Life Members: Revd Dr J C Baldwin, H W Egglestone, A N Stubbs, D G Thorne.
Additional Members: A Bentley, Mrs S Bianco, R Booth, R J Cooles, A Ellis, A J Frost, E G H Godfrey, R A Lewis, P A Trotman, Mrs P M Wilkinson.
Ex-officio: A P S Berry, Mrs M Bone, Dr J C Eisel, T Jackson, W Purvis, A Regin, Miss J Roberts.
Ancient Society of College Youths: R I Allton, H D Coggill*, P A B Saddleton, A W R Wilby.
Australian & New Zealand Assn: C D O’Mahony, L R Reynolds, R Shepherd (alt. Member), J Smith#.
Bath & Wells Dio. Assn: R C Backhurst, Miss J Bunyan, M Hansford, M R T Higby, R Newman*.
Bedfordshire Assn: P J S Albon, R Horne*, Ms S Silver*.
Beverley & District Society: A J Atkinson, J Blackburn.
Cambridge Univ. Guild: R Shipp.
Carlisle Dio. Guild: Ms W Graham, D Walker#.
Chester Dio. Guild: C M Orme, Mrs P Thomson, P Wilkinson, S Zientek*.
Coventry Dio. Guild: M Chester, M J Dew, C Idle*, C F Mew.
Derby Dio. Assn: M Banks, Mrs P A M Halls, Mrs G Hughes, Mrs E Humphrey#.
Devon Association: R Brown*, M C Way.
Devonshire Guild: L E Boyce, J M Clarke, Mrs L P Hughes*, I V J Smith#.
Durham & Newcastle Dio. Assn: Mrs Y Cairns, H Smith, R R Warford, Mrs B M Wheeler.
Durham Univ. Society: M Williams.
East Derby & West Notts Assn: C Aked*.
East Grinstead & District Guild: Mrs K Desbottes*.
Ely Dio. Assn: P Bailey*, G E Bonham, B Hullah, P Seaman.
Essex Assn: J Armstrong, F J P Bone, Mrs W Godden*, B Meads, S J Nash*.
Four Shires Guild: K Murphy*, C M Povey.
Gloucester & Bristol Dio. Assn: D Harbottle, P G Hickey*, W Nash, Prof A Newing, J Nicholls.
Guildford Dio. Guild: Mrs A M Anthony*, W J Couperthwaite, Mrs B R Norris, C H Rogers.
Hereford Dio. Guild: J H Croxton, A Fortey, Mrs J Lawrence, Mrs J Mason.
Hertford County Assn: G T Horritt, G Morton*, Mrs S Morton*.
Irish Assn: C Holliday, Ms J Kelly, Mrs J Lysaght.
Kent County Assn: P R J Barnes, P T Dale, R H Edwards, P H Larter, Mrs C M Lewis.
Ladies Guild: Mrs C Dawson*, Miss H Webb*, Ms J K Wyatt.
Lancashire Assn: Miss A Brittliff*, D Burgess, E de Legh-Runciman, Ms A Holliday*, Mrs B Ingham*.
Leeds University Society: A Crocker*.
Leicester Dio. Guild: Mrs C N J Franklin, A J Preston, J R Thompson.
Lichfield & Walsall Archd. Society: S Hutchieson, J F Mulvey, C M Smith.
Lincoln Dio. Guild: Mrs S Faull, P Green*, A R Heppenstall, Mrs J M Rogers.
Liverpool Univ. Society: R J Andrew*.
Llandaff & Monmouth Dio. Assn: P S Bennett, N D Jones*, Mrs P Penney.
Middlesex County Assn. & London Dio. Guild: R Bailey, F T Blagrove, Mrs H Udal*.
National Police Guild: W Dowse*.
North American Guild: B N Butler, Ms B Faber, A Furnivall*, G Williams*.
North Staffordshire Assn: C Adams, F Beech, Mrs J Beech.
North Wales Assn: A P Diserens*, G P Morris.
Norwich Dio. Assn: P Adcock, M G Clements*, M H Hodgkinson#.
Oxford Dio. Guild: K R Davenport, J A Harrison, T G Pett.
Oxford Society: Ms C L Bell, B J Stone.
Oxford Univ. Society: M Bell.
Peterborough Dio. Guild: Mrs H Aslett, A Chantler, Mrs E J Sibson.
St Martin’s Guild: J Forster*, S Jones*.
Salisbury Dio. Guild: A J Howes, A C D Lovell-Wood, J Newman, A P Nicholson, R J Purnell.
Scottish Assn: S Elwell-Sutton, M A Neale.
Shropshire Assn: A M Glover, N J Green.
Society of Royal Cumberland Youths: J S Barnes, G A Duke, I H Oram, D E Sibson.
Society of Sherwood Youths: P Hawcock.
South African Guild: D Carr#.
Southwell and Nottingham Dio. Guild: G A Dawson, Ms M J Stephens, R E H Woolley.
Suffolk Guild: Mrs V Downing*, A McBurnie, S D Pettman, D G Salter.
Surrey Assn: J D Cheesman, Mrs K Flavell, P Flavell, R J Wallis.
Sussex County Assn: A R Baldock, Mrs D Day*, D Kirkcaldy, Mrs M E Oram.
Swansea & Brecon Dio. Guild: P C Johnson.
Truro Dio. Guild: Ms M Jones, N R Mattingley, R J Perry, I P Self.
Univ. Bristol Society: C Darvill, R M Wood.
Univ. London Society: R Littlewood*.
Veronese Assn: P Avesani, Prof A M Hodge.
Winchester & Portsmouth Dio. Guild: M J Church, M K Hopkins Till#, P D Niblett, A P Smith, M J Winterbourne.
Worcestershire & Districts Assn: S W Holbeche, S D Piper*, A Roberts, R J Walker.
Yorkshire Assn: C B Dove, P Kirby*, Ms S Laycock*, B Sanders, Ms A D M Thorley#.
Birmingham University Society, the Dorset County Association and the St David’s Diocesan Guild were not represented.
The Chair was taken by the President, Tony Smith.
G Williams led the Council in prayer.
The Hon Secretary, Mary Bone, reported that 65 societies were affiliated to the Council with 196 representatives; there were four vacancies. There were 6 Life Members, 11 Additional Members and 7 ex-officio Members. One subscription was outstanding from the St David’s Diocesan Guild.
The President gave a warm welcome to new and returning members (indicated by * and # respectively in the list of those present).
Apologies had been received from Doris Colgate and Harold Rogers (Life Members), Janet Edwards (Additional Member), Julie Doyle (Australian and New Zealand Assn), Winifred Warwick (Leicester DG), Eric Brunger (Norwich DA), Bill Butler and Bobbie May (Oxford DG). Further apologies were presented from Leigh Simpson (Cambridge UG), Tim Collins (Dorset CA), Graham Clifton (Oxford DG) and Andrew Mills (Southwell & Nottingham DG).
The President noted that this would have been Harold Rogers’ 65th meeting and that he had now only missed two meetings during his Council membership; he invited members to sign a card for Harold.
Members stood in silence as the Hon Secretary read the names of former members of the Council who had died in earlier years but whose deaths had not been previously reported to the Council: James Armstrong (Gloucestershire 1936-1939); Robert Binns (Leeds and District Society 1897-1899); Frank Boreham (Oxford DG 1948-1956); Charles Eyre (Stafford Archdeaconry Society 1969-1975); Herbert Fretwell (EDWNA 1927-1929); John Hine (Devon Assn 1965-1992); Charles Metcalfe (EDWNA 1945); Reginald Newton (Shropshire Assn 1961-1965); Philip Parrott (Derby DA 1949-1951); Henry Poole (Bath 1903-1906); Canon Bertram Sheppard (Cambridge University Guild 1939-1950); William Stainthorpe (Yorkshire Assn 1900-1905); Stanley Wollaston (Devon 1902-1903); Ralph Wright (Devon Assn 1984-1992); and the following members and former members who had died since the last meeting: John (Jack) Sims (Guild of Devonshire Ringers 1981-1983); Frank Arnold (Norwich DA 1978-1989); Olive Barnett (Hon member 1953-1989); Brian Barker (Hertford CA 1966-1974); Canon Ernest Orland (Peterborough Diocesan Guild 1957-1960 and 1981-1989); Geoffrey Dodds (Hertford CA 1960-1989); Patrick Matthews (Salisbury DG 1978-1987); Roderick Pipe (St. Martin’s Guild 1970-1987); Gerald Penney (Hertford CA 1974-1981). The Revd Dr J C Baldwin led members in prayer.
The Minutes of the meeting held on 31st May 2010 had been published in The Ringing World of 17 September 2010. One omission and two corrections to the Minutes had been published as Appendix A to the Agenda (RW 29th April 2011, p432). There were no further corrections. The Minutes were approved and signed by the President.
The President reminded members to declare any interest in the bell-related trade to the Hon Secretary and to declare any relevant interest before speaking at the meeting.
No member wished to raise any matter.
8. Annual Report of the Council
(RW 29th April 2011, p438)
The Hon Secretary noted that, since the preparation of the report, there had been a number of changes to the figures in paragraph 4: three vacancies have been filled. The figures in the last two sentences should therefore read: 6 Life Members, 11 Additional Members, 196 Representative Members and 7 ex-officio Members. There are 4 other vacancies. The Hon Secretary also reported changes to the figures in the Appendix: in the last sentence of the first paragraph: of the 196 Representative Members, 142 (72%) were members of the previous Council and 54 are new members. In the second paragraph the first sentence should read 58 members of the previous Council are not returning.
Adoption of the report was then proposed by the Hon Secretary, seconded by the Vice-President, Kate Flavell, and agreed.
9. Accounts for 2010
(RW 29th April 2011, pp439-441)
The Hon Treasurer, Derek Harbottle, presented the Accounts and noted that the Independent Examiners had been able to give an unqualified report. He drew attention to the negative movement in funds, as shown in the Statement of Financial Activities, of £10,301. However, this included the agreed funding of £10,000 for The Ringing Foundation. The General Fund income included donations for the new volume of the Roll of Honour, and the expenditure included a further supply of the publicity leaflets at a cost of just under £1,900. Though the 2010 council meeting costs were higher than the previous year, they were in line with the average spend over the last few years; however committee expenses did show some saving over the previous year. The Bell Restoration Fund benefited from a legacy and was able to award 28 grants. Investments had been kept under review and the Fred Dukes Fund moved to National Savings Income Bonds to benefit from a higher interest rate. The General Fund continued to be invested in National Savings Income Bonds and with the CCLA Church of England Deposit Fund. Turning to 2011, the Hon Treasurer referred to recent increases in postage and VAT and assured members that costs would be carefully controlled and any new projects justified on their merits.
The Hon Treasurer proposed the adoption of the Accounts, the Hon Secretary seconded and they were agreed.
Six Honorary Additional Members would complete their three-year term at the end of the meeting: of these Janet Edwards, Alan Ellis and Eric Godfrey were not seeking re-election. The following advance nominations, duly proposed and seconded, had been received: Peter Trotman, David Willis, Adrian Semken, Alan Frost, Alan Bentley and Elva Ainsworth. After a ballot these candidates were declared elected. Seven vacancies remained unfilled.
President - Kate Flavell, who had been proposed by Jackie Roberts and seconded by Ernie de Legh-Runciman, was the only nominee. The President declared her elected.
Vice-President - Chris Mew, who had been proposed by Mike Chester and seconded by Christopher O’Mahony, was the only nominee. The President declared him elected.
Hon Secretary - Mary Bone, who had been proposed by Robert Cooles and seconded by John Baldwin, was the only nominee. The President declared her elected.
Hon Assistant Secretary - the President informed members that one of the candidates, John Cater, had withdrawn his nomination. There were two remaining nominations: Carol Franklin, proposed by Alan Regin and seconded by Andrew Preston, and Robin Walker, proposed by Ian Oram and seconded by John Couperthwaite. Voting was by ballot which resulted in Robin Walker being declared elected.
Hon Treasurer - Derek Harbottle, who had been proposed by Angela Newing and seconded by Michael Church, was the only nominee. The President declared him elected.
In accordance with Rule 12(i) the retiring Officers continued in office until the business of the meeting was concluded.
Jeremy Cheesman was proposed by Paul Flavell and seconded by Kate Desbottes. Richard Wallis was proposed by Robert Cooles and seconded by Eric Godfrey. There being no other nominations, the President declared them elected.
The Hon Treasurer proposed on behalf of the Administrative Committee:
That the subscription be increased to £25 per representative member from 1st January 2012.
The Hon Treasurer referred to the explanatory note included on the Agenda and noted that the affiliation fee was last increased five years ago; since then the costs of the annual meeting and of conducting Council business had continued to increase. The Hon Secretary seconded.
The motion was put to the vote and carried nem con.
Peter Niblett proposed on behalf of the Methods Committee:
That Decision (E) D.4 be amended to replace the words preceding “or includes it in a multi-method peal” so that it starts as follows:
“The band that first rings a peal of a new method complying with Parts A to D of the Decision on Peal Ringing or, in the case of Doubles or Minor only, rings an extent or round block as permitted in Part B.2 of the Decision on Peal Ringing, …”.
Peter drew attention to an explanatory note which had been circulated to the meeting. The Committee’s approach was to provide enabling decisions, standards which described what was being rung and a clear, consistent framework. This motion addressed the current situation, whereby new Doubles or Minor methods may be named only either by ringing them in a peal or by ringing an extent, and, if passed, would allow new Doubles or Minor methods additionally to be named by being rung in a round block (e.g. a 240 of Doubles or a 1440 of Minor). Robin Woolley seconded.
The motion was put to the vote and carried nem con.
On behalf of the Methods Committee, Philip Saddleton proposed:
That Decision (E) A.2 be deleted and replaced with the following:
“A call is a means of passing from one course of a method to another. It is not part of the definition of the method. A call may be effected in one of the following ways:
(a) by altering the places made between two or more consecutive rows without altering the length of a lead;
(b) by omitting changes, altering the length of a lead.”
Philip reminded members of the background to this proposal and stated that the Methods Committee regarded the motion as providing the simplest way of allowing performances such as the 5040 of “Grandsire Variable Treble Triples” to comply in future with the Council’s Decisions. He noted a minor change to the wording of the motion: the penultimate word was now ‘a’ instead of ‘the’. He stressed that only changes could be omitted, not rows, and that the Committee would monitor use of this provision if the motion were passed. Richard Edwards, seconding, confirmed that the Committee had consulted a number of composers and conductors in preparing the motion.
Fred Bone expressed concern about the interaction of this motion with other Decisions, in particular on the naming of new methods. John Thompson suggested that, with such a radical proposal, a provisional change to the Decision would be appropriate; the change could then be confirmed or withdrawn after a number of years depending on the level of use. The President stated that such an approach was not available. Roger Bailey and Mark Bell queried if a new method, rung according to clause (b), could be accurately described or if it would actually form a section of an existing method. John Harrison spoke in favour of the motion, which provided a simple solution and would enable the technical frontiers of ringing to be extended. Phillip Barnes supported this view. Frank Blagrove proposed an amendment to the wording, to insert “consecutive” in clause (b) so that it read “by omitting consecutive changes, altering the length of a lead.” The amendment was accepted by the proposer and seconder. Brian Meads suggested that the Methods Committee should conduct a fundamental review of the relevant Decisions.
The motion was put to the vote and carried by majority.
14. Committee Reports
(The reports were published in The Ringing World Supplement of 29th April 2011. The relevant page numbers are shown against each report).
(a) Administrative (p442)
Adoption of the report was proposed by the Hon Secretary, who thanked Robert Lewis and The Ringing World staff for again producing an excellent Supplement. She drew attention to the proposal for a Ringing Alliance with the Zimbabwe Guild. The Vice-President seconded and updated members on her recent consultations with committee chairmen on the recruitment and training of young ringers. She would continue to work closely with the relevant committees as they developed their work on this. She urged members to support the work of these committees and of The Ringing Foundation and added that each society would be invited to send two representatives aged under 25 to the conference on 12 November 2011. Adoption of the report was then agreed.
Roger Bailey and Anthony Lovell-Wood retired; Roger Bailey did not seek re-election; John Cater was no longer a member of Council; Brian Meads had become an ex-officio member. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 4 vacancies on the Committee: Phillip Barnes, Anthony Lovell-Wood, Tony Smith and Peter Wilkinson.
Adoption of the report was proposed by Paul Flavell, who noted the Committee’s new publication A Collection of Stedman Compositions, and seconded by Philip Larter. Peter Wilkinson asked the Committee to consider producing a booklet of quarter peal compositions in standard methods. Adoption of the report was agreed.
Paul Flavell, Philip Larter and John Thompson retired. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 4 vacancies on the Committee: Paul Flavell, Mike Hopkins Till, Philip Larter and John Thompson.
In proposing adoption of the report Peter Dale drew attention to the sales of The New Ringer’s Book. He added that the 12 November conference would have a wider focus than that implied in the Administrative Committee report. Geoff Horritt seconded. Roger Bailey requested information on the number of aspiring conductors in the Conduct 5040 scheme; Peter agreed to investigate. Adoption of the report was then agreed.
John Atkinson and Pip Penney retired; John Atkinson did not seek re-election; Simon Linford and John Mabe were no longer members of Council. Nine candidates were proposed and seconded to fill the 4 vacancies on the Committee. After a ballot the following were declared elected: James Blackburn, Pip Penney, Deborah Thorley and Duncan Walker. The unsuccessful candidates were Philip Bailey, Anthony Furnivall, Susan Laycock, Richard Newman and Ernie de Legh-Runciman.
(d) Information and Communications Technology (p443)
Adoption of the report was proposed by Mike Chester, seconded by Peter Trotman and agreed.
Peter Trotman retired; Michael Wilby was no longer a member of Council. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 3 vacancies on the Committee: Stephen Nash, Stuart Piper and Peter Trotman.
In proposing adoption of the report, Stella Bianco recorded the Committee’s thanks to John Eisel for his outstanding work during 19 years as Library Steward. John Eisel seconded and adoption of the report was then agreed. The President made a presentation to John on behalf of Council.
Appointment of the Steward of the Library 2011-2014: Alan Glover had been proposed by John Eisel and seconded by Paul Johnson. As there was no other nomination the President declared him elected.
Paul Johnson retired and Alan Glover had become an ex-officio member of the Committee. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 2 vacancies on the Committee: Paul Johnson and Gregory Morris.
Peter Niblett proposed adoption of the report and noted work in hand to produce the Four-Way Tables in a more convenient size and plans for web-based articles. The Committee hoped to encourage young ringers in the technical aspects of ringing. Robin Woolley seconded. Chris Adams asked about method naming: at present the name of a method rung for the first time in a quarter peal could be changed if it was later rung in a peal, even if only a lead or half lead was rung in a peal of spliced. Could peal ringers not refer to the provisional list of method names and be aware of local sensitivities when choosing a name? Frank Beech considered that a method name should only be changed if more changes were rung in a peal. The President stated that the Council Decisions had no concept of provisional naming and the list of method names on www.methods.org.uk was maintained by him personally. Peter responded that the Committee were grateful to the President for maintaining the list and that the records included the date when a method was first rung and a Ringing World page reference. He hoped that more publicity for the lists could avoid problems when methods were named. John Harrison commented that he had recently spoken to mathematics students at a school on the technical aspects of ringing and that this had been well received; Peter welcomed such initiatives. Adoption of the report was agreed.
Richard Edwards and Leigh Simpson retired. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 3 vacancies on the Committee: Richard Edwards, Stephen Jones and Leigh Simpson.
In proposing adoption of the report, Richard Allton noted that 4,945 peals had been rung in 2010 and now published in The Ringing World; changes and corrections would be published in the Committee’s report next year. He informed members that four handbell peals credited to the Lancashire Association had in fact been rung by the Leicester Diocesan Guild (p448, col 2). Derek Sibson seconded. Robert Wood queried the name of a method rung on 11 March 2010; Richard replied that, although Decision E D.4 allowed the Council to change the name, this method had previously been rung in spliced. Ashley Fortey referred to the peal rung at Staunton-on-Arrow and recorded as non-compliant; could the decisions be changed so that peals in such methods could be accepted as compliant? Richard noted that this was a matter for the Methods Committee. Adoption of the report was then agreed.
Alan Baldock, Mark Bell and Ben Duke (co-opted) retired. Four candidates were proposed and seconded to fill the 3 vacancies on the Committee. After a ballot the following were declared elected: Alan Baldock, Mark Bell and Adam Crocker. The unsuccessful candidate was Ben Duke.
(h) Public Relations (pp448-450)
Claire Bell, proposing adoption of the report, informed members that two television programmes on ringing were currently in production: one on the historical aspects and the other featuring performances. Filming for the latter had taken place in Cambridge on the previous weekend and it was scheduled to be shown on BBC3 in September. Claire added that details of the Olympic Torch relay route were now available and that it was hoped that ringing would be organised to accompany the Torch, particularly for evening events. Bruce Butler seconded and asked members to complete the online survey on future roadshows. The Vice-President added that the New Music 20x12 commission for the Olympics would be premiered on 1 January 2012 and could be rung during the Torch relay. Chris Mew noted that an interview with Howard Skempton, the composer, had been shown recently. Roger Bailey commented that the Charmborough Ring, of which he was a trustee, had been used during the filming in Cambridge; he urged the Council to support projects to take ringing out of towers and directly to the public. Alison Hodge referred to the Committee’s wider remit and initial work on this; Bruce Butler responded that the Committee had been under-resourced with several vacancies and hoped that this would now change and allow more work on this part of the Committee’s rôle. Adoption of the report was agreed.
Beverly Faber and John Harrison retired. Neil Donovan was no longer a member of Council. Ten candidates were proposed and seconded to fill the 6 vacancies on the Committee. After a ballot the following were declared elected: William Dowse, Beverly Faber, James Forster, John Harrison, Rupert Littlewood and Helen Udal. The unsuccessful candidates were Lynne Hughes, Nicholas Jones, Ernie de Legh-Runciman and Mary Stephens.
The meeting adjourned for lunch at 12.45 p.m. and resumed, after the Annual Meeting of The Ringing World Limited, at 3.27 p.m.
John Couperthwaite proposed the report and drew attention to the just published Collection of Stedman Compositions. Work continued on the next edition of Dove. Beryl Norris seconded. Brian Meads congratulated the Committee on the increased income from sales and asked about plans to move to online publications. John replied that this was under active consideration; however, publications would continue to be printed while there was the demand for this format. Adoption of the report was agreed.
Andrew Aspland and Derek Jones were no longer members of Council. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 2 vacancies on the Committee: Michael Hansford and Jan Wyatt.
Adoption of the report was proposed by Bob Cooles, who regretted that the Committee had been unable to include detailed figures from the Church Commissioners in their report as these were not yet available [see RW, 10 Jun, p602; 1 Jul, p688]. Bob noted that there were early indications that the tower at Hanley may no longer be required for the commercial development. The report was seconded by Alan Frost. Peter Wilkinson thanked the Committee for their interest in Bollington. Chris Adams noted that, following the refusal of planning consent for the transfer of the Hanley bells, Stone were now fundraising for a separate project. The report was agreed.
Ian Hastilow and Julian Newman retired. The following two members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 2 vacancies on the Committee: Julian Newman and Helen Webb.
(k) Ringing Centres (pp451-452)
Norman Mattingley proposed adoption of the report, drawing attention to the latest issue of the Committee’s Training Times. He encouraged guilds to establish ringing centres themselves and urged support for the 12 November conference. Alan Bentley, seconding, noted the regional forum to be held at Eckington on 18 June. Adoption of the report was then agreed.
Peter Dale (co-opted), Janet Edwards and Norman Mattingley retired. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 4 vacancies on the Committee: Philip Bailey, Michael Clements, Peter Dale and Norman Mattingley.
In proposing adoption of the report, Beryl Norris noted the Committee’s work on data on young ringers. Tim Pett seconded and reported on the results of a pilot survey on the recruitment and retention of young ringers in the Oxford Diocesan Guild. Family, friends and church contacts were key factors in both recruitment and retention. The encouraging retention rate of one third was not representative of all towers as the survey had been targeted at those towers which had successfully recruited and retained young ringers. Adoption of the report was agreed.
Beryl Norris retired and did not seek re-election. Tim Pett recorded the Committee’s thanks to Beryl, who had been involved with its work since its inception. The following members were then proposed and seconded: Anthony Furnivall and Keith Murphy. The President declared them elected after the meeting voted to increase the size of the Committee to six.
(m) Towers and Belfries (p452)
Adoption of the report was proposed by James Clarke. James asked ringers interested in the September seminar on tower inspections to contact the Committee; arrangements for the seminar would be finalised in July. The report was seconded by Chris Povey. Chris Rogers reported on poor quality bell ropes and urged the Committee to put pressure on commercial rope makers to improve. James requested any tower having problems with poor quality new ropes to contact him. Adoption of the report was agreed.
Michael Banks, David Kirkcaldy and Adrian Semken retired. William Jones and Jim Taylor were no longer members of Council. Five candidates were proposed and seconded to fill the 4 vacancies on the Committee. After a ballot the following were declared elected: Michael Banks, Tim Collins, David Kirkcaldy and Adrian Semken. The unsuccessful candidate was Ernie de Legh-Runciman.
The meeting adjourned for tea at 4.15 p.m. and resumed, after the Annual Meeting of The Ringing Foundation Limited, at 5.50 p.m.
(n) Tower Stewardship (pp452-453)
Christopher O’Mahony proposed adoption of the report and thanked Chris Mew for his work on child protection and Robert Wood, retiring from the Committee. Chris Mew seconded and adoption of the report was agreed.
David Burgess and Robert Wood retired. Robert Wood was not seeking re-election. The following members were proposed, seconded and elected to fill the 2 vacancies on the Committee: David Burgess and James Smith.
(o) Bell Restoration (pp453-454)
Proposing adoption of the report, Robin Shipp expressed the Committee’s thanks to Kate Flavell, who was standing down. Jay Bunyan would be working with Jackie Roberts on queries for FunderFinder and on finding a replacement service. He added that the online appendices to Organising a Bell Restoration Project were updated as necessary. Robin reported that donations for Christchurch, New Zealand, could be made via the Central Council and would thus be eligible for Gift Aid. Peter Wilkinson, seconding, noted that 14 of the 28 projects awarded grants in 2010 had now been completed. He thanked Stella Bianco for arranging production of a new jigsaw, sales of which supported the Bell Restoration Fund. Robert Perry commended the jigsaw, which featured a banner from Truro Cathedral. Laith Reynolds declared an interest as a director of John Taylor & Co and stated that the company proposed to offer a light dismountable ring to Christchurch which could be erected in a public venue, maintaining public awareness of the fate of the Christchurch bells, assisting the band, and hopefully bringing forward the date of work to restore the cathedral bells. The company intended to donate the bells and funds would be sought to pay for fittings and transport. Robin Shipp and the Council officers confirmed that donations received via the Council could be used to support such a scheme if so requested by the Christchurch ringers. Adoption of the report was then agreed.
Pat Albon (co-opted), Kate Flavell, Robin Shipp and Peter Wilkinson retired. Kate Flavell did not seek re-election. The following five members were proposed, seconded and declared elected after the meeting voted to increase the size of the Committee to eleven: Pat Albon, Peter Kirby, William Nash, Robin Shipp and Peter Wilkinson.
Adoption of the report was proposed by Pat Halls, seconded by Margaret Oram, and agreed.
Jane Mason and Judith Rogers retired and did not seek re-election. Dinah Rhymer was no longer a member of Council. The following five members were proposed, seconded and declared elected after the meeting voted to increase the size of the Committee to ten: Richard Andrew, Bill Butler, Patrick Hickey, Brian Hullah and David Willis.
The President thanked all committee members for their work for the Council, especially those not standing for re-election.
15. (a) Report of the Stewards of the Carter Ringing Machine Collection (RW 29th April 2011, p455)
Adoption of the report was proposed by Alan Berry, who declared an interest as a volunteer at the Bellfoundry Museum, and seconded by Bill Purvis. John Harrison urged the Stewards both to report on and exploit the other items in the collection, as these formed an important part of ringing history. The report was agreed.
Alan Berry was proposed by Andrew Wilby and seconded by George Dawson. Bill Purvis was proposed by George Dawson and seconded by Andrew Wilby. There being no other nominations, the President declared them elected.
16. (a) Report of the Steward of the Rolls of Honour (RW 29th April 2011, p455)
Alan Regin proposed adoption of the report and updated members on work on the new Great War Memorial Book. The Vice-President seconded. John Mulvey suggested that the books should be seen by a wider audience than was possible in the current location at St Paul’s and asked the Steward to consider the National Memorial Arboretum as an alternative location. John Harrison supported moving the books so that they would be seen by non-ringers as well. George Dawson asked if the new book would have space for additional names. Alan replied that an alternative location within St Paul’s was under consideration and that the new book would have space for more names. Adoption of the report was then agreed.
Alan Regin was proposed by Yvonne Cairns and seconded by James Blackburn. There being no other nomination, the President declared him elected.
17. (a) Report of the Stewards of the Dove Database (RW 29th April 2011, pp455-456)
Adoption of the report was proposed by John Baldwin and seconded by Tim Jackson. Chris Adams queried, given the number of changes made to the database, if it was worth producing a printed edition. John responded that an occasional printed edition was wanted by ringers. Adoption of the report was then agreed.
John Baldwin was proposed by Robert Cooles and seconded by Angela Newing. Tim Jackson was proposed by Michael Church and seconded by Patricia Halls. There being no other nominations, the President declared them elected.
18. Central Council Rescue Fund for Redundant Bells (Registered Charity no. 278816)
Report and Accounts
(RW 29th April 2011, p456)
Adoption of the report and accounts was proposed by Bob Cooles, seconded by John Baldwin and agreed.
The President reminded members that invitations had been accepted for future years as follows:
The President reminded Council that an invitation for 2015 and future years would be welcomed.
Pam Thomson outlined plans for the visit of the Council to Chester in 2012.
The Hon Secretary reported on attendance at the meeting as set out in the table below and thanked Stephen Franklin for compiling the attendance records.
(a) The President sought agreement for the ballot papers to be destroyed and this was given.
(b) The Hon Secretary reminded members to return badges or badge holders.
(c) Laith Reynolds updated the ANZAB report (RW, 29 Apr, pp448-449) to include the Christchurch earthquake and a local band 12-bell peal at Perth.
(d) John Baldwin thanked the President for all his work for the Council during his tenure in office (applause).
(e) Frank Blagrove noted that 2012 would be the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen and requested the Officers to submit a message of loyal greetings.
(f) Tim Pett requested members of the Ringing Trends Committee to meet to elect a new chairman.
(g) Stephen Pettman asked the Administrative Committee to review the arrangements for the annual meeting and consider moving the Ringing World and Ringing Foundation meetings to the Sunday afternoon.
The President moved a comprehensive vote of thanks to all those involved in the Council’s visit to Hereford: to the organising committee of the Hereford Diocesan Guild: Neil Bennett, Martin Harrisson, Chris Kippin, Jenny Lawrence, Jane Mason, Mark Pugh and Colin Ward; and to all the members of the Guild who had willingly given assistance on the Help Desk at that day’s meeting and throughout the weekend, provided stewards for the tours and acted as tellers and microphone operatives that day; to the Master of the Guild for his welcome and for his speech at the Sunday evening Reception and Dinner; to Prebendary Robert North for the Songs of Praise service the previous afternoon at St Nicholas’ church and for the service of Holy Communion that morning at St Nicholas; to all those involved in the organisation of the Sunday evening Reception and Dinner; and to the incumbents and ringers of the churches who had made their bells available to Council members. (applause).
The President declared the meeting closed at 6.45 p.m. and invested the new President, Kate Flavell, with the badge of office.
| Members | |||
| Societies | Present | Absent | |
| Fully represented | 52 | 158 | - |
| Partly represented | 10 | 27 | 8 |
| Not represented | 3 | - | 3 |
| 65 | 185 | 11 | |
| Life Members | 4 | 2 | |
| Additional Members | 10 | 1 | |
| Ex-officio | 7 | - | |
| 206 | 14 | ||
The Ringing World, August 5, 2011, pages 793 to 796 and 811, correction August 31, 2012, page 923
(Archivist’s note: also absent were Adam Brady (Birmingham Univ. Society), Aiden Butcher (St David’s Dio. Guild) and Ian Hastilow (Sussex County Assn))