Tickets for the Guild Dinner this year sold out well before the event, and on April 4th 100 members and friends gathered at the Winchester Royal Hotel. This was the 40th anniversary of the first dinner and the balloons and floral table decorations were ruby coloured to reflect this. There was also a display of photographs of ringers as they were 40 years ago, or if they had not yet reached that venerable age, of them at suitably minor ages! After a superb celebratory meal, the Master thanked Mo Routh and Tessa Smith for organising the evening, and then introduced the first speaker, the Very Rev. James Atwell, Dean of Winchester Cathedral. He thanked the guild officers for inviting him to the dinner and spoke of his experiences of being in charge of churches with bells, and bell ringers, before proposing the toast to the Guild. The Master then called upon Roger Savory to reply on behalf of the Guild. Roger, who had travelled from the USA especially to attend, had been Guild Master in 1969 on the occasion of the first Guild Dinner and was one of the forces behind the introduction of the event. He thanked the Dean for his good wishes and spoke affectionately of the Guild and all his memories of ringing in the ’60s and ’70s, and of how pleased he was that this annual event was still strongly supported. After these formal proceedings, the evening continued in lighter vein, including a spirited rendition by the younger element (ably assisted by the young-at-heart!) of a song entitled “Stedman Cinques”, with lyrics by Lizzie Hough, performed to a backing track of the pop song “Tragedy”. It certainly made a change from the usual entertainment of handbell ringing. The Dean was heard to remark that he had thought the evening might be rather stuffy … ! The bar remained open until 11.30, and all present made sure that the bar staff were kept busy in true W&P style.
| Income | Expenditure | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| £.p | £.p | ||
| Balance b/f | 218.63 | 102 meals (less deposit paid - £200) | 2,170.50 |
| 100 tickets sold @ £26 | 2,600.00 | Beer costs | 234.00 |
| Beer sales | 246.00 | Guests wine and drinks | 72.15 |
| Flowers | 29.88 | ||
| Decorations | 28.92 | ||
| Stationery | 4.00 | ||
| Deposit 2010 dinner | 200.00 | ||
| Balance c/f | 325.18 | ||
| £3,064.63 | £3,064.63 | ||
Maureen Routh