The Guild Master - Mike Winterborne, supported by the Vice-Master - Pete Jordan, Hon. Gen. Secretary - Heather Frazer, Hon. Gen. Treasurer - Ros Brandwood and Minute Secretary - Tony Smith, opened the meeting at 10.22 a.m. The Master welcomed those present and said a prayer.
The other members attending were Martin Barnes (Belfry Stewardship), Michael Church (CC Rep.), Edd Colliss (Peal Recorder), John Croft (Winchester Exec Rep.), John Davey (Child Protection), Margaret Downer (IoW Exec Rep.), Barry Fry (BRF Trustee), Maggie Hiller (Andover Sec.), Andrew Johnson (CC Rep.), Christine Knights-Whittome (Education), David Mattingley (BRF Trustee, CC Rep.), Viv Nobbs (PRO), John Palk (Report Editor), Bruce Purvis (Librarian & Archivist, Winchester Sec.), Hugh Routh (A&P Exec Rep.), Mo Routh (A&P Sec. proxy), Allan Yalden (CC Rep.) and guests Robin Milford and Mike Novell.
Apologies for absence had been received from Lisa Ashforth, Deb Baker, Steve Castle, Greg Jordan, Jane Le Conte, Mary Tester and Barbara Townsend. Further apologies were received from Nici Collins.
The Hon. Gen. Secretary read the following names and the Master asked members to stand while Barry Fry said a prayer.
| Brian Orange | King’s Somborne | |
| Ruth Roberts | Christchurch | |
| Alan Anstey | formerly of St Michael, Basingstoke | |
| Phillip Davis | formerly of Godshill and Shanklin | |
| Nigel Miller | formerly of Ryde and Arreton | |
| Michael Pointer | formerly of Romsey | |
| John Smith | formerly of Ryde and Shanklin |
The minutes of the meeting held on 12th November 2016 were proposed by Tony Smith, seconded by John Croft, and signed by the Master as a true record.
Viv Nobbs said that the One-day Public Relations and Recruitment Event (item 11) was being postponed due to personal circumstances.
Graham Cane of Buriton, David Cooper of Blackmoor, Roy LeMarechal of Bishopstoke, Rosemary Rogers of Christchurch, and Valerie Williams of East Meon, who have completed fifty years’ ringing membership of the Guild, would be presented with their Life Membership certificates at the AGM.
The following reports and accounts had been distributed and were considered.
Hon. Gen. Secretary. No comments.
Hon. Gen. Treasurer. No comments.
Hon. Librarian and Archivist. No comments.
Hon. Peal Recorder. Edd Colliss said that the Maximus methods Yorkshire, Zanussi and Riverhead in the second table should be followed by “S” (for Surprise).
Belfry Stewardship Committee. No comments.
Communications Committee. No comments.
Education Committee. “Double Norwich Court Bob Triples” was corrected to “Double Norwich Court Bob Major” and the Balance brought forward figure should be £515.13.
Public Relations Officer. No comments.
Striking Competition Committee. Andrew Johnson corrected the spelling of “New Alresford”.
Subject to these corrections, the reports and accounts were accepted en bloc on the proposition of John Davey, seconded by Bruce Purvis.
Reports and accounts. The Hon. Gen. Treasurer said the report and accounts as distributed had been approved by the Trustees that morning.
Report on Trustees’ meeting. David Mattingley reported on the status of outstanding grants. The completed work at Breamore had been approved by the Belfry Stewardship Committee and the grant paid; Ecchinswell were still fund-raising; and the installation of the bells at Northington was now expected to be complete by early June. New grant applications had been received from All Saints, Ryde, where seven wheels were being re-rimmed and a clapper re-bushed at a cost of £2,500 plus VAT and the Trustees recommended a grant of £400; and St Mary the Virgin, Brighstone, which were being augmented from six to eight at a cost of over £27,000, of which £21,000 had already been raised, and the Trustees recommended a grant of £3,000. Bruce Purvis seconded and these were agreed.
Ringing hubs. David Mattingley read a paper (see Appendix A).
WWI Commemoration. Viv Nobbs read a paper (see Appendix B).
Annual Report. A paper by John Palk had been distributed. Tony Smith said that the Annual Report was not only for the current members but was an important historical record of the Guild’s activities, the proposed additional “Handbook” mostly contained information better found on-line, and the suggested questionnaire was an abrogation of the decision-making responsibilities of the Executive Committee and the AGM. The Master called for a straw poll that showed the meeting was in favour of retaining a printed report. Although for many Guild members the Annual Report is a tangible benefit from their subscriptions, it was not appreciated by all members and it would be sensible to only print reports for those members who wanted them. However this would require a change to rule 18 and Tony offered to draft a rule change in consultation with the working group. Michael Church appreciated having the paper from the working group in advance of the meeting and observed that the per capita cost of the report was a small part of the subscription.
Database. A paper by Graham Hounslow had been distributed. Viv Nobbs suggested and the Master agreed that the principal officers should meet with the Communications Committee and report back to the November Executive Committee meeting.
Pete Jordan said that arrangements were under way and the Inter-Tower striking competitions would probably be in the Andover District.
Viv Nobbs reported on her attendance at the Public Relations Matters conference at Wellesbourne on 25th February (see also report in The Ringing World No. 5525, dated 17th March).
Bruce Purvis distributed a paper and proposed that the Guild Executive mandates the Honorary Treasurer to commit the sum of £2,500 to the Bells for St George’s Ypres Appeal Fund - that sum being in addition to the £500 already committed, but not yet sent, by the Winchester Cathedral Bellringers. He further proposed that, if the above motion is carried, the Guild invites individual towers within the present Guild to contribute to the appeal in association with the Guild’s stated commitment, to reduce the financial burden on the Guild’s central funds. The proposals failed to find a seconder.
David Mattingley proposed and Christine Knights-Whittome seconded that a motion be proposed to the AGM on behalf of the Executive Committee that a Ringing Schools Committee be setup. This was agreed nem con. Tony Smith suggested that the proposal needed a supporting paper.
Tony Smith proposed and the Master seconded that a motion be proposed to the AGM on behalf of the Executive Committee to formalise the relationship between the Guild and its committees. Specifically, that in rule 4 “Convenors of sub-committees” be amended to “Convenors of committees”, that the following two new rules be added (numbering to be determined, and terms of reference to be incorporated) and that cross-references between rules be adjusted accordingly.
Members are appointed to the committees enumerated in paragraph b. of this rule at the General Meeting two years after the meeting at which the officers are elected. Members are appointed for three years and are eligible for reappointment. Notwithstanding the note in rule 22 concerning when an alteration to the rules becomes operative, a new committee shall be appointed at the meeting at which the committee is added to those enumerated in paragraph b. of this rule. The Guild may at any time dissolve a committee or alter its membership.
The following shall be the committees of the Guild:-
Each committee shall appoint a convenor and shall report annually to the Guild. Each committee shall have the power to co-opt further members. Reasonable expenses may be paid.
The terms of reference of the committees shall be as follows:-
Belfry Stewardship Committee.
Communications Committee.
Education Committee. To improve members’ ringing abilities and confidence in all practical and theoretical aspects of bell handling and method ringing.
Striking Competitions Committee.
Ringing Schools Committee.
This was agreed nem con. Tony said that succinct terms of reference would be needed from the committees. He had already written to the convenors but would need prompt replies as the deadline was 16th April. [Post-meeting note. The Education Committee provided the above terms of reference after the close of the meeting.]
A funding and support request from Sallie Ingram had been distributed. John Davey and Viv Nobbs supported Sallie’s request and the Hon. Treasurer proposed that she refund the £50 entry fee for the Ringing World National Youth Contest 2017 and said the Officials of the Training and Development Fund would look favourably on an application to cover any shortfall in funding travel costs. This was agreed nem con.
| Education Course | 8th April 2017 | Listening Skills, Lockerley | ||
| Education Course | 12th April 2017 | Handbell Ringing, Winchester Cathedral Learning Centre | ||
| Education Course | 12th May 2017 | An evening with mini-ring, Hartley 12 at South Stoneham | ||
| Inter-Tower striking competitions | 20th May 2017 | Venues TBA | ||
| Education Course | 9th June 2017 | Basic Raising and Lowering, Bishopstoke | ||
| Inter-District striking competition | 17th June 2017 | Venue TBA | ||
| Annual General Meeting | 17th June 2017 | Milford on Sea, C&S District | ||
| District Officers’ Forum | 30th September 2017 | Venue TBA | ||
| Education Course | 14th October 2017 | Plain Hunt & Trebling to Doubles methods, Goodworth Clatford | ||
| Education Course | 4th November 2017 | Stedman Triples, Venue TBA | ||
| Executive Committee Meeting | 18th November 2017 | St Barnabas’ Church Hall |
Christine Knights-Whittome said she would be submitting a further order for Guild sweatshirts and polo shirts at the end of March and had order forms available.
Andrew Johnson said the CC meeting would be in Edinburgh at the end of May and Guild members were welcome to contact any of their CC Reps with matters of concern.
Viv Nobbs said the Guild had hosted the Association of Ringing Teachers Conference 2017 at Old Basing on 11th and 12th March (see also report in The Ringing World No. 5526, dated 24th March). She expressed thanks to all the members of the Basingstoke District who had helped with the domestic arrangements.
There being no further business, the Master closed the meeting at 11.46 a.m.
The working group has continued its further discussion regarding Ringing Hubs or Ringing Schools since the last Executive meeting by correspondence via email and a Facebook group.
You will note that there is a motion being proposed today with the aim of formalising the relationship between the Guild and its committees.
If successful, this will lead on to another proposal to establish a new Committee.
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend that a new Ringing School Committee be established. Today’s proposal is a message of intent to the Guild AGM, that the Executive believes a new Ringing School is best served by a Committee. If successful, this new Committee will be tasked with producing a detailed report and budget at the November Executive meeting for implementation thereafter.
Anyone could start a Ringing School. However, to provide the greatest benefit to the Guild, it makes sense to have a Guild Ringing School, and I believe the best way to do this is through accepting the proposals later on in today’s meeting.
David Mattingley
The working group met on 21st December 2016. Guild Master and Vice-Master had been invited and both had kindly attended.
no application would go forward for Heritage Lottery Funding. It was considered that a more modest project would be able to provide a very good result and might be less demanding on our limited resources
one of the main focuses of this Guild event was to hold two services in Spring 2019 in Winchester and Portsmouth Cathedrals. These could be considered as Services of Thanksgiving and would give all Guild members the opportunity to come together to offer up their special ringing performances
there were perceived to be significant benefits from the project e.g. honouring our own Guild members who had died in WW1, inspiring all members to engage on the project together and potentially a very positive form of outreach into our numerous communities
Rachel Anderson had undertaken much research from records of Bell News, Ringing World and BellBoard; to date, she had collated details of 347 performances since 1914
Guild members at all levels of ringing experience would continue to be encouraged to ring special performances to honour people who had died in the WW1 conflict
the project group would continue working with members to achieve as full a record as possible to enable printed volumes to be presented to the two Cathedrals of Winchester and Portsmouth
it was intended for digital records to be collated and maintained in addition to the printed volumes
the project still aimed to contact towers individually, and Parish contacts later on, to explain the project and to encourage local participation
Steve Lutener would undertake the research needed to ensure the required technical and digital expertise available to us were used to best advantage
research would be undertaken to draw up estimated costs in due course, for consideration by Principal Officers and the Executive Committee.
There have been some wonderful WW1 performances to date. Please encourage your ringers to engage with this very meaningful project that will honour people killed in World War 1. It could be tolling a bell or ringing touches, quarter peals, peals and using tower bells or handbells.
We will be circulating more details to Districts and towers in due course. The special website page will be updated as appropriate.
Viv Nobbs