The December Committee Meeting had to be postponed, due to the commitments of some members, but this was fortuitous, as the weather at that time was very unfavourable. The meeting was held at Ilmington on Thursday January 6th. The Chairman, Peter Quinn, welcomed new Committee member Bill Nash to the meeting. Mike Rees sent his apologies.
The Minutes of the last meeting, 2/9/10, were agreed as a true record. Matters Arising from the Minutes were: Ringing Master deputies to assist with the Saturday practices in the absence of the Ringing Master (agreed, with Sophia to organise as required); whether to run another Intershires Striking Competition this year (agreed, with competition in early November; President to co-ordinate); post 1974 Minute Books (some are missing and the last-known holder has been uncontactable re their return; Guild Master and Guild Sec to greatly increase efforts to make contact and obtain the books' return).
Reports from each of the Guild Officers and other committee members with specific responsibilities followed. Items of note were: the Secretary (Andrew Gunn) reported the cheque to cover the Guild insurances had been sent and a search for a suitable emergency light for Guild practices was proving difficult; the Treasurer (Mike Rees) had forwarded a brief note of the bank balances; the Membership Sec (Peter K) said 9 subs had been received so far (12 more were given at the meeting) and that the subs slip attached to the January Newsletter will help enormously, as last year; the Fixture Sec (Sophia L-S) said fixtures are running smoothly and the 2011 AGM and Striking Comps had been fixed for October 15th at Barford, Warks; the Child Protection Officer (Sophia L-S) said new legislation was due out in February and that she will view this when it appears; the H&S Officer (Chris Povey) said there had been no reports of any incidents;. the Newsletter Editor (Chris Povey) said publication of the January Newsletter had been postponed until soon after this meeting, so that the usual overview of it could appear on this page; no report regarding the web-site, although it is believed everything is working well; and similarly the Mid-Week Tours, the General Contact for which (Isobel Murphy) reported via the Secretary that the tours continue to be well-supported and that £100 deriving from the tours has recently been paid into the Guild's bank account. Tour details are now shown on the Guild's web-site.
There was one extra item this time, which was the new Guild Bell Restoration Fund, agreement to which had been given at the AGM. An application for a grant had been submitted for the augmentation of Temple Guiting to 6. The Committee considered the application and agreed a grant of £500, the sum to be paid on satisfactory completion.
Following the question at the Striking Competition concerning the validity of a false touch being rung, Peter Q reported that in this instance the Committee had agreed that the results as given at the time should stand. However, it was evident that the Striking Competition rules needed to be examined to include provision for this and other instances that had collectively come to light in recent years. Bill Nash was tasked with looking at ways in which these rules should revised and to report back with recommendations for the next meeting.
An organiser for the Ringing Tour on July 2nd was sought. Sophia said Richard L-S would be happy to do this again if required. Agreed enthusiastically by all!
The security of the 1909 Minute Book was discussed. Some progress with depositing in Gloucester County Archives has been made, but full details of any agreement needs to be studied in detail. This subject led on to recording the Guild items that are displayed in various towers in the area, particularly items of the pre-War Guild. It was suggested that a list of individual towers in the area should be compiled and then particular members would take on a specific number of these towers to inspect and record any information. The results can be held on a computer database.
The purchase of what type of printer to purchase (for Newsletter production) after the existing Canon ink-jet printer expires was discussed. There was some favour for a laser type, which would be more expensive initially, but longer-lasting with cheaper copies. However, little is known about these and more data is required. Hopefully the ink-jet printer will allow some time to consider the next move.
New Newsletter Editor: Chris Povey had said he would cease being Editor after the January 2011 issue. No-one had come forward to take over. Peter Q asked Chris if he would reconsider continuing, to which Chris agreed, but that this would be for one year only, ie that someone else will definitely be required after the January 2012 Newsletter.
It was agreed the current Guild Rules need revising. These were last revised in 2002. Some of the rules are now seen as inappropriate and some aspects need inclusion (eg, CCCBR reps). It is hoped a revised version will be available for consideration of the membership at the 2011 AGM.
Next Meeting: 10th March, Ilmington.
(Please note: this report is an overview of the meeting and does not in any way supplant the formal Minutes that subsequently derive. These Minutes will become available to members on request after the committee has agreed them a true record and then been formally signed-off by the Guild Master.)