Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers
OXFORD DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING
BRIGHTWELL - Saturday 22nd November 2008
The Autumn Meeting of the General Committee of the
Oxford Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers will be held at
Brightwell Village Hall on Saturday 22nd November 2008, starting at 2.30pm
The Hall is on the opposite side of the road from the church. There is limited parking at the hall – additional parking is available around the war memorial and along the road.
Brightwell bells (8, 10-2-25) (SU578908) will be available from 1.45pm, and after the meeting.
Tea will be provided for those who notify Gill Loyd, telephone 01235 850459 or email by 15th November.
AGENDA
1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the last General Committee Meeting – 8th March 2008
3. Matters arising
a. Annual Report
4. Management of the Restoration Fund
5. Correspondence
6. Reports of Sub-committees
a. Finance and General Purposes
b. Education
c. Towers and Belfries
7. Central Council Representatives’ report
8. Communication within the Guild
9. Guild Budget
10. Subscriptions for 2009
a. Resident Ringing Members & Associate Members
b. Non-resident Ringing Members
11. Peal Fees for 2009
12. Membership
a. Honorary Ringing Membership. F&GP submit the following proposal to change rule 5e
Honorary Ringing Membership to be removed completely. Those who are currently Honorary Members will remain as such.
In its place a distinguished membership can be awarded to a Resident Ringing member of the Guild who has been a member for at least 30 years and given meritorious service to the branch or Guild. The person will be proposed by the Chairman and Secretary of the branch with a citation of the reasons for their proposal. This will go forward to a committee to approve and then will be ratified at the Guild AGM. Each person awarded this will receive a certificate and still be liable to pay the annual subscription.
The criteria to be used will be added as an appendix to the rules.
b. Subscription due date. F&GP submit the following proposal to change rule 8a
Change ‘31st December’ to ‘31st March’
13. Diary of Events
14. Any Other Business
Hilarie Rogers
Honorary General Secretary
FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES SUB-COMMITTEE
REPORT TO THE GENERAL COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 2008
The Finance and General Purposes Sub-committee met on 18th September 2008, under the new Chairmanship of Robert Newton. Hilarie Rogers, although not able to be at the meeting, was elected Secretary, and Rachel Moss took the minutes in her absence.
Reports were received from the PRO and the Children’s Officer, and also from the General Treasurer about health and safety and insurance. The budget for 2009 was discussed at length and is on the agenda today.
Honorary Ringing Membership had once more been referred back to the F&GP by the Guild AGM. After extensive discussion, the proposal on the agenda for today’s meeting was agreed. In addition, the cut-off date for receipt of subscriptions was discussed and a further proposal will be put to today’s meeting.
The meeting also heard about further progress made towards improving communication within the Guild, and a current status report will be presented today.
On behalf of the Finance and General Purposes Sub-committee,
Hilarie Rogers, Secretary
EDUCATION SUB-COMMITTEE
REPORT TO THE GENERAL COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 2008
We have met twice since the last General Committee meeting and during this period have run four courses.
Brian and Susan Read organized the ever popular Radley Course in April and Christine Cable organized Steeple Aston in November. These covered Plain Hunt to Grandsire Triples and were both heavily over-subscribed.
John and June Wells ran the Michaelmas Training Day for more advanced students which replaces the traditional Easthampstead Course. This was enjoyed by those who attended but was short of students and we have asked Branch Secretaries to investigate why this was before we finalise next year’s programme.
Laying the Right Foundations was a course for instructors and tower captains that was very well received and we are considering asking Alan Bentley to organize this again.
Hilarie Rogers is running this year’s Young Ringers’ Award scheme which will continue to the end of the year.
A ten bell surprise course is under preparation by Alan Bentley.
Further copies of the Guild’s Educational leaflets have been printed and are all available from the bookstall. Consideration is being given to putting these on to the Guild Website.
We have discussed inviting some new members on to the committee and will report to the General Committee those who are prepared to accept.
The committee would like to thank all course tutors and helpers for their time and dedication and incumbents who have allowed their bells to be used.
Jon Chamberlain, Chair
Towers and Belfries Committee
Report – October 2008
The committee has met twice since my last report, with an average attendance of 9. Seven inspections have been carried out, of which three were in respect of grant payments and two were in respect of the Tower Maintenance Award Scheme. The TMA inspections resulted in a Gold Award for Thame and a Bronze Award for White Waltham.
Details of the inspections (locations and reasons) are as follows: -
Denham (local band maintenance advice and training)
Hitcham (Advice after Church re-ordering)
Thame (TMA)
Wendover (Grant approval)
Whitchurch (Grant approval)
White Waltham (TMA)
Winslow (Grant approval)
On the training front, the committee is providing ongoing maintenance training to the local band at Denham and also ran a “maintenance awareness” session at the recent Young Ringers Award Day.
The committee has investigated the preparation of a paper to be made available to Towers, giving advice on Lightning protection. However, as this is a very complex and specialist subject, and since there are some excellent publications issued by the Ecclesiastical Insurance Company (with whom most Churches are insured), it has been decided refer any enquiries to these publications. Information to this effect will be added to the Guild website. The document titles are Lightning Protection for Churches and Surge Protection Equipment.
The committee is concerned that there is confusion over whether recent Health & Safety Legislation is applicable to Bell projects, members having received conflicting advice from different Heath & Safety Executive Offices. The committee is also concerned that many PCC’s are unaware of these regulations and their responsibilities under them. We are endeavouring to resolve the “conflicting advice” situation before raising this at Guild level.
The committee has also considered reports of a number of accidents to ringers resulting from causes ranging from an incorrectly tied muffle to interference to bell gear by outside contractors. The Tower concerned with the muffle has prepared, for training purposes, a detailed procedure for attaching muffles and a copy of this (with their approval) has been passed to the Education Committee. The committee recommends that, after any work in the tower by outside contractors, the installation should be checked by an experienced ringer to ensure that all is safe. The Guild Master is to ask for this point to be included in the next circular sent to incumbents by the Diocese.
Advice on sound control was given to a tower (South Stoke) where there was a noise complaint. This has now been resolved without the need to install sound control.
The towers currently holding Tower Maintenance awards are listed below: -
Gold Award
Ellesborough (SS Peter & Paul) Chiltern Branch Expires 28.02.09
Wokingham (All Saints) Sonning Deanery Branch Expires 30.04.09
Chalfont St Peter EBSB Branch Expires 30.11.09
Chalfont St Giles EBSB Branch Expires 31.01.10
Purley (St Mary) Reading Branch Expires 31.01.10
Thame (St Mary) South Oxon Branch Expires 31.01.10
Silver Award
Easthampstead (St Michael) Sonning Deanery Branch Expires 31.12.08
Winkfield (St Mary) EBSB Branch Expires 30.05.09
Cookham (Holy Trinity) EBSB Branch Expires 30.09.09
Bronze Grade
Tadmarton (St Nicholas) Banbury Branch Expires 31.01.10
White Waltham (St Mary) Sonning Deanery Branch Expires 30.04.10
John Davidge
Chairman T&B Committee
Central Council Representatives’ Report
This meeting was the first of the new triennium and much of it was taken up with electing new committees, though there were fewer elections than previously as there seemed to be fewer people willing to take up places. Perhaps this is a sign of the times.
The new President of the council is Tony Smith, former Chair of the Methods Committee and the new Vice President is Kate Flavell, who has for many years been keeping her eye on the legal implications of things which are happening in ringing.
Of the 12 Honorary members elected, one was Alan Bentley of Aston Clinton for his work with the Aston Clinton Ringing Centre. He was subsequently elected to the Ringing Centres Committee to further its work.
John Harrison has stepped down from the Education Committee and is now a member of the Public Relations Committee. Tim Pett, Mike Till and Ken Davenport continue to assist on various committees and Peter Davies was elected as a Director of The Ringing World.
Motions
· An effort was made to make access to committees more flexible by members of council and Roger Bailey proposed a system of rolling elections, whereby some of the places on the committee would become vacant annually in order for others to take their places, thus avoiding having to wait an entire triennium before being elected to a committee. This would have the effect of making the three-yearly elections less of a marathon. The motion was passed.
· The second motion was to merge two committees, the Peals Analysis Committee and the Records Committee, to become the Peal Records Committee. Developing technology had reduced the workload allowing for the work of the two committees to be readily combined. This motion was passed unanimously.
Highlights from Committee Reports
· People have generally experienced difficulties in obtaining ropes over a reasonable period of time. This is due in part to some rope makers going out of business. Ellis, one of the remaining main manufacturers has undertaken to look sympathetically at urgent requests for ropes.
· The tower Stewardship Committee will be looking at the issues raised in Chris Mew’s recent article in The Ringing World on developments in the application of Child Protection Legislation. A special rate had been negotiated with the EI Group for public liability insurance for ringing associations but sales have been disappointing to date.
· Bell Restoration. Kate Flavell mentioned the March peal rung in memory of Sir John Smith by Council members on his estate at Shottesbrooke Park. Sir John and the Manifold Trust that he founded were great benefactors to ringing and bell restoration. The Foundation for Sport and the Arts has indicated that it will not support bell restoration projects for much longer: the deadline for applying for its final grants in this area is March 2009.
· Education. Two new books, the new ringers’ book, which replaces The Bellringers’ Handbook and Teaching Unravelled should be available by the Autumn. A third Network for Ringing Training conference is planned for the near future and a new series of educational articles has just started in The Ringing World. Retiring Chairman, John Harrison, was thanked for his outstanding contribution over the last fifteen years.
· Information and Communications Technology. The council’s website has now been moved to a new server, following recent difficulties and it appears to be working well.
· Methods. The new collection of rung surprise, delight and alliance methods is now available via CC publications. New editions of treble dodging minor methods and the plain minor collection are also available.
· Public Relations. Judith Rogers show-cased some of the slides from the new CD which the committee has commissioned as an aid to those giving talks and lectures about ringing to the general public. The CD can be ordered now from CC Publications and will be reviewed soon in The Ringing World.
· Redundant Bells. The price of bell metal has risen greatly in recent months. The Chairman has written to alert church furnishing officers of this in case they are persuaded to sell any redundant bells for less than the market price.
Ringing World AGM
The Chairman reported another successful, although not easy, year.
Ringing Foundation AGM
This can scarcely be described as an AGM since it was incorporated only in October last year. It is a limited company established on similar lines to the Ringing World Company. It has been established in a manner which will facilitate the attainment of charitable status and this will be applied for when funding activities are suitable to support that status in accordance with the requirements of the Charity Commission. The objects of the foundation are to support the development of the skills and practice the art of change-ringing on tower and hand bells, to enhance public awareness of all aspects of bells and bell ringing and to promote the training of ringers. The foundation will* have a stand at the 2008 Ringing Roadshow, associated with the Personal Development Zone.
Bobbie May on behalf of the CC Representatives
From Robert Lewis’ account of the meeting which can be read in full in the June 13th edition of The Ringing World
* This Personal Development Zone was one of the highly successful innovations in this year’s Ringing Roadshow.
OXFORD DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
DIARY OF EVENTS
Steeple Aston Course Steeple Aston
1st November 2008
Ten Bell Striking Competition Wallingford
22nd November 2008
Autumn General Committee Meeting Brightwell
22nd November 2008
Spring General Committee Meeting Sonning Deanery Branch
14th March 2009
Radley Course Radley
4th April 2009
Guild Handbell Day
11th April 2009
Eight Bell Striking Competition Banbury Branch
4th May 2009
Annual Ringing Day Banbury Branch
4th May 2009
Annual General Meeting Central Bucks Branch
16th May 2009
Michaelmas Training Day
Six Bell Striking Competition VOWH Branch
3rd October 2009
Steeple Aston Course Steeple Aston
Ten Bell Striking Competition South Oxon Branch
28th November 2009
Autumn General Committee Meeting South Oxon Branch
28th November 2009