WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1988
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD 2 JULY 1988 AT ST PETER'S HALL, PETERSFIELD
Opening Prayer and Master's Welcome.
The Master, Rev B J Fry, supported by the Honorary General Secretary, D C Jackson, and the Honorary General Treasurer, M Bubb, opened the meeting at 1.39pm with prayers, and welcomed the 69 members present.
Apologies for absence.
Apologies were received from:-
A C & Mrs F Webster, B & Miss C Woodruffe, the Andover band, the Barton Stacey band, the Bishop's Waltham band, R Skinner, M J Butler, G K Dodd, Mrs P Taeuber, D & Mrs J Orchard, Mr & Mrs P Matthews, A V & Mrs G Davis, W A Harris, D Weir, R Savory, R Milford, Mrs H Barsby, All Saints Basingstoke band, Mrs R Haviland, Mr & Mrs Mackrell.
Loss of members through death.
The meeting stood in silence to respect the following deceased members:-
R Bolt (Brighstone), L Burgess (Newport), Group Captain R Cox (Stockbridge), Mrs P Joint (Lymington), J Longlands (Ropley), E Salmons (Portsea), Miss N Smith (Wonston), R Smith LM (Wonston).
Minutes of the 1987 AGM and appointment of Minute Secretary.
Minutes of the AGM held at Shanklin had been circulated with each agenda. Following an amendment in respect of Ringing Assessment Scheme certificates, the Minutes, and the appointment of A F Case as Minute Secretary were approved on the proposition of B F Peachey, seconded by M B Hough and carried nem. con.
Matters arising.
a) A Guild 10-Bell Team had entered the Essex Trophy Striking Competition at West Ham and came 3rd.
Change of Rule 19.
Notice of this proposed change of rule was given before the 1987 AGM, but the motion was not put at that meeting and the proposed change of rule was reconsidered by the Executive Committee at their meeting in December 1987. The Executive Committee proposed that Rule 19 should be amended as follows: "Peals which are to be recognised by the Guild and have their details published in the annual report must be rung by bands composed entirely of members of the Guild, at least half of whom must be life and/or ringing members and/or compounding members who have transferred from ringing membership. An account …"
Following a discussion, the motion was put to the meeting and carried, 31 voting for the motion and 8 against.
The Master reminded the meeting that, in accordance with Rule 23, this alteration would come into effect from 1 January 1989.
Correspondence.
a) Letters of thanks had been received from: The Very Revd T Beeson, Dean of Winchester, accepting the position as joint Patron of the Guild; Mrs G W Davis and Senator Rev P G K Manton on their election to Life Membership; D Oram; Mrs B Salmons; the ringers of Carisbrooke and Newport for grants from the BRF.
b) Further correspondence had been received from the Central Council as to unringable bells.
c) A letter had been received from Ludlow parish church in respect of an appeal for £34000 for restoration of the bells and clock chime.
d) An invitation to the 1988 Essex Trophy Striking Competition had been received from the Essex Association. R LeMarechal agreed to organise a band for this competition to be held on 17 September at Reigate.
e) Correspondence had been received regarding insurance for both damage caused to persons or property when visiting towers and also for personal accident cover and in particular the age limits relating to such cover. It was agreed that this matter should be considered generally by the Executive including the position as to visiting bands and unattached members. The Master encouraged any member with experience of insurance matters to contact the Secretary.
f) A letter had been received from A A Buswell regarding the conduct of elections at triennial meetings, amongst other matters, and this would also be discussed by the Executive.
g) There had been correspondence relating to the Southampton Competitive Festival of Music and Drama which has a class for tune and change ringing on handbells. The Guild would be making suggestions as to possible judges for this event which was to be held at the end of April 1989.
Honorary Life Membership.
S McCutcheon of New Alresford had been a Guild member for over 50 years and therefore qualified for Life Membership in accordance with Rule 6. The Executive Committee also proposed that W J Fallaize of Vale, Guernsey be elected to Life Membership in recognition of his services to ringing in Guernsey. Mrs J Le Conte spoke in support of this proposition and the voting in favour of the elections was unanimous.
Treasurer's Report and Accounts.
Acceptance of the report and accounts, as printed in the Annual Report, was proposed by R M Esbester, seconded by A T Collins and carried nem. con.
Honorary Report Editor.
Following the resignation of S Dunster as Report Editor, the Master explained that the Executive Committee had provisionally appointed Mrs R Jackson to the post and sought the approval of the meeting. There was unanimous support for the confirmation of Mrs Jackson's appointment.
Guild Officers' Reports.
The Secretary's report as printed in the Annual Report was accepted on the proposition of W O Haythorne, seconded by B F Peachey. A P Smith proposed that the remaining reports be adopted en bloc provided questions were asked first, and this was seconded by P W Hill. Following questions, all the reports were accepted nem. con.
Guild Library.
In the absence of the Librarian, the Master reported that the room at Christchurch Priory was now ready to receive the Guild Library which would be moved as soon as the Librarian could make the necessary arrangements.
Bell Restoration Fund.
The report and accounts as printed in the Annual Report were adopted on the proposition of A P Smith, seconded by J J Hill.
On behalf of the Trustees, M K Waldron outlined the requests received and the recommended grants as follows:
a) Newport, IOW. An additional £5000 was required for recasting the tenor and other increases in costs. The grant proposed was £250 (it was explained that in 1987 the BRF grant to Newport was £1750 towards costs of £16500).
b) Nether Wallop. The cost of the completed rehanging by Fidler was £5638 and the proposed grant was £500.
c) Woolton Hill. The estimate for rehanging by Whites was £4000 and the proposed grant was £400.
d) St Michael, Basingstoke. The cost of completed repairs by Taylors was £2210 and the proposed grant was £200.
e) Wooton, IOW. The estimated costs for a new ring of 6 (Whitechapel) and a new tower were £16198 and £19000 respectively. The proposed grant was £2000.
f) Hursley. The estimated cost of the provision of two new trebles in new frames was £12000 and the proposed grant was £1200.
Following some discussion it was proposed by F E Collins and seconded by H W Milford that the Trustees recommendations be accepted. This was carried nem. con.
Guild ties and headscarves.
J J Hill addressed the meeting, showing suggested designs for ties and headscarves and giving details of the quotations he had obtained. The ties, for a minimum order of 200, would cost £3.05 (selling price c.£5) and the headscarves would cost £5.75 (navy blue) or £4.83 (white) for a minimum of 100.
There was a lengthy discussion during which it was proposed by R M Esbester and seconded by M Thomas that other quotes be obtained and a decision as to whether to purchase ties be left to the Master in conjunction with the Secretary and Treasurer, having consulted with district members later in the year. R M Esbester offered to obtain the alternative quotations.
It was then proposed by M Powell that the meeting proceed to next business, this was seconded by M Hough and carried.
Guild calendar.
D A Holmes addressed the meeting and advised that straw polls conducted at some district meetings had indicated that there would be a demand for Guild calendars. The approximate cost for producing these would be £137 for 200.
It was proposed by Mrs H Peachey that 300 calendars be purchased. This was seconded by T Matcham and carried nem. con. The price of the calendars was expected to be in the region of £1.50 and it was hoped they would be available in the autumn.
Guild badges.
The Master reported that the present stock of Guild badges was almost exhausted, the only remaining ones being held by districts. Quotations had been obtained and the Master proposed that 500 be purchased from the London Badge & Button Co. at a cost of 64p each together with £60 for the die, plus VAT and carriage. This was carried nem. con. A P Smith mentioned that the original (lighter) colour of the badges had been more popular.
Election of Education Sub-Committee.
H L Hatfield thanked the retiring committee advising that neither he nor J Foot were seeking re-election. H L Hatfield proposed the election of N Allingham, B Woodruffe and P W Hill for the three year period to 1991. This was seconded by T Matcham. The Secretary then proposed the election of A Palk and this was seconded by Mrs R Jackson. There being no other nominations, the Master proposed that the committee should have the power to co-opt. This was carried nem. con. as were the elections of those nominated.
Election of Striking Competition Sub-Committee.
A T Collins thanked the retiring committee, especially J W J Mather and P W Hill who were not seeking re-election. P Hill proposed that the following be elected for the three year period to 1991: A T Collins, Mrs C R Hill, M M Powell, and M B Hough. This was seconded by R M Esbester and carried nem. con.
Items relevant to the Guild arising from the 1988 Central Council Meeting.
A T Collins reported that there had been few matters which were directly relevant to the Guild, but there were three matters which he wished to mention.
a) There was to be a national survey of ringing during 1988.
b) the peal of spliced Stedman Triples and Caters rung at All Saints Basingstoke on 21 November was not accepted by the Council.
c) Attention had been drawn to a Guernsey tourist brochure which included ringing as one of the island's attractions (copies of the brochure had been circulated by the Secretary at both this meeting and at the Central Council meeting).
The Secretary then gave further details regarding the proposed survey of ringing which was to include a questionnaire of selected incumbents by telephone, a questionnaire sent to tower captains, a questionnaire sent to every third member of those towers chosen, and a questionnaire sent to every District and Guild Secretary. The aim of the survey is to assist in achieving one of the aims and objectives of the Council "to promote and foster the ringing of bells for Christian worship and other appropriate occasions".
Recording of Peals and Compositions.
A P Smith referred to the tremendous legacy left by Guilds who keep good records of peals rung. Whilst records were kept by the Guild, they did not show what had been rung i.e. compositions. It was suggested that if there were information as to compositions rung, then some could be published in the annual report. If there were support for the idea, a change of Rule 19 could require compositions to be sent to the Peal Recorder in addition to other details. R LeMarechal spoke in support of the idea in principle and a show of hands indicated that there was general support. The Master agreed that the Executive Committee would discuss the matter further.
1989 Annual General Meeting.
The arrangements for this meeting, at which the Triennial election of officers would take place, were already in hand. It was proposed that the meeting should be at St Barnabas' Church, Southampton on 1 July 1989.
Any Other Business.
a) The Master advised of the date and time of the funeral of Richard (Dick) Smith (Life Member - Wonston).
b) R LeMarechal asked if longer notice could be given of the date of the Essex Trophy striking competition.
c) A T Collins asked that two dates be kept in 1989 for striking competitions being 13 May and 24 June.
d) Mrs M Aylieff advised that the 1988 Barn Dance was to be held on 1 October at Eastleigh College of Further Education, tickets £3.75.
e) R Cater drew attention to the item in the Ringing World of 1 July relating to a residential ringing course to be held at Sparsholt Agricultural College on 30 March - 2 April 1989, the same dates as the Hereford course and intended to complement the Hereford, being aimed at basic methods.
f) D A Holmes advised that he had copies of "Church Bells of the Basingstoke District" with him for sale with profits going to the BRF.
g) M B Hough advised that Liss Campanile bells would be available after tea.
h) J P Colliss asked if the Guild dinner might be arranged so as not to clash with the eliminator for the 12 bell striking competition.
There being no further business the Master closed the meeting with prayers at 4.06pm.