I am pleased to report that your Guild in the year 2011 to 2012 has been very active again, and your committee, elected at the last Annual General Meeting, has again been working very hard on your behalf. Our new HonoraryTreasurer, Michael Dane, will make his report at the 2012 AGM. This, together with the Guild accounts, will be published in this newsletter.
The weekly practices have again been very well attended. The Ringing Master, Sophia Lewis-Skeath, has either run them or appointed a deputy to do so. Most of the towers we usually ring at during the year welcome the Guild back! Stuart Cummings has done a sterling job in arranging all the towers.
The Annual Dinner was held on Saturday 7th February 2012 at The White Hart Royal Hotel, Moreton in Marsh. The weather was exceptionally inclement that day and the dinner was nearly cancelled. A number did not turn up due to the snow. I am quite sure all who attended enjoyed the dinner, and thanks must go to Peter Newing for speaking at the dinner. We intend to hold the dinner again at The White Hart, as they were very understanding and did not charge anything for this year's cancellations.
The website under Roland Merrick is also projecting an active Guild to the web world. It contains the Guild Newsletter to be read online. It also displays what Guild clothing is available to purchase.
As stated in my last Report the rules of the Guild have now been amended and were ratified at the 2011 AGM. They will be printed during the year in booklet form and are expected to be ready for distribution at the 2012 AGM in October.
Chris Povey is editor of the Guild Newsletter and our thanks must go to him for producing an excellent product. As I said in my last report, it has taken on a new dimension, both in editorial content and printing quality. The printing is still being done 'in house' by a volunteer printing team, to whom thanks, too.
An abridged version of the minutes of the most-recent Guild Committee meeting is always published in the Newsletter, so that all members are as up-to-date as possible with Guild business. They can then inform the Hon Secretary about any items they wish to be discussed at these meetings or request clarification about items already discussed.
Our Bell Restoration Fund, which was set up two years ago, made its first grant to Temple Guiting to assist with their augmentation to an excellent ring of six. We have other smaller applications under consideration and we hope to raise further funds to be able to continue offering grants to other towers in our area of operation.
Finally thanks should go to all members of the committee for their commitment and hard work, and for the time they have given to attending the committee meetings held during this year. Also, thanks to Wendy Mace for organising the annual Guild walk, to Isobel Murphy for the work she does in coordinating the FSG monthly tours and to Richard Lewis-Skeath for organising the annual Guild ringing tour.
Peter Quinn, Guild Master