedly no testing of radioactive weapons components but one former employee recalled being present during an overnight test on a system with components made of plutonium

Impact Facility F5/171 was built in late 1963 or early 1964, in which a weapon, minus its fissile core, was propelled by a rocket powered sled against a concrete wall.

1971 construction of experimental radar system on north end of spit, later used by BBC World Service, now managed by VT Merlin Communications.

Last trials in 1971 and base closed.  Munitions clearance till 1986 but many unexploded bombs remain on the beach.

Description

 

Orford Ness is accessed from Orford town quay by boat to a Jetty A1 at the northern tip of the spit (Figure 45). To its south is a concrete ramp that allows vehicles to be driven off a landing craft (Figure 14). Adjacent to the jetty a submarine cable was laid to supply the establishment’s electrical power. At the quay are a small number of buildings.  From the jetty a track follows the south shore of the River Ore from which two arms head south towards the old RFC station. This track in part follows the line of the First World War tramway that ran up to and along The Street.

When the National Trust acquired the site in 1993 many of the buildings were in a derelict and dangerous condition and all but 16 were subsequently demolished.

Orford Beach - The main area of AWRE development was to the south of Stony Ditch, where eventually about 80 hectares of Orford Beach was enclosed. Prior to this date most of this area had been part of the bombing range and air photographs show craters caused by exploding bombs, and many of which remain.  Prior to the 1950s there were few buildings in this area, the most prominent was the 18th century lighthouse and its associated cottages.

The magazine area - on the south side of Stony Ditch are a number of structures pre-dating the Second World War associated with the storage and handling of bombs and other aircraft munitions.

Pre-war range buildings - at the eastern end of the AWRE area were a number of structures associated with the bombing range.

First phase AWRE buildings – many buildings described in great detail – laboratories, test facilities, control rooms etc.

Final AWRE phases – impact facility structure, centrifuge buildings etc.  All described in great detail with photographs in the report.

Infrastructure

Power to the site was supplied along an 11kv overhead power line and stepped down by eight transformers.

Around 1960 the security of the establishment was increased when a wire mesh and barbed wire fence was erected – some now removed.

Conclusions

Aviation heritage

Nuclear weapons research heritage - the only former atomic weapons testing site that may be freely visited.

International connections – USA, Australia

“Orford Ness’ cultural significance lies not only in its recent military heritage and the landscape it has created, but also in its intrinsic remoteness, strange desert-like shingle terrain and its dramatic weather patterns. It is this combination of qualities with the striking 20th century ruins set against an apparently barren natural environment that has formed a source of inspiration for many visual and sound artists, including Denis Creffield, Dan Dubowitz, Matthew Roberts, John Wonnacott, and Louise K Wilson”.

Lengthy list of sources

Detailed list and descriptions of buildings with photographs and maps showing locations

 

 

Natural England findings:

County: Suffolk

Main habitats: Coastal

Area: 909.1 Ha

Managed by:  the National Trust and Havergate Island by the RSPB

The Orfordness-Havergate NNR lies just south of Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. 
The site is a large shingle spit separated from the mainland by the River Alde.

The spit was formed by the deposition of shingle deposits through wave action and longshore drift. This is an on-going process, meaning the spit is growing, and the site is of great value to coastal defence research.

The site supports large lichen and moss communities. Many plant species that are nationally rare are found here in abundance.

The shingle supports a number of rare and scarce invertebrates - particularly beetles and spiders - and the site is also an important breeding place for many bird species including terns and avocet.

From looking at this site I have come to the conclusion that this site obviously wasn't built by man but from the natural process of nature.  There are a few man made facilities on site such as an education centre and disabled toilets.

As Orford Ness is a National Nature Reserve maybe we should find out how the site is maintained? and who helps keep it to a nature reserve standard?  What process has the maintenance team gone through?

There is not too much info on this site, so maybe we should ring the national trust to find out some more info.

Ross 

from the National Trust website

Visitor trail map

 

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The National Trust bought the site from the MOD in 1993. It is one of the most dynamic landforms in the UK

 The map shows the visitor trails through the main habitats present: vegetated shingle, salt marsh and grazing marsh. Management is aimed at allowing the continuation of natural processes to allow change and evolution of the landscape

 

 

It is the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe and is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (European designation).  Harsh conditions have developed rare specialised plants & ecology.  Shingle ridges have rare sea pea (below) while shingle heath areas are one of rarest habitats in Britain  & include sea campion & rare lichens.  Sediments at edges contain invetebrates that support many bird communities eg. marsh harrier & peregrine falcon

 

 The area is managed for small numbers of visitors, times restricted to the summer, and trails except the red trail off limits until after bird breeding, usually August.  Management of visitors also for their safety as many unexploded materials left over from the MOD and the site of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment is off limit.  Visitors need adequate mobility to get off the ferry & walk some uneven shingle parts.  Picnics are encouraged .  There are no shop or eating facilities on the site.

 

So ecology is the main aim, in preservation and in the creation of new habitats.  Reed marshes - a rare habitat-where marsh harriers are found- were extended by 2 hectares in 1997, while brackish lagoons were increased in 1998 and another 2 lagoons created in 2011

 

Here are a couple of links that Robert and Benz sent to us.

Robert Macfarlane's Untrue Island: the voices of Orford Ness 'The
Guardian' 8 July 2012 on
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/jul/08/untrue-island-orford-ness-macfarlane

and for my own take on the place, see 'Favourite Landscape' Concrete
Quarterly Architects Journal 2 June, 2005 see:
http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/home/favourite-landscape/133734.article

It is open on Saturdays by arrangement. The site is normally closed in
winter but 'The site is normally closed during the winter but the
National Trust will allow access to large (12+) pre-booked groups in
this period.'
on
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designations/nnr/1006116.aspx.

Visitors to Orford Ness can contact the National Trust for opening
times by telephoning 01394 450057.

Paul, I do not understand your question, in what way is it not a
landscape project?

Info from NT website, begin with
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/orford-ness/
which is a good introduction.
For the archaeological survey see Wayne Cocroft and Magnus Alexander '
Atomic Weapons Research Establishment Orford Ness, Suffolk, Cold War
Research and Development Site Survey English Heritage Research Dept,
Report Series no. 10-2009 on
http://services.http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/010_2009WEB.pdf 



On the NNR see
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/designations/nnr/1006116.aspx

For more on the LIFE project at Orford Ness (in addition to that in
Benz's email), see http://www.lifealdeore.org/index.php?pid=1

Brief

PROFESSIONAL STUDIES BLOCK COURSE January 2013 page 1/4
as effectively as possible and to agree early on what processes your team will use for handling
disputes, reward distribution and decision-making etc so hiccups don’t derail the entire project.

THE REPORT & THE PRESENTATION
Your team must plan, structure and organise your report and presentation. Choices may be partly
determined by the points you wish to make, the time and the facilities at your disposal. The
following guidelines might help you to structure your team’s report, divided down across the three
subject areas. These are only guidelines - but however you cover these three headings, I rate
them as being of equal importance and will distribute marks accordingly - so don’t put all your eggs
in one (or two) baskets.
1) A Study Of The Design Team
One sheet about each of the following:-
• The ‘built’ product - giving hard details and an idea of its appearance and atmosphere.
• The ‘named’ designer or Landscape Architect
• The membership, size/nature of the larger design team with the names and roles of key
corporate and individual players.
• The design team’s working methods. What lessons were learned (or not) by the design team,
what problems were overcome (or not.) Your group’s assessment of how the designer, design
team and processes worked together. Maybe the named designer was a dictator? Maybe they
were absent and entirely detached from the project. Did a process evolve?
• Make a judgement: What worked? What didn’t? What could have worked better? What surprised
you? What was unexpected?
• Conclusion: what was different / unusual / interesting about how your project’s team worked?
Were there special circumstances that lead to success or failure? What ideas can you translate
to your other work in future?
2) Objectives: How (If?) The Project Delivers?
Consider (or agree together) what the objectives for the project were. Different stake-holders may
have different goals, which may themselves change over time, e.g. ‘before’ and ‘after’ project
completion. Explore which (and how and to what extent) these objectives have been delivered.
The presentation of this subject will be judged on the quality of how these concepts have been
analysed, explored and explained in relation to the specific study project
3) A Study Of Your Student Team
As a minimum, cover who was in it, how it worked (or not) and how decisions were made or
working processes evolved. Compare and contrast how you worked compared to the studied
design team. It may help to look at sources on personalities in groups (e.g. Meredith Belbin’s work
or Myers Briggs) and also procedures that teams use to stay on track and record progress.
Include one sheet on each of the following:-
• Your team (members, size, background/nature of your team)
• Your team’s working methods and what lessons were / were not learned by your team.
• How your team performed: its processes, working together etc. Was anyone a dictator?
• Did processes evolve? What worked? What didn’t? What could’ve been better? Surprises?
Conclusion:
• What was different/ unusual/ interesting about how your team worked? What lessons were
• learned? What developed?
• What ideas did you transfer from your project to your team?
• What ideas can might you translate to your individual work?
Please be concise: more submitted material is often a sign of indecisiveness about what goes in
and what stays out and that in turn is about what’s important and what isn’t.
PROFESSIONAL STUDIES BLOCK COURSE January 2013 page 2/4
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The overall grade comes from 3 equal components. Each component is weighted between the
report and the presentation so you dare not downplay any element of your report or presentation.
1/3 of marks on: - How the project team worked 67% presentation / 33% report
1/3 of marks on: - Project objectives 67% presentation / 33% report
1/3 of marks on: - How your team worked 67% presentation / 33% report
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. In past years, presentation and report were equally weighted. The 67/33% split used this year
is to emphasise the importance of delivering a clear and concise presentation rather than the
tedium of reading on-screen illegible PowerPoint text that will eventually make a tedious report.
Your major problem may be how you cover each of the three topics in less than 3 minutes.
2. I’ll assess the report and presentation as group work, but my copy of the report must say how
marks are to be distributed between team members, with percentages next to full names and
signatures. This sheet MUST be legibly signed by each group member. If any signature is
missing, that student is assumed not to exist and will not be assessed. Any listed student who
never attended MUST be identified and given 0%. Others are allocated marks at the team’s
discretion. Check the total of the team’s individual percentage shares add up to 100%. Of
course, if they wish, the group may allocate marks equally and teams frequently choose to do
so: that is entirely acceptable as long as everyone agrees.
3. There are many ways of organising group teams and their work: collegiate, delegatory, a leader
(elected or self nominated), democratic or authoritarian, working in silos. Tasks can be
allocated to individuals or teams, and such teams may or may not be ongoing. But be aware
that you may just be perpetuating models that you are already familiar with and they may not
be appropriate here. I would argue that a group can’t truly function as a team until everyone
knows what everyone knows. So, given that you want the whole team to learn and to be able to
make contributions to the team’s work, one area you may wish to address is how does your
team facilitate its own learning? How do you circulate knowledge? How do you incorporate
individual ideas, hunches and inspirations?
LOGISTICS
How do you structure the project? You need to collect material, monitor time and allocate tasks.
Only when you have collected and shared material within your colleagues will the team be able to
creatively decide the main thrusts of your presentations and report. You also have to choose a way
of packaging the material such that your findings are delivered memorably and concisely in a
limited time slot. You are responsible for the supply, operation and co-ordination of all equipment,
people and material for your presentation.
NOTE: Take care before contacting individuals or organisations: if each group member individually
contacts a particular person you will end up with a swamped and very disgruntled contact and no
answers. Agree who approaches who and what are the main areas of interest and be polite and
professional and you’re more likely to get helpful answers. It usually happens that many groups
break this rule from the outset: despite the appointment of a funnel, many can’t resist adding in
their own email comments....
TUTOR SUPPORT
Each group must e-mail Tony (be sure to put ‘Professional Studies Block Course 2013’ in the
header) giving the e-mail address of a named group member who will act as ‘the funnel’. (Any
subsequent emails must have the same text in the header.) All queries and replies must go via the
and in this format for ease of sorting/searching . Answers and information will be emailed back to
this person. It’s the funnel’s responsibility to disseminate replies (and this brief) to their team.
PROFESSIONAL STUDIES BLOCK COURSE January 2013 page 3/4
To encourage debate in the team, there will be NO tutorials. If after discussion there are still
unresolved disagreements the funnel can refer them to me. Guidance, questions and/or answers
of general relevance will be sent to all funnels for distribution to teams. In the case of catastrophic
group failure (It’s only happened once in a decade) I will meet a group provided it’s quorate.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
You have 2 deadlines: report submission and your presentation. Given study patterns and
locations, it’s inevitable that we won’t get all presentations in the same place at the same time
(shame! - though if you do get a chance to see other disciplines’ presentations please do.)
The report submission deadline is 4.30pm on Monday March 11th. This is fixed and constant
across all disciplines. Each group member should retain a copy of their group’s report for their
portfolio, but one non-returnable copy of the report (along with the agreed, signed % breakdown of
marks) should be submitted to Tony care of the AD&C School office counter by hand or post.
(Postal submissions postmarked 4/3/12 will be accepted: later postmarks will not.) Hadlow-based
groups can submit their reports to Richard Tilley by the same date/time. All submissions should be
labelled: “Block Course for Tony Clelford’s attention”. By the same deadline, all groups must also
submit a copy of their report digitally - on a CD or as a PDF email attachment.
Presentation date(s) are to be confirmed. Total presentation time for all 3 subjects is 8 minutes. I
will time you. Don’t overrun: rehearse. All 3 subjects are assessed so be careful not to put all your
efforts - or your presentation time - into one or two subject areas. If you use any sort of technology
with your presentation (from a laptop down to an angle-poise or a microphone) it’s your group’s
responsibility to source, set up and run it. Quick set-up is needed, so ensure all equipment is
working: e.g. sort out how to use the video or lecture room PC. At least half the group should be
involved in the presentation. All should be available to participate in the Q&A session afterwards.
The running order for presentations will be emailed to all groups and is non-negotiable. A Hadlow
appointment will be made for LM and GD presentations if necessary.
ASSESSMENT
As well as assessing the 3 subject areas and looking for analysis, insight and evaluation, I’ll
reward:
• Mastery/understanding of material
• Identifying key points and clearly communicating them in a memorable way.
• Did you draw clear lessons from each part?
• Did we learn from you? Did you learn from you?
• Overall quality of the presentation, report and Q&A sessions.
Tony Clelford January 2013
Email: a.j.clelford@gre.ac.uk
AFTER THE BRIEF’S BEEN ISSUED
1. Acknowledge receipt of the brief and confirm to me the full names of your group members, your
team’s discipline/study mode and subject.Use the email format mentioned above.
2. One group was a one man (one woman?) band and she was offered the opportunity to drop
her subject and join colleagues in another group. That needs to be confirmed back to me.
3. I do not have Ivan’s law assignment yet. If it follows previous years I don’t expect to receive it
before the end of this month. I am chasing him and I will issue it as soon as I have it. I will also
keep you informed when I make progress in my chase (so there’s no point in chasing me.)
4. Further copies of Ivan’s law notes will be available from Lauren at reception when they have
been photocopied.

Welcome everybody! Please post any info about Orford ness you like!
Thanks
Ross.