Category Archives: Background Information

Background Information, BRF Bell Restoration Fund, Campanology, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2018, Not A Contact

2018 WP GUILD REPORT – BELL RESTORATION FUND REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2017

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WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

BELL RESTORATION FUND

(A REGISTERED CHARITY No. 264606)

 

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2017

 

The fund is a registered charity with the registered number 264606

The contact address is:

30 Chaucer Crescent

Newbury

RG14 1TR

The fund is governed by rules approved by the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers (the Guild) in General Meeting.

The trustees of the fund are the Guild Master, The Honorary Guild Treasurer, the Honorary Guild Secretary and two additional trustees one from each diocese, elected triennially by the Guild in General Meeting.

The trustees during 2017 were:

Mrs R Brandwood (Honorary Guild Treasurer)

Mrs H Frazer (Honorary Guild Secretary)

Rev Canon B J Fry (Winchester Diocese area)

Mr D Mattingley (Portsmouth Diocese area)

Mr M Winterbourne (Guild Master)

The independent examiner of the fund is Mr P Clarke ACIB.

The principal bankers are TSB Bank plc.

The activities of the Bell Restoration Fund are restricted to the area covered by the Anglican Dioceses of Winchester and Portsmouth. None of the Fund’s assets is a permanent endowment. There are no borrowing limits imposed in the governing rules. The trustees have no specific investment powers.

The main aims of the Fund are to provide financial assistance by way of grants to Churches, within the area mentioned above, incurring expenditure on the provision, maintenance, improvement or acoustics of their bells and bell installations, or for the maintenance of the fabric of their towers and belfries, to enable their bells to be properly rung in full circle.

Review of the year and the future

 

The Fund’s income for 2017 was slightly less than that for 2016.

Three grants were approved during the year:

All Saints, Ryde                              £ 400.00

St Mary the Virgin, Brighstone   £ 3.000.00

St Mary the Virgin, Silchester     £ 2.000.00

The Trustees acknowledge with thanks the donations from the following towers:

Catherington  £100     Christchurch Priory  £100     Hambledon  £50

North Stoneham  £125     Ringwood  £120    Wickham  £30

Gift aided donations from individuals are always welcome.

The Trustees regularly review the level of reserves and want to encourage use of the available funds. In an effort to encourage applications, the grant application form has been amended to make applications for smaller projects less onerous.  The Trustees have been advised of two further applications for consideration early in 2018.

The Trustees believe that the reserves of the Charity are adequate to meet its immediate needs.

A reminder to those applying for grants that the initial application needs to be with the Guild Treasurer at least 2 months before the Trustees meet. Trustees meet three times a year, before each of the Executive meetings and before the Guild AGM. Grants can only be approved at either the Executive meeting or AGM. Any approved at the Executive meetings are required to be ratified at the next Guild AGM. The forms required are to be found on the Guild’s website or can be obtained in paper form from the Guild Treasurer. It is very important that all the documentation requested in the form is made available to the Trustees.  If an application is sent by email then it should also be sent through the postal system. All applications are acknowledged so if no acknowledgment is received within two weeks then a chaser should be sent.
The Trustees would like to thank all those who have donated time, energy and money towards the aims of the Bell Restoration Fund.

For and on behalf of the Trustees

Mr M Winterbourne
Trustee

Mrs R Brandwood
Trustee

10th March 2018

A full copy of the accounts are available from the Guild Treasurer.

 

WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
BELL RESTORATION FUND
(A REGISTERED CHARITY No. 264606)
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2017
2017 2016
£ p £ p
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
Incoming Resources
Subscriptions and donations 3,376.14 3,875.68
Gift Aided donations 365.00 365.00
Tax recoverable on Gift Aid (including repayment supplement) 91.56 13.00
Investment income 187.48 264.88
Peal fees 289.25 354.75
—————– —————–
Total incoming resources 4,309.43 4,873.31
—————– —————–
Resources Expended
Direct charitable expenditure
Grants approved 5,400.00 2,900.00
Less : grants withdrawn -3,500.00
—————– —————–
Total resources expended 5,400.00 -600.00
—————– —————–
Net Incoming Resources (1,090.57) 5,473.31
Fund balances brought forward
at 1st January 83,926.35 78,453.04
Fund balances carried forward —————– —————–
at 31st December £82,835.78 £83,926.35
—————– —————–
WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
BELL RESTORATION FUND
(A REGISTERED CHARITY No. 264606)
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31st DECEMBER 2017
2017 2016
£ p £ p
Currents Assets
Debtors 3,042.70 2,725.68
Short Term Deposits
– Central Board of Finance Deposit Fund 68,927.06 53,749.03
– TSB Bank plc – Deposit account 14,151.49 29,142.04
Cash at Bank
– TSB Bank plc 3,214.53 4,559.60
—————– —————–
89,335.78 90,176.35
Creditors
amounts falling due within one year 6,500.00 3,750.00
—————– —————–
Net Current Assets 82,835.78 86,426.35
—————– —————–
Total Assets Less Current Liabilities 82,835.78 86,426.35
Creditors
amounts falling due after more than one year 2,500.00
—————– —————–
Net Assets £82,835.78 £83,926.35
—————– —————–
Funds
Unrestricted £82,835.78 £83,926.35
—————– —————–
Approved by the Fund Trustees on 10th March 2018 and signed on its behalf by
Mr M Winterbourne
Trustee
Mrs R Brandwood
Trustee
Background Information, Facebook, How To, Webmaster

How to post the weekly news to Facebook

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Copy this URL:       https://wpbells.org/the-weekly-news/

Go to each Facebook group in turn and paste the URL into the “post” window. If you have time to write a short message about one of the news items, more members will click through.

The groups are:

When to post the news to Facebook:

As soon as possible after the email versions have been released. Posting too soon might mean members missed some news that was posted at the last moment.

Background Information, communications

Mailing Lists

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The Communications Team Administers (or assists in the adminstration) of the following Mailing Lists. You are welcome to join any of these groups – it is easy to unsubscribe if you change your mind.

List Name and Link to the group emails include Link to the consent form
Weekly News Weekly news* plus occasional extra https://wpbells.org/request-weekly-news/
Win-Port Weekly News* plus information about the Guild and Winchester District https://wpbells.org/win-port-consent/
A&P Group Weekly News* plus information about the Guild and Alton and Petersfield District https://wpbells.org/email-consent-ap/
C&S Group Weekly News* Plus in future Christchurch and Southampton District Officers’ posts https://wpbells.org/cs-consent/
*The Weekly News contains a summary of all recent traffic to all these groups, except notice of events which have taken place, plus news about National or nearby events or information. People who ring regularly across their District, or around the Guild, are recommended to join the appropriate group to get more timely communication.
Background Information, How To, Webmaster

Twenty second Training How to use “date stamp” categories correctly

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  1. They are intended for FUTURE events only, not for news reports.
  2. 99% of the time, you need to tick the specific date stamp (eg 2018 Apr 21st-27th) not the top category (1 THIS WEEK or 1 CURRENT MONTH).

PS that’s all you need to know if your post relates to an event on a particular day.

If your news is about a series of events, the website doesn’t handle it quite so elegantly. But ticking “1 THIS WEEK” will keep your news at the top of the date lists until it is archived. So if it’s a weekly practice that’s cancelled for a whole month, for example, that’s perfect.

If your news is a list of 4 events over one year, then the website will present them far better if you make 4 separate news items!

Ticking “1 CURRENT MONTH” won’t do much. The programs will drop your news to the bottom of the event lists.

If you’re unsure, please send me a link to the post once it is live and I can check it! wpbells@gmail.com

 

Background Information, How To, Webmaster

How to quote addresses from wpbells.org on Posters and letters

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As a general rule, it is helpful to quote the shortest working version of a website address. This makes it easier for people to type into their browser, and looks neater and more professional.

There are 3 easy ways to shorten an address:

  1. Start with wbells.org (no need for the https:// part)
  2. If the address has numbers embedded (in the form of a date stamp) , they can also be omitted.
  3. The slash at the end (99% of the time) can be omitted.

If the address of a page is to be quoted often, it can also be given a shorter URL manually if needed. PLEASE ASK!!

Examples:

https://wpbells.org/2018/01/01/the-weekly-news/ becomes wpbells.org/the-weekly-news

https://wpbells.org/2000/01/01/contact-andrew-glover/ becomes wpbells.org/contact-andrew-glover

https://wpbells.org/christchurch-priory/ becomes wpbells.org/christchurch-priory

Background Information, Guild, tdfund

Training and Development Fund

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The fund is to support members of the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers, especially to support those members under 25. The object of this fund is to provide financial assistance by way of grants to individuals and groups incurring expenditure on: the provision of training, attending courses and events, training materials, payment of tutor expenses, educational assets and any other worthy project to enhance and enable the development of a ringer or group of ringers, or the purchase by the Guild of goods or services to assist in the development of a ringer or group of ringers.

Officials. The Master, the Vice-Master, the Honorary General Secretary, and the Honorary Treasurer of the Guild. The Officials will request input from other Guild Committees when required.

Applications. To be forwarded to the Honorary Treasurer of the Guild; in writing or by electronic message (see application form).

Decisions. An application for a grant from this fund will be considered by the Officials, and their decision relayed to the applicant in a timely manner.

Notes

  1. To qualify for a grant, applicants must be paid-up members of the Winchester & Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers (including probationary members).
  2. Grants towards the cost of residential training courses will normally be awarded up to a maximum rate of 50% of the course costs and not exceeding £100. The cost of ART courses may be awarded in full.
  3. Depending upon the funds available and the number of applications received, awards may have to be scaled down accordingly.
  4. Only one award will be made per individual in any one calendar year.
  5. Applicants will be asked to provide evidence of payment of expenses/course fees.

Click here to download application form

Background Information, Campanology, How To, Not News, Webmaster

How to Prepare the Weekly News

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Purpose

  1. To create an easily-navigated summary of the news for all members who opt in, to know what’s on and what’s interesting. It is suitable to be sent out on a weekly basis (currently Weds/Thurs) via email and Facebook.
  2. To inspire members who wish to, to ring more frequently, and to aim for a higher standard.

Objectives

  1. To draw members’ attention to new events
  2. To summarise all known events and allow members to click for more information
  3. To share news which is traditionally cascaded down through the “normal” channels, generated by the Guild committees, District Committees, Towers, CCCBR, ART and other external bellringing organsiations
  4. To encourage all event organisers to share their own information (from practice night cancellations through to special practices)
  5. To share specially written news (for example writeups of events, significant performances etc) which otherwise might only reach a small audience.
  6. To drive traffic from members onto the website

Process:

Start with the email you received from last week’s news edition, you can click through from that onto old material or anything needing alteration. The minimum jobs to create a sensible weekly news are:

  1. All posts which went out as top slot last week need to be reduced to headline (if they are future events) or de-topslot-ed and archived (if news).
  2. All events which are now in the past need to be archived. The clever way to do this is described below – if you want a simple approach, just tick “archive” on all these posts. This will take them out of all news streams.
  3. If you are confident to do so, please do the date stamp cascade.
  4. All newly received news items need to be added to the website.
  5. After a short while (can be up to 30 minutes) all these changes will cascade through the news feeds and you are free to send out the weekly news.

 

The Date Stamp Cascade

Once a week, some time between Saturday and Wednesday, the date stamps should  be shuffled up in a “they all roll over and one fell out” manner. The following series of instructions and images explains this – please allow an hour the first time you do this. It is believed to be the most complex task on the website!!! If you are just putting out the weekly news as a one-off it can be left for a week with no ill effects, as long as you have marked as “archive” all past events.

The “1 THIS WEEK” category will contain a date stamp for a completed week and almost all the events will need to be archived. The screen shot below is from the category editor  and is being viewed after the 16th of March, so it is likely that all 13 items should be archived. Click the number (in this case the 13) to display all the relevant posts. Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.17.23

See below for the post editor.  Click the box beside “Title” to select ALL the posts BUT check visually that all should actually be archived. Sometimes posts are ongoing and need to be left as news. Untick any like that. Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.20.15

Then select the Bulk Action “EDIT”, search within the page for the word “archive” and tick the archive category and click UPDATE.

Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.25.03

Now go back to the category editor,  it is time to CAREFULLY delete the date stamp 2018 Mar 10th-16th entirely. To do this, hover over it and select the option “delete”. The category will disappear forever, but the 13 posts involved will be undamaged.

Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.26.56

Now it is time to correctly allocate the current week to “1 THIS WEEK”.  I am writing this on March 19th so the date stamp 2018 Mar 17th-23rd should be under “1 THIS WEEK” but is sitting under “2 NEXT WEEK” at the moment. Hover over it and select EDIT

Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.31.54

This will move you to the screen shown below.

Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.32.46

Click on the parent category of 2 NEXT WEEK and change it to 1 THIS WEEK and press UPDATE.

Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.35.09

Now return to the cateogry editor.  Now the next date stamp, in this case 2018 Mar 24th-30th, needs to have its parent set to 2 NEXT WEEK:

Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.36.32

Now the gaps left by each move will need to be filled, until the date stamps are all in the correct slots.

The screen shot below shows a correct set of date stamps in this week, next week, rest of this month, and next month. They should show the following date stamps:

1 THIS WEEK – the current date stamp for today.

2 NEXT WEEK – the date stamp for a week today.

3 REST OF THIS MONTH – the next 2 stamps

4 NEXT MONTH – the next 4 stamps

1 MONTH AFTER NEXT – the next 4 stamps

LONG TERM INVITATION (other) – the next 4 stamps

It is sensible to create one new future stamp to replace the one you deleted – if you forget, you will have to do it when the first event is posted for that future week. The image below shows the correct set of date stamps in place on 19th March 2018. Please note one-digit numbers are preceded by zero to help the dates sort in a correct manner. Month names sadly don’t work properly so Jun shows before May. Oh well!!!

Screen Shot 2018-03-19 at 11.57.31

 

Background Information, Guild, Guild Education, Situation Vacant

Could you be an Education Day Helper?

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The Education Committee is indebted to its loyal band of experienced helpers, without whom we could not run these Education Days.    If you, yourself, feel you could help on 14thOctober – even for part of the day – or might perhaps be able to help with courses in the future, then do please contact Sallie Ingram   Joining Sallie’s Master List does not commit you to turning out for every course (!), but only when you are free and want to come.

Christine Knights-Whittome

Archive, Background Information, Guild, Guild Committee, Not A Contact

THE GUILD RULES (Effective 1st Jan 2018)

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The Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers

THE GUILD RULES

(as at 1 January 2018)

Click for Rules until 31 December 2017

  1. TITLE

    The Society shall be called ‘The Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers’ (hereinafter called ‘The Guild’).

    OBJECT

    To unite the Church Bell Ringers in the Diocese of Winchester and Portsmouth for mutual support consistent with:

    1. promoting in co-operation with incumbents an appreciation and observation of the tower as part of God’s House.
    2. the recognition of the position of ringers as church workers.
    3. encouragement of ringing for Divine Service, cultivation of change ringing and the preservation of the church bells in an efficient condition.

  2. CONSTITUTION

    The Guild shall consist of Patrons, Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Members. The following shall be appointed ex-officio:- Patrons: The Very Rev The Dean of Winchester, The Very Rev The Dean of Portsmouth; Presidents: The Right Rev The Lord Bishop of Winchester, The Right Rev The Lord Bishop of Portsmouth; Vice-Presidents: The Right Rev The Suffragan Bishop of Southampton, The Right Rev The Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke, The Very Rev The Dean of Guernsey, The Very Rev The Dean of Jersey, The Venerable the Archdeacons of Winchester, Portsdown, Bournemouth, The Meon and The Isle of Wight. The Diocesan areas shall be divided into Districts, each being self-administered.

  3. CENTRAL COUNCIL

    The Guild shall be affiliated to the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers and shall observe its rules and decisions. Representatives thereto shall be elected for a triennial period in accordance with the constitution of the Council. The Guild may pay fares and reasonable out of pocket expenses for not more than three days to its representatives attending the meetings of the Council. Representatives shall make a report of the proceedings to the next Annual General Meeting of the Guild.

  4. ADMINISTRATION

    The administration of the Guild shall be vested in an Executive Committee (of whom seven shall form a quorum) consisting of: the Master (Chairman), Vice-Master, immediate Past Master, Honorary General Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Recorder of Peals, Honorary Librarian and Archivist, Honorary Report Editor, Minute Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Child Protection Officer, Central Council Representatives, the Trustees of the Bell Restoration Fund, the Convenors of committees, and District Representatives (who shall normally include the District Secretaries or their proxies) to be elected by the annual District meetings. Districts with more than 100 members (associate and ringing) may send one additional representative. The Executive Committee has the authority to co-opt members on to the committee for special purposes, delegate any of its duties to sub-committee(s) or co-opted members and fill any vacancies arising among officers until the next General Meeting qualified to elect officers. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once annually. Reasonable expenses of members attending meetings of the Executive Committee may be defrayed by the Guild.

  5. GENERAL MEETING

    A General Meeting of the Guild shall be held annually in each of the following Districts in turn: District 1 Andover, District 2 Portsmouth, District 3 Winchester, District 4 Christchurch and Southampton, District 5 Basingstoke, District 6 Isle of Wight, District 7 Alton and Petersfield, District 8 Channel Islands, to receive reports, a statement of accounts and applications for grants, to fix the place and date of the next Annual General Meeting and to transact any other Guild business. Every third year to elect a Master, Vice-Master, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Recorder of Peals, Honorary Librarian and Archivist, Honorary Report Editor, Minute Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Child Protection Officer, Honorary Independent Examiner and Central Council Representatives. Officers elected shall remain members of the Administration (Rule 4) ex-officio for a period of three years when, with the exception of the Master and Vice-Master, they will remain eligible for re-election. The Master and Vice-Master will remain eligible for re-election unless they have previously been re-elected. The election of an officer(s) to fill a vacancy (Rule 4) must be confirmed at the next General Meeting of the Guild. A Special General Meeting may be called at any time upon a request to the Hon General Secretary, signed by either the Presidents, the Master or not less than twenty ringing members of the Guild. The Secretary shall give three weeks’ notice to the Guild of Special General Meetings, by posting to each local secretary, for display in the towers, particulars of the business.

  6. MEMBERSHIP

    There shall be the following classes of membership of the Guild:

    1. Ringing membership shall be open to those ringers who normally reside within, or ring at towers within, the two diocese, and any ringer from outside the two diocese who wishes to be a full member of the Guild.
    2. Life membership shall be conferred upon those who have completed 50 years ringing or associate membership of the Guild. The Executive Committee may also recommend any individual for election to life membership at an Annual General Meeting of the Guild in recognition of their services to the Guild.
    3. Associate membership shall be open to non-ringers who wish to be associated with and support the objects and activities of the Guild.
    4. Compounding membership shall be open to those ringers who reside outside the two diocese and who do not normally ring at a tower within the diocese. Compounding members shall have no vote at meetings of the Guild and shall not propose or second a belfry election.
    5. Probationary membership shall be open to those learning to ring at a tower within the two diocese. Probationary members shall have no vote at meetings of the Guild, nor be eligible to hold any District or Guild office.

  7. ELECTIONS

    1. All classes of member, with the exception of life members, may be elected at any District meeting.
    2. Life members may only be elected at a General Meeting of the Guild.
    3. Members may also be elected prior to a peal which is intended to be rung by the Guild, provided that at least half the band are already life and/or ringing and/or compounding members who have transferred from ringing membership, and subject to the peal being successful and the election being confirmed at the next meeting of the District in which the election took place. In the case of an election prior to a peal outside the Guild area, the election may be confirmed at the next meeting of any District.
    4. Probationary members may also be elected at any tower within the two diocese, by two or more Guild members other than probationary members, and subject to confirmation at the next meeting of the District in which the election took place.
    5. The Executive Committee shall have the power to veto any election, or to dismiss a member for misconduct; but the person concerned shall have the right of appeal to the next Annual General Meeting of the Guild. In the event of a dismissal, such members shall be debarred from further re-election for such period as the Executive Committee may determine, unless reinstated at the Annual General Meeting of the Guild.
    6. On election, new members (excluding probationary and compounding members) shall be supplied with a copy of the current annual report (if available) free of charge.

  8. SUBSCRIPTIONS

    1. Subscriptions fall due upon election and subsequently upon 1st January each year. A member who fails to pay his subscription for the current year by 30th June shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Guild.
    2. A proportion of each subscription shall be allocated to one or more ringing-related charities. The amount of the subscription and proportion allocated to each ringing-related charity for each class of membership shall be determined from time to time at the Annual General Meeting of the Guild, or at a Special General Meeting called for the purpose, and published in the Guild’s annual report.
    3. Ringing members in full-time education or over the age of 60 and associate members over the age of 60 may pay a reduced subscription as determined at the meeting. Life members are not required to pay a subscription. The subscription paid by a probationary member will form part of their subscription as a ringing member if elected as such during the same calendar year.
    4. A member, other than a probationary member, leaving the two diocese may transfer to compounding membership without further payment on application to their District Secretary.
    5. Any increase in subscription or alteration in the proportion allocated to each ringing-related charity shall take effect immediately following the meeting at which it was made.

  9. APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES

    1. 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 24 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.
    2. The following shall be the committees of the Guild:
      1. Belfry Stewardship
      2. Communications
      3. Education
      4. Striking Competitions
      5. Ringing Schools
    3. 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.

  10. TERMS OF REFERENCE OF COMMITTEES

    The terms of reference of the committees shall be as follows:

    1. Belfry Stewardship Committee. To give advice about bells and their fittings in any Guild tower; to inspect and report on all completed bell restoration works subject to grants from the Guild Bell Restoration Fund, and to continue the work of the Guild’s Bell Stock Survey.
    2. Communications Committee. To enhance communication within the Guild by maintaining and developing the Guild website as the hub of news and information, maintain and develop the e-mail lists and social media presence and connect to the wider bell ringing community.
    3. Education Committee. To improve members’ ringing abilities and confidence in all practical and theoretical aspects of bell handling and method ringing.
    4. Striking Competitions Committee. To encourage improvement in striking across the Guild, through friendly and social competition, both between individual towers and Districts.
    5. Ringing Schools Committee. To teach members bell-handling to a good and safe standard.

  11. AFFILIATION

    Each tower in the Guild area, regardless of whether it has Guild members in its band or not, shall be deemed to be ‘in union’ with the Guild.

  12. LOCAL SECRETARIES

    Each tower in the Guild shall appoint a local secretary, who will be responsible for conducting such correspondence as required, rendering an annual report to the District Secretary and collecting subscriptions from Guild members for transfer to the District Treasurer.

  13. DISTRICTS

    No tower shall be transferred from one District to another without the consent of the majority of ringers of the tower concerned and of the Annual General Meeting of the Guild.

  14. DISTRICT OFFICERS

    In each District a Chairman, Ringing Master, District Treasurer and Honorary Secretary shall be elected and such other officers as the District may determine.

  15. DISTRICT MEETINGS

    An Annual Meeting shall be held in each District as early in each year as is practicable, but not later than 21st February, to receive reports and statements of accounts, to transact any other business, including fixing the date and place of the next Annual District Meeting, and at least every third year elect District officers. Such other District meetings may be held as decided by the members, practice meetings being encouraged. Only members of a District may vote in the business of that District.

  16. DISTRICT FUNDS

    Each District Treasurer shall receive ALL subscriptions of members in his District, pay from the funds all the expenses of the District, and at the end of the year prepare a balance sheet which shall be independently examined and, after presentation to the Annual District Meeting, forwarded to the Honorary Treasurer of the Guild not later than 28th February, together with the proportion of the subscriptions due to the Central Fund and Guild Bell Restoration Fund (Rule 17). District funds may only be expended for administration and for such purposes as are sanctioned by these rules or by a General Meeting of the District concerned. First charge on District funds after administration shall be for instruction (whenever possible) in change ringing. If District funds prove insufficient for this charge, the deficiency may be met in whole or part by a contribution from the Central Fund. The instructor(s) may claim travelling expenses and any other out of pocket expenses.

  17. CENTRAL FUND

    Seventy per cent (fifty per cent from the Channel Islands District) of all subscriptions, excluding the proportion allocated to the Guild Bell Restoration Fund, shall be allocated to a Central Fund for the general administration and expenses of the Guild and for any other purpose that the members in General Meeting may direct. The Honorary Treasurer shall receive, not later than 28th February, all monies due to the Central Fund and Guild Bell Restoration Fund and shall be empowered to disburse all accounts properly incurred in the central administration of the Guild, either in cash payments or by cheques drawn on the Guild current banking account, which cheques he shall be authorised to draw. He shall maintain a statement of central accounts. The remaining thirty per cent of subscriptions, excluding the proportion allocated to the Guild Bell Restoration Fund, shall be retained by the Districts, except in the case of the Channel Islands District where fifty per cent is retained, for the purposes of meeting expenses of the Districts incurred under these rules. If there be any deficiency in the Central Fund, the Annual General Meeting of the Guild may, by resolution, require the Districts to meet the deficiency in proportion to the amount of each District’s receipts retained that year. At any time during the year the Executive Committee may, if necessary, direct the District Treasurers to pay over to the Central Fund all, or part of, the proportion of subscriptions actually received and due to the fund.

  18. INSTRUCTORS

    Districts are requested to compile a list of instructors who are willing to assist towers (Rule 16).

  19. GUILD LIBRARY

    The Honorary Librarian and Archivist shall be responsible for the safe keeping of the Guild library and any other property acquired by the Guild unless other arrangements are made by the Executive Committee. He shall maintain an inventory of such books and property and shall render annually a report to the Executive Committee.

  20. REPORTS

    1. Local secretaries shall forward an annual report on the activities of their tower to their District Secretary not later than 4th January of the following year.
    2. Each year the Honorary Report Editor of the Guild will issue a questionnaire to each District Secretary for completion. District Secretaries shall forward the completed questionnaires and an annual report on the activities of their District to the Honorary Report Editor for publication, not later than 28th February.
    3. Funds permitting, an annual report shall be published, the contents of which shall be at the discretion of the Executive Committee. A copy will be supplied free to all life, ringing and associate members who have requested a copy. District Secretaries or District Treasurers will ask local secretaries how many of their members would like a copy of the report and shall forward the number required by the District to the Honorary Report Editor not later than 28th February.

  21. PEALS

    Peals which are to be recognised by the Guild and have their details published in the annual report must be rung by bands composed entirely of members of the Guild other than probationary members, at least half of whom must be life and/or ringing members and/or compounding members who have transferred from ringing membership. An account of each peal including details of compositions on seven bells and above, together with the peal fee for each ringer participating, shall be sent to the Honorary Recorder of Peals within one month of the peal being rung. If the above conditions are not fulfilled, the peal shall not be recognised by the Guild, nor its details published in the annual report, excepting that the Annual General Meeting of the Guild shall be able to recognise such peals in exceptional circumstances. At the end of each calendar year, the income from peal fees shall be transferred to the Guild Bell Restoration Fund and to the General Fund (towards the cost of printing details of peals in the annual report). The amount of the peal fees and the proportions transferred to the Bell Restoration and General Funds shall be determined from time to time by the Annual Meeting of the Guild, or a Special General Meeting of the Guild called for the purpose and published in the annual report. Any alteration in the amount of fees and proportions in which they are transferred to the General and Bell Restoration Funds shall take effect on the following 1st January.

  22. DAMAGE

    The Guild may accept responsibility for any damage done by members to the bells, etc. in any tower in which a meeting of the Guild is being held. In such circumstances the officers of the District concerned are empowered to take steps to make good the damage which shall be a charge on the District concerned. In the case of a General Meeting of the Guild, the Master, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer will take the necessary action and make a charge on the Central Fund.

  23. REDUNDANT BELLS

    In the event of either: (a) redundant bells coming into the possession of the Guild or (b) the advice of the Guild being sought on the disposal or movement of redundant bells, the Trustees of the Bell Restoration Fund shall be empowered to decide upon the disposition of such bells or offer such advice as they feel is appropriate. Where possible, such decisions or advice shall be subject to confirmation by the Guild Executive or Annual General Meeting of the Guild.

  24. ALTERATION OF RULES

    No alteration or addition to the above rules may be made except at a General Meeting of the Guild or Special Meeting called for the purpose, when the number of eligible members voting in favour must be at least 20 and double those voting against the proposal. Notice of any such proposed alteration or addition must be given in writing, at least two months before the date of the meeting, to the Honorary General Secretary of the Guild who shall inform all tower secretaries of the Guild of this proposal at least one month before the aforesaid meeting. Any alteration or addition to the rules shall become operative on the following 1st January.

BELL RESTORATION FUND RULES

  1. TITLE

    The fund shall be known as the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers Bell Restoration Fund.

  2. REGISTRATION

    The fund shall be registered as a charity.

  3. AIMS

    The object of this fund shall be to provide financial assistance by way of grants to Churches, within the Diocese of Winchester and Portsmouth, incurring expenditure on the provision, maintenance, improvement or acoustics of their bells and bell installations, or for the maintenance of the fabric of their towers and belfries, to enable their bells to be properly rung in full circle.

  4. DEFINITIONS

    References to ‘the Guild’ shall mean the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers. References to ‘the Executive Committee’ shall mean the Executive Committee of the Guild.

  5. TRUSTEES

    The Trustees of the fund, referred to hereinafter as ‘the Trustees’, shall be the Master, the Honorary General Secretary and the Honorary General Treasurer of the Guild, and two Trustees, one from each Diocese, elected triennially by the Annual General Meeting of the Guild.

  6. HONORARY INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

    The Honorary Independent Examiner of the fund shall be the Honorary Independent Examiner for the time being of the Guild.

  7. ADMINISTRATION

    The fund shall be administered by the Trustees.

  8. GRANTS

    1. An application for or proposal to make a grant from this fund shall be considered only at a General Meeting of the Guild or at a meeting of the Executive Committee, provided at least two months notice in writing has been given of such application or proposal to the Honorary General Secretary.
    2. Following notice duly given, the Trustees shall consider such applications or proposals and shall make recommendations to the meeting of the Guild or Executive Committee at which the application or proposal shall be discussed.
    3. Grants shall be made from this fund only for the purposes outlined in the objectives in rule 3 above. A grant may be made, subject to the requirements of rule 8a above, if approved by two-thirds or more of those members of the Guild present and voting at a General Meeting of the Guild or at a meeting of the Executive Committee. To be eligible to vote on such matters, members must fulfil the requirements of the Guild on voting. The Trustees shall inform the Guild of any grants approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee at the next General Meeting of the Guild.
    4. Following such approval a grant shall be made, except that the Trustees shall be given absolute discretion to reduce, but not to increase, a grant, in the exceptional circumstances that they unanimously feel it in the interests of the fund and of the Guild to do so. They shall inform the Guild of any such action at the next General Meeting of the Guild.

  9. DISBURSEMENT

    Any payments drawn on this fund under rule 8 above, or required under rule 11 below, shall be made over the signature of the Honorary General Treasurer for the time being and one other Trustee of the fund. No payment shall be made until the work is satisfactorily completed. All administrative and other expenses incurred in respect of the fund other than those specifically relating to the acquisition and realisation of investments shall be borne by the Guild.

  10. ACCOUNTS

    1. The Honorary General Treasurer shall prepare accounts, consisting of a balance sheet at 31st December each year, and an income and expenditure account for the year ending on that date.
    2. These accounts shall be presented to the Independent Examiner of the fund who shall satisfy himself as to the correctness thereof.
    3. These accounts, duly independently examined, shall be submitted for approval to the Annual General Meeting of the Guild next after the 31st December to which the accounts of the fund have been prepared.

  11. INVESTMENTS

    The Trustees acting together shall have the power to invest or otherwise deal with the assets of the fund and such sums as the members of the Guild shall contribute or from time to time decide to transfer to the fund, in such manner as they think fit in the best interests of the fund.

  12. DISSOLUTION OF THE FUND

    1. If it shall be decided to dissolve the fund, such decision being taken only at an Annual General Meeting of the Guild, one month’s notice having been given by the Honorary General Secretary to Tower Secretaries of such intent, the assets shall be disposed of to either or between both of the following:-
      1. To other charitable Bell Restoration Funds as the Guild may select
      2. To the Cathedrals of Winchester and Portsmouth for the religious and charitable purposes of the said Cathedrals.
    2. In the event of the Guild becoming defunct, it shall be allowed for the Registrar of Charities after five years non-working of the fund to cause it to be dissolved and its assets applied as under rule 12 a ii.

  13. CHANGE OF RULES

    1. No amendment of, addition to, or deletion from these Rules shall be made which would cause the fund at any time to cease to be a charity in law.
    2. No alteration or addition to the above Rules may be made except at a General Meeting of the Guild, or Special Meeting called for the purpose, when the number of eligible members voting in favour must be at least 20 and double those voting against the proposal. Notice of any such proposed alteration or addition must be given in writing at least two months before the date of the meeting to the Honorary General Secretary of the Guild, who shall inform all Tower Secretaries of the Guild of this proposal at least one month before the aforesaid meeting.

This page created by Tony Smith

Last updated 21 June 2017

Background Information, Guild, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact

Guild Report 2017

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The Reports are currently being distributed to towers. Thanks to John Palk for collating and printing the report once again. All members receieve a free copy and they can also be obtained from John Palk for £3.50.

For the convenience of members, much of the contents has been published on this website, in screen-friendly format.

Contact Information for all committees and all Towers is available on this website. In addition you can see an alphabetical list of contacts by name here.

Guild Committee Reports:

District Officer Reports:

Background Information, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017, Public Relations Officer

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER’S REPORT

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I was appointed to this post in July 2016. Various positive actions have been achieved, built on the good working relationships that had been forged in a number of areas during my three years term of office as Master. In particular, we were able to develop some meaningful contacts as a direct result of Brighstone ringers having won an A.R.T award and our Guild having hosted the Central Council Annual Conference in May 2016.

The majority of my focus in the six months was on The Isle of Wight (my own District) and in the Portsmouth area. Local media in both Districts were keen to consider “Copy” from us. Pompey Chimes, the Portsmouth Diocesan newspaper, is supportive of ringing generally and asked to be advised of any item of potential interest. It was pleased to use an article, with photograph, of Archdeacon Peter’s visit to Brighstone when he attended a simulated practice; he was fascinated by the use of modern technology, enjoyed a ringing taster session and met the local band, including several lively young ringers!

The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth and The Lady Mayoress had attended the formal dinner of the Central Council in Southsea and we were able to consolidate that friendly first meeting. A group of twenty ringers were invited to take High Tea at The Lord Mayor’s Parlour. It was a delightful occasion and all enjoyed the great opportunity to meet The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, enjoy a splendid tea, to have a conducted tour of special rooms in the Guildhall and to share our excitement of ringing with the dignitaries. The young ringers present did a particularly good job of promoting ringing. The Lord Mayor was so impressed with their knowledge and enthusiasm that he rewarded them both by inviting them to take turns at sitting in the huge chair that he used during formal meetings in the Council Chamber! The local newspaper, The News, ran an article and photo reporting our visit.

The High Sheriff of The Isle of Wight asked ringers across the island to ring as many bells as possible for the first “Isle of Wight Day”. Island ringers obliged! Local media, including Radio Solent, reported the positive input of the bells for the special event. Radio Solent used a sound bite, courtesy of our Guild’s new MP3 recorder.

Another but much more solemn occasion attracted significant local media interest – the half-muffled peal at Carisbrooke in memory of local lad Petty Officer Patrick Dunne. Patrick had been lost when H.M.S. Hood was destroyed in WWll. The local press was particularly interested in this Remembrance Day ringing, as there was a descendant of Patrick’s who’d contacted me when I’d posted an article on Social Media about the restoration of the bell from H.M.S. Hood.

Guild members were encouraged to get involved with Heritage Open Days weekend, a national event. Several towers were open; a mixed result was evident. A success story was reported from St. Michael’s, Basingstoke. Visitors there were very keen to understand more about ringing and to learn about the history of the bells and tower. They heard about the bells, the oldest had been cast in 1558, and learned of Alice White, Basingstoke ringer famous for being the first lady to ring a peal, they viewed the church clock, were entertained to tower ringing and tried their hand at handbells.

Viv Nobbs

Background Information, communications, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017, Webmaster

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

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The website continues to develop, with most Districts having their own webmaster who post local news and photos on the site.

There is still plenty of scope for Towers to make more use of the site, especially for recruitment. People wanting to learn to ring do visit the site, and if they see that a local tower is training new people, then they DO get in touch, especially during periods when Bellringing is in the media generally. These are quite regular partly due to the tireless efforts of the Central Council Public Relations Officer.

Within the growing team, we are still doing regular online cross-training for each other to ensure that the website can operate well even when one or two people are on holiday or not available. Training notes are posted on the site to simplify this process ongoing, and all webmasters belong to a Facebook Group so that they can give and receive quick support.
Engagement with the site is largely driven by the members receiving a copy of the “weekly news” either by email or through Facebook. This is proving to be an effective way of reaching members with all the excellent events which are organised at Tower, District and Guild Level, in addition to the traditional use of posters in towers.

Whilst a significant number of people do use this facility, we are still a long way from our aim of sending a weekly news bulletin to all members. In the short term, we would like to encourage more members (especially new recruits) to join their local District mailing list or Facebook Group.

The focus of effort in the next year will be:

  • Continue to train new local webmasters
  • Encourage towers to recruit online as well as in their locality
  • Finish the ongoing work behind the scenes to standardise tower pages
  • Growth of the weekly news system

Rosalind Martin.

 

The Social Media aspect to the Guild is being well received with a slow trickle of interested people asking to join each month.

It endeavours to spread the good word from the website and continues to be a hub of interest in the ‘Twittersphere’

The focus of effort in the next year will be;

  • Grow the Facebook page by connecting to like minded pages.
  • Show interest in other related areas and bring it to the attention of W & P page and Group.
  • Continue to point back to our enviously regarded website as the ‘hub’ of the Guild.
  • Continue to harbour friendships with other Guilds and individuals and share knowledge to enable them in the Social Media arena.

Expenditure for the year amounted to £131.80. Monies for this come from the Central Fund

Deb Baker

Background Information, Guild, Guild Peal Recorder, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Guild Surprise Royal Practice, Handbells, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017, Performance

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – PEAL RECORDER’S REPORT

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There were 219 peals rung for the Guild during 2016, which is a slight fall compared to 2015; however this total is still significantly higher than any year other than 2015 since the early 1980’s. I said in my report last year that I hoped the Guild would maintain its peal ringing activity and I am pleased to say that we have achieved that. Keep it going!

I must thank Andrew Craddock for sharing the statistics generated by PealBase, allowing me to cross-check the Guild’s records. Finally I would like to thank all those conductors and organisers who submit details, compositions and fees within the one month deadline specified by the Guild rules. Please may I also remind conductors that we do require all compositions in full whether or not they have been rung for the Guild previously. I am also pleased to announce that I can now take peal fees electronically; I would request that conductors email me FIRST for a reference and the necessary account details, even if you already have them, to allow me to monitor what I have and have not received.

Tower Bell Peals

There were 142 tower bell peals rung for the Guild in 2016, 14 fewer than the previous year but comparable to 2014.  What is of greater concern is the number of ringers taking part in a tower bell peal continued the decreasing trend witha fall to 200, this is 24 fewer than 2016 and 46 fewer than 2013.

Six ringers rang their first peal in a W&P peal during 2016 and the Guild Officers would like to extend their congratulations to Will Stoddart, Martin Willson, Helen Rolf, Janice Firth, Rob Gorton and Gemma Loweth. The latter three actually achieved their first peal in a handbell peal but are included here for completeness. To add to this list Aileen Wilson also scored her first tower bell peal.

Following the ‘First Peal 2015’ initiative it is good to see that the Guild is still introducing ringers to peal ringing and I would encourage all members to think whether you or somebody else in your tower would be interested in attempting a peal. It would be brilliant if we can increase both the numbers of new peal ringers and ringers taking part in peals in general to stem the falling trend.

Malcolm Powell heads the list of prolific peal ringers for 2016 pushing last year’s leader, Edd Colliss, into second. John Dodd and Kathryne Arkless also remain near the top with Gareth Higgs, Jim Twiney and Graham Nobbs joining the list of people to ring 40 or more peals for the Guild in 2016.

The list of prolific conductors remains largely unchanged with Edd Colliss still heading the list with Toby Arkless and Ben Carey exchanging places behind. Once again, like the total number of ringers the total number of conductors is also down 3 on 2015 to 29.

St Agatha, Portsmouth heads the list of the leading towers again with a similar number to 2015 representing over a third of the Guild’s 2016 total. It is also worth noting that no other tower rang more than 9 peals, the first time this has happened for 9 years.

The first peal on the augmented ring at All Saints Basingstoke was completed with a peal of Bristol Surprise Royal in April.

There were a number of personal footnotes during 2016 and I congratulate Paul Young on his 1200th, Martin Daniels 500th, Graham Nobbs 400th, David Mattingley 300th, Colin Butler 250th and Kieran Downer 25th.  Toby Arkless and Edd Colliss scored their 250th as Conductor. Several ringers also reached a milestone for the Guild; Malcolm Powell and Jim Hodkin 500, and Andrew Howes 100.

Roy LeMarechal passed two significant milestones during 2016, ringing his 2000th peal for the Guild with a peal of Cambridge Royal at Bishopstoke in February and his 3000th peal some three weeks later, also Cambridge Royal at Bishopstoke. Roy is only the 49th person to achieve this total.

Peals were rung by the Sunday service band of Vale, Guernsey, who rang a peal of 7 Doubles in January, and Bishopstoke, who rang a peal of Double Norwich in December. I would also like to mention the 7 members of the Catherington Sunday service band who scored a peal of 13 Spliced Surprise Major in January and it was my pleasure to ring the treble for you.

In February a peal of Yorkshire Surprise Maximus was rung at Hursley by a ladies band; this is believed to be the first twelve bell peal rung by a ladies band for the W&P.

Peals were rung in memory of Guild Member and former A&P district Chairman Andrew Barnsdale.

Several peals were rung to celebrate the 90th Birthday (both actual and official) of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Peals were also rung on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland and as part of the Bell Ringers Strike Back Against Blood Cancer campaign.

Leading Ringers
Malcolm M Powell 66
Edward P D Colliss 64
John A Dodd 56
Kathryne R Arkless 46
E C Gareth Higgs 42
Graham A Nobbs 40
James W G Twiney 40
3 ringers 36
3 ringers 30-35
2 ringers 20-29
10 ringers 19-Oct
23 ringers 9-May
64 ringers 4-Feb
88 ringers 1
Total Ringers 200
Leading Conductors
Edward P D Colliss 42
Toby Arkless 21
Benjamin J Carey 17
Roy LeMarechal 17
James W G Twiney 6
Benjamin D Constant 4
4 conductors 3
3 conductors 2
16 conductors 1
Total Conductors 29
Leading Towers
Portsmouth, St Agatha 49
Bishopstoke, 9
Awbridge 8
Holybourne 5
Portsmouth Cathedral 5
Basingstoke, All Saints 4
Winchester Cathedral 3
8 towers 2
43 towers 1
Total Towers 58
Minimus 1
Kent Block* 1
Doubles 7
12m 2
3m 2
42v 1
7m 1
4m 1
Doubles & Minor 1
6m 1
Minor 24
Plain Bob 5
Spliced TD (8m) 4
7m S 4
Spliced S (8m) 2
Cambridge S 1
Spliced S (41m) 1
Spliced S (24m) 1
Spliced S (7m) 1
7m 1
5m 1
4m 1
3m 1
2m P 1
Triples 3
Grandsire 3
Major 83
Bristol S 9
Superlative S 4
Yorkshire 4
Spliced S (8m) 3
Cambridge S 2
Double Norwich CB 2
Rutland S 2
Spliced S (23m) 2
Spliced S (19m)# 2
Spliced S (10m) 2
Baltic Wharf S# 1
Basingstoke S 1
Belfast S 1
Berkelium S# 1
Booth S# 1
Deva S 1
Devonshire S# 1
Dodd Fell D# 1
Ealing S 1
Falmouth S 1
Flerovium S# 1
Four Score S# 1
Griffin S# 1
Guernsey S 1
Hunters Bar S# 1
Jersey S 1
Jonah S# 1
Kenninghall S 1
Lessness S 1
Lincolnshire S 1
London S 1
Lye D# 1
Majestic S# 1
Muppet Show S# 1
No. 5029 Nunney Castle S# 1
No Hope D# 1
Norwich S# 1
November S 1
Once Brewed D# 1
Peterstone Wentloog S# 1
Plain B 1
Portsmouth S 1
Preston S# 1
Revolver D 1
Ruthenium S 1
Spliced S (21m)# 1
Spliced S (17m) 1
Spliced S (15m) 1
Spliced S (14m) 1
Spliced S (13m) 1
Spliced S (6m) 1
1
St Agatha S# 1
Tavistock S 1
Thropton S# 1
Uxbridge S 1
Wales S# 1
Watford S 1
Wedding D# 1
Winchester B 1
Xavier S# 1
Caters 4
Grandsire 3
Erin 1
Caters & Royal 1
Spliced (4m) 1
Royal 9
Cambridge S 4
Bristol S 2
Henleaze S# 1
Spliced S (2m) 1
Yorkshire S 1
Cinques 1
Grandsire 1
Maximus 7
Bristol S 2
Yorkshire S 2
Zanussi S 2
Riverhead# 1
 Spliced S (2m)
Fourteen 1
Spliced (2m)# 1

(* first peal in the method, # first for the Guild)

Handbell Peals

The strength of handbell ringing within the Guild continues with a slight increase on the 2015 total to 77, again a new record as far as I can ascertain. The numbers of ringers and conductors participating in a Guild handbell peal remained broadly similar to 2015, both being only one fewer in 2016.

Ian Redway and Frank Morton were once again the leading ringer and conductor of Guild handbell peals. Whilst the lists of prolific ringers and conductors look very similar to previous years one name appears much higher than before with Duncan Loweth conducting 14 handbell peals for the guild.

In August John Croft scored his 1000th peal in hand and also reached his 200th peal as conductor in a handbell peal. John Dodd rang his 1000th peal for Guild in a handbell peal in May. Martin Daniels and Trish Spink achieved their 250th and 50th peals in hand respectively.

Leading Ringers (Handbell Peals)
Ian Redway 41
Martin J E Daniels 35
John A Dodd 25
Frank R Morton 23
E C Gareth Higgs 22
Brian J Woodruffe 18
John S Croft 17
Patricia D Spink 17
3 ringers 14-Oct
4 ringers 9-May
9 ringers 4-Feb
10 ringers 1
Total Ringers 34

 

Leading Conductors (Handbell Peals)
Frank R Morton 23
Brian J Woodruffe 17
John S Croft 12
Duncan Loweth 12
Andrew G Craddock 4
E C Gareth Higgs 3
Benjamin J Carey 2
Martin J E Daniels 2
Thomas J Hinks 1
E John Wells 1
Venues (Handbell Peals)
Awbridge, The Clock House 20
Whiteparish, Anchorsholme 17
New Alresford, Jubilee 11
Guernsey, San Baronto 7
New Milton, Milton Grove 5
Micheldever, 37 Northbrook 4
Chandler’s Ford, 2 Rosemoor Grove 3
Dibden Purlieu, 30 Heatherstone Avenue 2
8 venues 1
Total Venues 16
Background Information, Belfry Stewardship, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – BELFRY STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

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The new committee has been “finding its feet” this year and been finding a balance with work commitments. This has sadly resulted in the resignation of Kieran Downer and Lexi Skeldon due also in part to living on the Isle of Wight.

The committee has had a couple of meetings this past year and went on a training course looking at the bells of East Tytherley, West Tytherley and Lockerley. Instruction was given by Hugh Routh and the committee is hugely grateful for his time, enthusiasm and continued support, it is much appreciated.

The committee has carried out the following tower inspections  this year:-

All Saints, Basingstoke – Augmentation to 10 with the addition of a new treble

All Saints, Houghton – Two of the old three now hung on deadstocks and set up for chiming. Installation of a new frame and a new light ring of six installed

St Andrew, Sherborne-St-John – Rebushing of four clappers and the installation of a wooden shaft to the tenor clapper.

St Stephen, Baughurst – Rebushing the clappers of the four bells in the lower frame

St Mary, Breamore – Clappers rebushed, bearings serviced and the frame repainted

St Mary & All Saints, Droxford – Inspect on general condition prior to being rung for a wedding after a time of being silent.

Income                                                                        Expenditure

Balance b/f £103.90                                            Balance c/f £103.90

Martin Barnes

Archive, Background Information, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017, Striking Competitions

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – STRIKING COMPETITIONS COMMITTEE REPORT

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In 2016, the Guild held three striking competitions. There were the Inter-tower 6 and 8 bell competitions, held on the 21st May  and the Inter district 8 bell competition, held on the 2nd July.

Inter-Tower 6 Bell Competition

This year, the Inter-Tower 6 bell was held at St. Mary’s Church Eversley, and was judged by Julian Ferrar and Julian Hemper, from Wiltshire. 5 teams entered and the whole morning was a success and a nice relaxed atmosphere and camaraderie between the teams and organisers. The results are as follows:

Placing Tower Method Time Faults Drawn
1st St. Michael, Basingstoke Plain Bob Doubles 4m7 3 ½ 3rd
2nd Eling Stedman Doubles 3m54 6 ½ 2nd
3rd Niton & Chale Grandsire Doubles 4m4 8 5th
4th Rotherwick & Odiham Grandsire Doubles 4m1 28 ½ 1st
5th Eversley Plain Bob Doubles 4m7 35 4th


Inter-Tower 8 Bell

The inter-tower 8 bell this year was held over the border in the Guildford Guild at Hawley. It was slightly disappointing to see only three teams entering, but a good contest was had nonetheless. The contest was judged by Vernon Bedford and the results are as follows:

Placing Tower Method Faults Drawn
1st Bishopstoke Grandsire Triples 17 ½ 3rd
2nd Hursley Grandsire Triples 24 ½ 2nd
3rd Catherington Grandsire Triples 31 1st


Inter-District 8 Bell Competition

This year, the Inter-Tower 8 bell was held at New Alresford, prior to the Guild AGM. Four districts entered, which was good, but much like the inter-tower competition, it would have been great to have more districts entering a team. The more the merrier! Paul and Kate Flavell were the judges and they did a professional and thorough job. Their results are as follows:

Placing District Method Score Peal Speed Drawn
1st Portsmouth Grandsire Triples 89% 3h2 3rd
2nd Winchester Cambridge Surprise Major 84% 3h8 1st
3rd Christchurch and Southampton Grandsire Triples 82% 3h7 4th
4th Andover Grandsire Triples 75% 3h2 2nd

Expenses amounted to £58 which was paid out of Central Funds

Greg Jordan

Background Information, Guild, Guild Librarian, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – LIBRARIAN AND ARCHIVIST’S REPORT          

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The George Williams Memorial Library is located in the ringing chamber of Winchester Cathedral and is available for readers and borrowers by appointment. The system for loans provides a standard loan period of eight weeks with a liberal renewal policy for serious research and special problems.  The only exceptions are the archive material and the Guild’s annual and triennial reports for which, because of their unique importance, loans are solely at the discretion of the librarian. A catalogue of the printed books and of the complete archive is maintained on the Guild website. Part of our collection of archive material, held at the Hampshire Record Office in Sussex Street, Winchester, is available for consultation only. The collection there has the call-number 20M94.

My buying last year concentrated on history and teaching. Under the former category fall the latest two editions of the Order and Disorder collections of press transcripts, covering the period 1800-1839, the Ringing World DVD covering 1971-2000 and the searchable edition of the complete Bell News archive, 1881-1915, and the great survey of the Towers & Bells of Devon (2007, 2 vols), and a couple of local pamphlets. I have also acquired, at no cost, a copy of Alain Corbin’s Village Bells: Sound and Meaning in the Nineteenth-Century French Countryside (1999, paperback). In the latter category of purchases falls a collection of multi-media resources which I acquired at the ART Conference at Loughborough, comprising the ART’s CD Teaching Toolboxes, DVD A guide to Bell Handling and teaching monographs Discover Bellringing and Teaching with Simulators and the Whiting Society’s book and DVD From Rounds to Ropesight.

The lifetime licence to the online cataloguing service LibraryThing is now active, and I am confident that at least the holdings recorded on the 2007 Microsoft Excel catalogue will have been transferred to the new system by the time this report is in its readers’ hands.

The Guild’s online archive has the minutes of the Guild Annual meetings and Executive Committee meetings from 1980 to 2000, and from 2013 to 2014 (More recent minutes are already available from the Guild’s Document Repository) and a collection of historical articles from The Ringing World about Guild people, places and events. These are all maintained by Tony Smith, to whom I am duly grateful.

I am always pleased to assist Guild members and others with an interest in the Guild with their researches.  I should like to thank my colleagues within the Guild and the Winchester Cathedral band for their continuing support.

 

Background Information, Guild, Guild Education, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORT & Accounts

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2016 started with the ever-popular Introduction to Ringing on Higher Numbers, in February, where, if we’d had additional helpers, we could have included more applicants. We continued at St. Mary Bourne in March with Plain Hunting and Trebling to Doubles Methods, followed by an evening at Bishopstoke on the versatility of Simulators and how they can fit in to your tower’s training programme. April found us at Kingsclere with Calling for the Terrified, and a packed evening was enjoyed in May with the Hartley Twelve mini-ring at South Stoneham.  The Autumn programme started at Hawkley in October with Plain Bob Doubles and Minor, followed by a November evening at Bishopstoke for Basic Raising and Lowering;  the year concluded with a November day at Bishop’s Waltham for Double Norwich Court Bob Major. In other words – our usual very busy and well supported year! We are delighted to welcome back many students who have attended earlier courses and are building on their knowledge.

Plans are well advanced for 2017, starting in February with a morning at Bishopstoke for Raising and Lowering in Peal;  this will be followed in March with a day based at Shedfield for Grandsire Doubles and Triples. April will see us returning to Lockerley Village Hall for a day covering Listening Skills which includes a multitude of activities for students of all abilities, and later in April (during Holy Week) we will be offering an evening in Winchester for an Introduction to Method Ringing on Handbells. We plan to return to South Stoneham in May for another evening with the Hartley Twelve mini-ring, and an extra evening has been arranged on 9th June for another Basic Raising and Lowering course at Bishopstoke. The Autumn programme starts at Goodworth Clatford in October with Plain Hunt and Trebling to Doubles Methods, and finishes at Milford-on-Sea in November for Stedman Triples. In addition as time allows and need arises, we hope to offer additional half-day courses on a range of subjects, plus, if possible, a full day on Belfry Maintenance.

Details are always sent well in advance to your District Secretaries for onward transmission to your Tower Secretaries and, in addition, are published on the Guild website and through the win-port list.

A very successful ART (previously ITTS) Module 1 Day was completed in June 2016 with eight W&P members, and plans are in the pipeline for both Module 1 and Module 2 days in 2017.  The sum of £500 has been set aside by the W&P Guild to assist W&P ringers who wish to take advantage of ART Modules or equivalent courses;  this is totally separate from Education Committee funds.

A separate group within the Guild is investigating the possibility of “ringing hubs” similar to the Birmingham School of Ringing.   When this comes to fruition the Education Committee will work alongside this initiative to ensure that W&P ringers have every opportunity to further their knowledge and attain their maximum potential.

Financially the Education Committee remains in a similar position to last year, and whilst we remain stable we are constantly faced with increased costs for the hire of halls and the need to make realistic donations to towers which we are permitted to use. Though not usually for financial reasons, we do find ourselves challenged by the difficulty of obtaining towers for Education Days.

As always, we remain hugely indebted to the enormous number of ringers who volunteer their services as helpers on Education Days, on whose generosity of time and talent we depend so much.  We always welcome volunteers as we could not offer courses without them. Thank you all very much!

Christine Knights-Whittome

Winchester & Portsmouth Guild Education Committee Accounts as at 31st December 2016

Income £ Expenditure £
Balance brought forward 515.13 Stationery, copying, telephone –
Course fees – 2016 655 Postage 5.65
Advanced fees for 2017 5 Refreshments 79.37
Hall security payment returns 100.00 47.60 Hire of Halls – balance for 2016 215.75
Donations 160 Security payments for 2017 –
ART Tower Donations 442
Equipment 13.88
ART 160
Balance carried forward 566.08
Totals £1,477.73 £1,477.73
Archive, Background Information, BRF Bell Restoration Fund, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Not A Contact

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – BELL RESTORATION FUND REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2016

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WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

BELL RESTORATION FUND    (A REGISTERED CHARITY No. 264606)

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2016

The fund is a registered charity with the registered number 264606

The contact address is:

30 Chaucer Crescent
Newbury
RG14 1TR

The fund is governed by rules approved by the Winchester and Portsmouth Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers (the Guild) in General Meeting.

The trustees during 2016 were:

  • Mrs R Brandwood (Honorary Guild Treasurer) from 2.7.2016
  • Mr M Bubb (Honorary Guild Treasurer) to 2.7.2016
  • Mrs H Frazer (Honorary Guild Secretary) from 12.11.2016
  • Rev Canon B J Fry (Winchester Diocese area)
  • Mr D Mattingley (Portsmouth Diocese area)
  • Mrs V Nobbs (Guild Master) to 2.7.2016
  • Mrs M Routh (Honorary Guild Secretary) to 2.7.2016
  • Mr M Winterbourne (Guild Master) from 2.7.2016

The trustees of the fund are the Guild Master, The Honorary Guild Treasurer, the Honorary Guild Secretary and two additional trustees one from each diocese, elected triennially by the Guild in General Meeting.

The independent examiner of the fund is Mr P Clarke ACIB.

The principal bankers are TSB Bank plc.

The activities of the Bell Restoration Fund are restricted to the area covered by the Anglican Dioceses of Winchester and Portsmouth. None of the Fund’s assets is a permanent endowment. There are no borrowing limits imposed in the governing rules. The trustees have no specific investment powers.

The main aims of the Fund are to provide financial assistance by way of grants to Churches, within the area mentioned above, incurring expenditure on the provision, maintenance, improvement or acoustics of their bells and bell installations, or for the maintenance of the fabric of their towers and belfries, to enable their bells to be properly rung in full circle.

Review of the year and the future

The Fund’s income for 2016 fell significantly compared to 2015 as a result of the portion of Guild subscriptions allocated to the Bell Restoration Fund being reduced from £4 to £2.

In addition, as recorded previously, there was no longer any income from the 200 Club.

Four grants were approved during the year:

St John the Evangelist, Northington £ 2000.00
St Stephen, Baughurst  £ 200.00
St Andrew, Sherborne St John £ 300.00
St Mary, Breamore £ 400.00

The project at St Peter and Holy Cross, Wherwell had been ‘put on hold’ for the time being. Consequently, the trustees had withdrawn the grant offer of £3,500 for the time being.

The Trustees have been advised of two further applications for consideration early 2017.

The Trustees believe that the reserves of the Charity are adequate to meet its immediate needs.

The Trustees acknowledge with thanks the donations from the following towers:

  • Catherington                £100
  • Christchurch Priory            £100
  • Hambeldon      £50
  • North Stoneham              £125
  • Winchester Cathedral                      £600

Gift aided donations from individuals are always welcome.

A reminder to those applying for grants that the initial application needs to be with the Guild Treasurer at least 2 months before the Trustees meet. Trustees meet three times a year, before each of the Executive meetings and before the Guild AGM. Grants can only be approved at either the Executive meeting or AGM. Any approved at the Executive meetings are required to be ratified at the next Guild AGM. The forms required are to be found on the Guild’s website or can be obtained in paper form from the Guild Treasurer. It is very important that all of the documentation requested in the form is made available to the Trustees.  If an application is sent by email then it should also be sent through the postal system. All applications are acknowledged so if no acknowledgement is received within two weeks then a chaser should be sent.

The Trustees would like to thank all those who have donated time, energy and money towards the aims of the Bell Restoration Fund.

For and on behalf of the Trustees

Mr M Winterbourne Trustee

Mrs R Brandwood Trustee

25th March 2017

A full copy of the accounts are available from the Guild Treasurer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS

BELL RESTORATION FUND
(A REGISTERED CHARITY No. 264606)
           
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2016
2016   2015
£     p   £     p
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
Incoming Resources
Subscriptions and donations 3,875.68 6,968.74
Gift Aided donations 365.00 365.00
Tax recoverable on Gift Aid including repayment supplement) 13.00 91.25
Investment income 264.88 300.08
Peal fees 354.75 380.25
Winchester & Portsmouth 200 club                1,300.00
Total incoming resources 4,873.31 9,405.32
 

 

Resources Expended
Direct charitable expenditure
Grants approved 2,900.00 3,750.00
Less : grants withdrawn -3,500.00                  
Total resources expended   -600.00 3,750.00
 

 

Net Incoming Resources

 5,473.31 5,655.32
Fund balances brought forward at 1st January 78,453.04 72,797.72
Fund balances carried forward at 31st December £83,926.35 78,453.04
 WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
BELL RESTORATION FUND
(A REGISTERED CHARITY No. 264606)
               
BALANCE SHEET as at 31st DECEMBER 2016
     2016          2015
Current Assets £    p      £    p 
Debtors 2,725.68 5,946.74
Short term Deposits
  – Central Board of Finance Deposit Fund 53,749.03 53,497.73
 – TSB Bank plc – Deposit account 29,142.04 21,628.46
Cash at bank
 – TSB Bank plc   4,559.60  12,130.11
90,176.35 93,203.04
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year   3,750.00 8,750.00
Net Current Assets 86,426.35     84,453.04
Total Assets Less Current Liabilities 86,426.35 84,453.04
Creditors
Amounts falling due after more than one year 2,500.00 6,000.00
                                       
Net Assets £83,926.35 78,453.04
         
Funds
Unrestricted £83,926.35 78,453.04
Approved by the Fund Trustees on 25th March 2017 and signed on its behalf by
 

Mr M Winterbourne

Trustee
 

Mrs R Brandwood

Trustee
Background Information, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Guild Treasurer, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – Detailed Accounts

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WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
CENTRAL FUND – BALANCE SHEET
as at 31st DECEMBER 2016
2016     2015
General Fund Training & Development Fund   Total    
  £    p £    p £    p  £    p   £  
Fund brought forward at 1st January 2016 2,498.52 2,498.52 1,521
Excess (expenditure)/ income (345.52) 692.32 346.80 177
Transfer from reserve                                           800
2,153.00 692.32   2,845.32 £2,498
Represented by:-
ASSETS
Guild simulator 1.00 1.00 1
BSC lifting gear 1.00 1.00 1
Stock of badges, certificates 470.50 470.50 914
Peal fees and donations 194.75 194.75 111
Sales of badges and certificates 51
Loan to Social Committee 100
Loan re Central Council visit 500
Prepaid insurance 1,550.62 1,550.62 51
Bank balance 1,333.34 692.32   2,025.66 2,492
3,551.21 692.32 4,243.53 4,221
LIABILITIES
Subs paid in advance 555.10 555.10 814
Sundry creditors 843.11 843.11 859
Guild Youth Fund                                     50.
1,398.21 0.00   1,398.21 1723
                                                      
2,153.00 692.32 2,845.32 £2,498.
R Brandwood
Guild Treasurer
15th March 2017
 

WINCHESTER AND PORTSMOUTH DIOCESAN GUILD OF CHURCH BELL RINGERS
CENTRAL FUND – INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
for the year ended 31st DECEMBER 2016
2016     2015
General Fund Training & Development Fund   Total    
  £   p £   p   £   p   £  
INCOME
District dues 4,306.75 4,306.75 4,244
Sale of badges and membership certificates 273.50 273.50 131
Sale of Guild reports 15.00 15.00 9
Advertisements in Guild report 231.00 231.00 198
Profit on sales of sweatshirts and polo shirts 117.97 117.97
Share of Ringing World calendar sales 44.00 44.00
Donation 12.00 12.00
Peal fees 354.75 354.75 380
Guild Youth Fund b/f 50.00 50.00
Surplus on Central Council meeting 2016 495.32 495.32 990.64
Surplus on Quiz Night              147.00    147.00          
5850.29 692.32 6.542.61 4,962
EXPENDITURE (all general fund)
Guild Report 1,287.00 1,356
Insurances – Public Liability 1,464.00 1,495
                 – All Risks 463.77 449
                 – Hand bells 75.40 83
Central Council affiliation fees 150.00 150
Central Council reps expenses 120.00 80
Master’s expenses 392.59 366
Master to Channel Islands 75.99 148
Treasurer’s expenses 50
Secretary’s expenses 26.91 53
Vice Masters Expenses 34
Public relations officers expenses – MP3 recorder 89.00
Guild Librarians account 437.50
Executive committee meeting expenses 126.00 178
District Officers forum expenses 44
Striking competitions 58.00
Communications committee and website expenses 131.80 110
WW1 project 192.75
Replacement case for master’s chain of office 41.29
ART fees refund to students 180.00
Contribution to I of W expenses to SE Region

YSC

 440.00
Board,easel and pens 17
Ringing World advertisements   37  
Talk at 10-bell Striking Competition       90  
Cost of sales and reduction in value of stock                           443.81     45  
  6,195.81 0.00   6.195.81 4,785.
EXCESS INCOME (EXPENDITURE) (345.52)    692.32   £346.80 177

R Brandwood
Guild Treasurer
15th March 20167

Background Information, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Guild Treasurer, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – HONORARY GENERAL TREASURER’S REPORT

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l have pleasure in presenting my report and accounts of the Central Fund and Central Reserve Fund for the year ended 31st December 2016. This being my  first year in the post; I would like to  take this opportunity to thank all those who have patiently answered my questions and given advice.

During the year, it was decided to set up a designated Training and Development Fund, and the Income and

Expenditure Account shows amounts added to this Fund separately from the General Fund. To date, no payments have been made from the Training and Development Fund.

Income from all sources remained steady and income from Districts is shown in the table below. The decision in 2015 to reduce the amount per subscription payable to the Bell Restoration Fund from £4 to £2 has led to an increase in the amounts payable to the General Fund but this increase will not become apparent until the accounts for 2017 are completed.

Total balances at the year-end have increased modestly and are sufficient for foreseeable needs.

District subscriptions were received/as follows:

            2016

           2015

Alton & Petersfield

547.75

585.55

Andover

418.60

408.80

Basingstoke

574.70

598.15

Channel Islands

250.25

171.00

Christchurch & Southampton

592.55

641.55

Isle of Wight

395.85

377.30

Portsmouth

619.50

648.20

Winchester

     907.55

     813.05
 Total

£4,306.75

£4,243.60

Total financial assets held by the Guild are as follows.

2016 2015
Central Fund 2,153.00 2,474.98
Training and Development Fund 692.32
Central Reserve Fund 5,012.07 5,009.55
Districts 18,382.54 16,498.78
Sub Committees 1,072.67 901.26
£27,312.60 £ 24,884.57

R Brandwood

Treasurer

15th March 2017

Background Information, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Guild Secretary, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017

2017 WP Guild Report – GENERAL SECRETARY’S REPORT

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61 Members attended the 2016 AGM which was held in July at Alresford and our thanks go to Winchester District for hosting the event. The meeting saw an almost complete change of Guild Officers. Many thanks goes to the retiring principal officers especially Mike Bubb who served as  Hon. Gen. Treasurer for 30 years. Thanks also to Maureen Routh for continuing as Honorary  General Secretary until the November meeting. Knowledge of process and procedures, however,  has still been retainedwith retiring Master Viv Nobbs taking on the role of PR officer and Tony  Smith remaining as Minute Secretary.

As is traditional the Inter District 8-bell Striking Competition was held prior to the AGM and was  hotly contested by four teams. First position went to Portsmouth who scored 89% for their Grandsire Triples.

  John Croft (Winchester District Chairman), Alan Hoar (Odiham), Maureen Routh (Steep) and Ronald Tipper (Buriton) were conferred with life membership having completed 50 years ringing  membership of the Guild. Mike Bubb (Guernsey) and Tony Smith (Hursley) were also elected to life membership in recognition of their exceptional services to the Guild. Congratulations to all.

It has been a very busy year for the Education Committee who have provided many varied and interesting courses including an extra ‘Ringing Up and Down in Peal’ course due to a large  demand. They always need experienced ringers to support the events so please consider helping if  you can. It is very rewarding helping learners.

As I become more involved with Guild activities I am increasingly aware of all of the work being carried out on the Guild Action Plan and good progress has been made by all of the working parties. Particular interest is the collation of information for the WW1 Commemorative Ringing Record and members are reminded when listing QPs or Peals in Bellboard rung in honour of any ringer/relative/parishioner who was involved in WW1 that the ‘comment sections’ contains the text W&P WW1.  This enables the team to easily find and collate the data.

Our website continues to grow and is a fantastic resource for communication. Nearly all districts now have their own webmaster which adds to the sustainability of the site.

On a personal note I would like to thank Maureen Routh for an excellent handover and her guidance  as I start my journey and build up knowledge as Hon. Gen. Secretary and also to Tony Smith for  his invaluable wisdom and  guidance on Guild matters and processes.

Heather Frazer

Background Information, Guild, Guild Report, Guild Report 2017, Master, Not A Contact

2017 WP GUILD REPORT – GUILD MASTER’S MESSAGE

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Dear Friends!

When you get around to reading this it will be nearly a year since I nodded my head at the wrong time.  I feel privileged to have taken on the role after a very organised team had put in place a forward-looking action plan and the working groups had begun to make inroads into the tasks set out in the Action Plan.  To all the previous team and working groups I would like to give a large vote of thanks.  Also thank you to those who have continued in their posts.)

This year saw a change of most of the senior posts.  A special thank you to those who made the change of personnel seamless by supporting the new post holders with their great depth of knowledge and their good will.

Following the excellent organisation of the Central Council meeting, the team has also supported the ART AGM which was based in Basingstoke. The team delivered excellent support to ART and the winners of The Sarah Beacham School Group Award stayed in the Guild having been won by Elizabeth College, Guernsey.

I would like to thank all those individuals who support their own towers by acting as Tower Captains, Tower Correspondents, Door Unlockers, Key Holders, Rope Splicers, Organisers of the wedding ringers, Social Secretaries, Steeple-keepers and all those small and sometimes overlooked jobs that keep our guild towers running.  Without these important individuals, there would not be any bells rung.

The various committees and working groups continue to work diligently and would be delighted to receive even more support in the coming year.  All your skills, great and small, would be appreciated.

I am excited by the number of young ringers developing their skills especially the groups in the more isolated areas of the Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and the New Forest. I am sure there are other young ringers in the Guild; please let your District Ringing Masters know you exist and they might be able to organise young ringers’ practices.

On occasion, I have heard that some members feel that the Guild is failing to let members know what is going on; this was never our intention.  It can be difficult to find a balance between keeping members informed of all possible plans and raising unattainable expectations.  We are continuing to work on ways of keeping every member informed and the Guild website and Guild Facebook pages are excellent places to keep up to date.

I am looking forward to an interesting second year and believe that the tasks ahead, although not straightforward, will be achievable.

I have a passion for quotes so;

The greatest lesson I have learned in life is that I still have a lot to learn

Mike Winterbourne

Background Information, How To, Not A Contact, Webmaster

How to find a recent post…

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… even if you have only just posted it, or the categories are incorrect so it isn’t appearing where you expected:

  1. The 5 most recent posts are listed in the footer section of every page. They appear instantly rather than having the usual time lag.
  2. All posts (draft, scheduled and published) can be found in the editor window  https://wpbells.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit.php
  3. Here is a list of the 100 most recent posts. This list does suffer from time lag.
Alton and Petersfield District, AP District Event, Archive, Background Information, District, Minutes

Alton & Petersfield District Bell Ringers Minutes of the Spring Meeting held on Saturday 22nd April 2017

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Alton & Petersfield District Bell Ringers
Minutes of the Spring Meeting held on Saturday 22nd April 2017 at St. Mary’s Church Liss

  1. Welcome and Introduction of Officers

The new District Chairman Mike Novell welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the current officers.  Members gave a round of applause to Joy Martin and her team of helpers for the splendid Tea, which all had enjoyed.

  1. Apologies

Apologies were received from Malcolm Cooper, Bob Duffy, John Leary, Hugh Routh, Mo Routh, Christine Rushton, John Stone, Sue Walker and Malcolm Wigmore.  The Chairman announced that in future the practice of recording apologies for absence would be discontinued.  He said that as there were currently 162 members but – and this was typical – only 35 present and 9 apologies, it was not worthwhile.

  1. The Minutes of the last meeting,

held on 21st January 2017, were accepted as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

  1. Matters arising

As agreed at the last meeting, a series of Guidelines revising and clarifying the roles of the Chairman, the Secretary, the Ringing Master and the proposed new post of Publicity Officer, had been produced and circulated to members for comment. In answer to an earlier query, it was confirmed that the two Guild Executive Officers would be responsible for communications between the District and the Guild.  There were no further questions and the Guidelines were accepted as the new District job descriptions.

  1. New District Secretary

Melanie Moore was elected to the vacant post of District Secretary, vice Valerie Harris who had resigned.  Proposed: Graham Cane, seconded Valerie Harris and carried.  Mary Broadbridge proposed a vote of thanks to Valerie for her hard work and dedication during her years as Secretary; this was warmly endorsed by all present.

  1. Election of New Members

Six probationer members were ratified – Isabelle Butterfield, Anna Hughes and Dave Malone of St. Peter’s Petersfield, Emma Hornsby and Steve Marriott of St. Lawrence Alton and Anita Westmoreland of St. Mary the Virgin Bramshott.

Three new full members were elected:-

Edwin Jenner (Senior), St. Mary the Virgin Bramshott – proposed Di Hart, seconded Julia Brunt

Malcolm Wigmore (Senior), St. Peter’s Petersfield – proposed Madeline King, seconded Melanie Moore

Jess Hornsby, St. Lawrence Alton – proposed Judy Sparling, seconded Nick James. Jess being present at the meeting was formally welcomed by the Chairman and presented with her certificate and badge.

  1. Treasurer’s Report

Nick James reported that the recent Skittles Evening had raised £265.10.  Expenses had amounted to £261, so there was a profit of £4.10!

  1. Report from the Executive Committee Rep.

Mike Novell reported that he had attended the last Executive Committee Meeting as an observer along with our official representative Hugh Routh, and Mo Routh who had gone as our second representative as agreed at the ADM in January.  He explained that we have two representatives at Guild meetings because of the number of A&P District members.  Mike will act as proxy for the Secretary at future meetings, at her request and this was agreed by the meeting.  As both Hugh and Mo were not at the meeting, Hugh’s Report was handed out and Mike agreed to take any questions or make additional explanations if required.  The meeting required no further explanations and there were no questions.

  1. Two Proposals

a) That a new position of District Publicity Officer be created. Mike Novell said that dealing with the various forms of 21st Century media was becoming increasingly important, indeed vital, to the efficient operation of District affairs. He was keen to enhance our local presence, for example by accessing the new radio station, Wey Valley Radio, operating in the Alton area and covering NE Hants. and parts of Surrey.  He suggested the new position be initially for a trial period of one year, to be extended for a further two years if so agreed later.  Proposed: Mike Novell, seconded Nick James and carried.  Valerie Harris volunteered to take up the new role.  She was nominated by Mike Novell, seconded by Roger Barber and duly elected.
b) That the current position of Librarian be re-named as Bookseller.
After discussion it was agreed that while a librarian has more duties than our District Officer, in future she is likely to be selling not only books but other materials. It was therefore proposed to rename the post “Learning Resources Officer”.  Proposed: Caroline Welsh, seconded Nick James and carried.

  1. A.O.B.

a) It was confirmed that Privett Village Hall would be needed for the District Picnic in the summer.

b) Ringing Master Graham Cane said that the annual Winchester Cathedral practice, to which everyone was invited, had been moved from 2nd August to 9th August. The next District Meeting/Striking Competition would be on 21st October at All Saints Alton. He confirmed that the District Outing would take place on 9th September in the Biggin Hill area of Kent. There would be one 4-bell tower, one 5-bell tower and the rest 6-bell towers.

c) Roger Barber was encouraged by the good turnout at the last Surprise Major practice, which was very successful, and he was keen to organise further such practices. It was agreed that the General practices organised by Graham continue to be worthwhile but that there should be Surprise Major practices as well, once every two months. The minimum aim would be Cambridge, progressing to Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.  It was stressed that a Surprise Major practice was not the appropriate occasion for anyone to learn to treble bob the treble (as it was acknowledged that a reliable treble was necessary in order to ring well).  Roger undertook to organise dates and towers for practices in May and August.

d) Teresa Brown pointed out that the attendance book had not been passed around during the meeting for those present to sign. Graham Cane admitted that he had forgotten to bring it! This prompted a discussion about how attendance could best be recorded, as so few members usually come to meetings.  It was agreed that in future there would be a head-count (no names) and the towers represented would be listed.  At this meeting there were 35 members present and the towers represented were St. Lawrence Alton, St. Matthew Blackmoor, St. Mary the Virgin Bramshott, St. Mary Buriton, St. Peter Froxfield, St. Peter & St. Paul Hawkley, St. Mary Liss, St. Peter Petersfield and St. Mary Selborne (9 out of 22).

e) Roger Barber is to consider whether to arrange a band for the Inter-District Striking Competition on 17th June.

  1. Chairman Mike Novell closed the meeting

with an invitation to members to look to the future, to co-operate in a team spirit, and to work together to achieve progress and success.
Melanie Moore District Secretary
3rd May 2017

Background Information, Guild, Not A Contact, Papers for AGM 2017

Agenda for the AGM June 17th

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1          Master’s welcome

2          Inter-District Striking Competition results

3          Apologies for absence

4          Loss of Members from death since the 2016 AGM

Brian Orange               King’s Somborne
Ruth Roberts               Christchurch
Alan Anstey                 formerly of St Michael’s, Basingstoke
D Kenvyn Walters    formerly of Yately
John Smith                   formerly of Ryde and Shanklin
Michael Pointer         formerly of Romsey
Nigel Miller                  formerly of Ryde and Arreton
Phillip Davis                formerly of Godshill and Shanklin

5          Minutes of the 2016 AGM

6          Matters arising

7          Life Membership – for fifty years continuous membership

Graham Cane Buriton
Valerie Williams East Meon
David Cooper Blackmoor
Roy le Marechal Bishopstoke
Rosemary Rogers Christchurch 


8          Officers’ and Committee Reports for 2016 

  1. Hon General Secretary (Annual Report)  P4
  2. Hon General Treasurer                                P5
  3. Education Committee                                  P15
  4. Hon Librarian and Archivist                      P17
  5. Striking Competitions Committee             P18
  6. Belfry Stewardship Committee                  P19
  7. Hon Peal Recorder                                        P20
  8. Communications Committee                      P24
  9. Public Relations Officer                               P25

9          Bell Restoration Fund                                                     

  1. Trustees’ Report and Accounts for 2016 (Annual Report) P9
  2. Grant Proposals

10        Report on 2017 Central Council Meeting

11        Guild Officer Elections

            Confirmation of appointment of Honorary General Secretary

12        Action Plan Update

13        Proposals

Motion (A) To reduce wasteful printing of unwanted annual reports
MOTION (B) To setup a Guild Ringing Schools Committee
Motion (C) To formalise the relationship between the Guild and its committees
Motion (D) – AGM Date

14        Future Guild Events      

District Officers Forum 30th September 2017 St Barnabas’ Church Hall
Education Course – Plain Hunt & Trebling to Doubles Methods 14th October Goodworth Clatford
Education Course  – Stedman Triples 4th November Venue TBA
Executive Committee Mtg 18th November St Barnabas’ Church Hall


15        Date and place of 2018 AGM

            16 June 2018 at Basingstoke      

16        Any other business