Newsletter No 50 - December 2008 |
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FROM THE SECRETARY A new Secretary? In the last Newsletter I gave advance notice of my planned resignation from Council at the 2009 AGM. The vacancy is still open and I welcome enquiries: by all means contact me or the Chairman if you are interested. The Cumbria conference. Those who attended the successful conference in Latimer will know that the next conference (our 20th) is to be held in the Cumbria Grand Hotel, Grange-over-Sands. This will be our second in hotel style accommodation, and partly for this reason we have shifted the date further from Easter to 15 - 17 May 2009. In addition to being just to the south of the Lake District, there are plenty of sundials to see in the area. Dom Maidlow Davis (Father Leo), Head Master, Downside Abbey and School, is to give the Andrew Somerville Memorial lecture, and our Patron, Sir Mark Lennox-Boyd is also to give a talk. By all means contact me if you would like to add your name to the list of speakers. Due to the later date of the conference please note that the booking form will be sent out with the March Newsletter. Sales. After several years of stirling service by Peter Lane, for which we are all extremely grateful, I am delighted to be able to report that Elspeth Hill has taken over the task of sales of our publications, binders, ties and scarves. Regular attenders to conferences and the Newbury meetings will know that Elspeth looks after the sales for Rogers Turner, booksellers of London and Paris. For many years Elspeth acted purely for Rogers Turner, but having enjoyed the conferences in their own right she decided to join the Society after the Durham conference, and is now happy to wear two hats. We can look forward to the benefits from this very good arrangement. Doug Bateman FROM THE BULLETIN EDITOR Margaret Stanier’s Effects The blind auction of the remaining dialling items from Margaret’s estate was successful and raised a further £132.50 for the BSS Andrew Somerville Memorial Fund. If you made a bid and haven’t heard from me yet, I’m afraid you were out-bid! Thank you to all those that participated. New Monograph The next in the BSS Monographs series, Mike Cowham’s “Altitude Dials”, is currently at the printers. It is hoped that it might be available in December and it will be priced at £14.50 (inc. UK postage). A full announcement will be made next time but if you are looking for a last-minute Christmas present, contact me and I may be able to supply an early copy. It will have 72 pages, many of them in colour, and include a CD-Rom of the dial patterns for you to make your own versions. Research for the monograph “The Double Horizontal Dial” has recently brought to light some rather nice modern examples made in France. This extends the list of countries with these dials which already includes South Africa and America. I would be very pleased to hear from any reader who knows of other examples anywhere in the world. John Davis REGISTER NOTES First, a big thank you to several members who have responded to my request for details of ‘Dials Not In The Register’! I now have, or will shortly have, the information I need on Gidea Park, Elmwood Cottages, Chris Daniel’s Millennium dial at Greenwich, the Shiremoor dial, which turns out to be by Tony Moss, and Pontardawe. Does anyone know anything about a large horizontal dial that was once set in the paving in front of the Millennium Dome? It is no longer there, but you can still see it in Google Earth or Google Maps. It was about 100 yards SE of the dome, and measured about 60 yards across. It had a vertical ‘pin’ gnomon, the tip being the nodus. I would much appreciate news of the designer. You may have seen in the Bulletin that we have had some recent successes in recovering stolen dials. In an attempt to build on this, we will soon be listing stolen dials on the Society web site. Please keep an eye out for this, and if you spot a dial in an auction catalogue, on eBay, or in an antique shop or salvage yard, that looks at all suspicious, just check out if it is on our list. Secondly, and very importantly, if you know of a dial being stolen, please ensure that it is reported to the police, and let me have the details, including the ‘Crime Reference Number’ that the Police will allocate. I can then get the theft on the Police list, which is used by the major auction houses, and which will soon be circulated world-wide. Newsflash on Stolen Dials: An important Delander Double Horizontal (SRN 3607, which you will find in the Register, listed under Northampton), was stolen on 27 October. If you see or hear of any dial that could be it, please get in touch immediately. John Foad MASS DIAL MEANDERINGS Mass Dial Group A good few odds and ends have cropped up: 1) Litlington (Sussex) - a report from NADFAS about this church with the famous dial on the front cover of 'Cole'. Further mass dials were also reported and Jackie Jones went along to advise on their recording and tell them about the famous dial. Thanks Jackie. 2) A Meeting in Wales was treated to three lectures in succession about mass dials from Chris Williams, Tony Wood and Bill Linnard! Bill Linnard has also unearthed a further Saxon/Celtic 'standing stone' dial in Wales like the Irish ones - of considerable interest to: 3) 3) Mike Cowham is continuing his important work on Saxon dials; publish as book?, monograph? 4) Alan Cook's monograph on Yorkshire mass dials has appeared. It looks good and has been well reviewed. 5) A mass dial on a house - following a trip to Northamptonshire by Tony Wood and Jill Wilson, lots of new dials were recorded, both mass and scientific. The house with the mass dial also had a direct- east dial carved into the wall which may be unique for a secular building. 6) The Mass Dial Register is now available for a few Counties; Cornwall, Lancashire, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Wight, Rutland, Devon, Wales and Lincolnshire Annexe (records since Bob Adams' Lincolnshire). Prices will be announced in the Newsletter and they will be available as “print on demand” for the moment. 7) The move to York of the first batch of reports/records is being prepared and deposit/retrieval/indexing procedures will be confirmed in the near future. A.O.Wood MEMBERSHIP NOTES Whether it is due to the economic situation or the miserable weather this year, there have been no new members since July. Maybe some sunshine will get people interested in sundials. I am going to Cuba in the New Year; does anyone know the locations of any sundials there? I will be in Havana, Vinales, Trinidad, Santiago and Camaguey; it seems to be very difficult to find many on the internet. Jackie Jones REMINDER - SUNDIAL TRAILS COMPETITION CLOSES 21 DECEMBER. Details in the last newsletter or www.sundials.co.uk/competition2008.htm BSS PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 2008/9. Final Reminder! The Society is again running its Photo competition this year and an entry form was enclosed with the previous edition of the Bulletin. The competition is open to all paid up Members of the Society and entries need to be submitted so as to arrive with me by the end of February 2009. This year we shall be awarding some additional winning certificates. These will be reserved for those who have never previously been officially placed in the competition. It is hoped that this new policy might encourage entries from those who might like to enter but feel somewhat inhibited because of the standard of some of our more experienced photographers. These extra certificates will not, however, affect the main awards which, as usual, will be chosen from all submitted entries in the usual way. Members may submit up to three entries, each of which must be accompanied by its own form. If you need more copies of the entry form then you can photocopy the form that was enclosed with the last Bulletin or you can download copies of it from the BSS web site. More information about the 2008/9 competition and its rules are to be found on the entry form. Also on the BSS web site are last year’s results with links to the actual submitted entries. Have a look there to see the standard to beat! In the meantime if you have any queries at all do please e-mail me on patrick_powers@dunelm.org.uk or write to me at the address given in the back of any Bulletin. Patrick Powers. COUNCIL MEETINGS Points from the meeting of 30th October 2008 Stolen dials will be listed on the Society web site, and will also be submitted to the Police register of stolen ‘Art and Antiques’. This is monitored by the major auction houses, and will soon be open to the public and distributed world-wide. Final changes to the rules of the 5-yearly Sundial Design Competition were agreed. See elsewhere in the Newsletter for a call for entries. Chris Daniel has written his final page for ‘Clocks’ magazine. It was agreed that the complete set should be published as a BSS Monograph. Elspeth Hill having been welcomed as the new Society Sales organiser, Peter Lane’s excellent work over the last few years was recognised. Sincere thanks are due to him for his success in the position, and for continuing while his other commitments were calling him away. Next Meeting. Thursday 5 March 2009, at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, London. John Foad BSS SUNDIAL DESIGN COMPETITION 2010
SUNDIAL SAFARI I have started putting together a UK Safari, this time to the East of England. It will be in mid-late September 2009 and will be for about 6 days duration. Suffolk, in particular, is very rich in dials and we hope to visit Bury St Edmunds, Aldeburgh, Woodbridge and local villages with longer trips to Norwich and Colchester. As the hotel needs to be booked by January 2009 I would like to invite anyone interested to contact me (preferably by email) fairly soon and I will forward further details as they emerge. Mike Cowham SUNDIAL TRIP IN THE QUEYRAS, FRANCE Alain Ferreira, member of the Commission des Cadrans Solaires in France (who has attended more than one BSS Conference) is promoting and leading a splendid sundial trip in the Queyras region of the Hautes-Alpes, France. The Queyras is famous for its rich abundance of sundials, inspired and many executed by the famous 19th century dial designer and creater, Giovanni Francesco ZERBOLA. The trip of a week will combine three full days and one half day viewing the sundials with a day's excursion on foot into a higher alpine regions (about 1000 ft ascent) to find remoter sundials in the grand mountains of the Queyras. In all, the venturers led by Alain, a truly inspiring guide, will find 76 sundials of which 19 are Zarbula's. For off periods, several other non-dial, upland walking opportunities are proposed. Julian Lush NEWBURY ONE DAY MEETING. It was pleasing to see a good turn out for this meeting last September - some travelling from a long distance away. Thank you too for kind comments received about the day's events. It is most encouraging to get feed back - do write and let me know your experiences of the day. On a personal note, I am now back on two legs, back at work and climbing ladders more carefully ! Best wishes and thanks to you all. Happy Christmas and see you all in September 2009. David Pawley JOHN D NORTH The 2003 Somerville Lecturer, John North, died on the 31st of October. He was Professor of the History and Philosophy of the Exact Sciences at the University of Gröningen in The Netherlands. He had a distinguished academic career and wrote many books on various aspects of the history of science. In particular, he wrote a biography of Richard of Wallingford, Britain's earliest clockmaker and constructed the replica of his clock in St Albans Cathedral. Professor North received a Knighthood from Holland shortly before his retirement a few years ago. Tony Wood ADVERTISEMENT - Charities Act 1960, section 14 Name of charity: British Sundial Society Registered charity number: 1032530 Purpose for which money or other property was given: Restoration of the sundial on the wall of St. Katherine Cree church, City of London. NOTICE is given that money and other property given for this purpose can not be used for that purpose because no group has been found to undertake the work. If you gave money or other property for that purpose you are entitled to claim it back. If you wish to do so you must tell The Treasurer, Graham Stapleton contactable as below within 3 months of 12/12/2008. If you wish the money or other property to go to a similar charitable purpose and to disclaim your right to the return of the money or other property, you must ask the person named above for a form of disclaimer. If you do not either make a claim within the three months or sign a disclaimer, the Charity Commission may make a Scheme applying the property to other charitable purposes. You will still be able to claim the return of your money or other property (less expenses), but only if you do so within 6 months from the date of any Scheme made by the Commissioners. Date of this notice: 12/12/2008
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