Although, at the 2011 AGM, I thanked many individual members of the Society for giving much valuable service to the Society, I should like to thank the whole of the Membership for making the British Sundial Society the flourishing organisation that it is today. I am very proud of the Society and I am delighted to have been able to hand over the post of Chairman to such a respected sundial designer, in the person of Dr Frank King, who will undoubtedly enhance the name and status of the Society in the years ahead, assisted by the new Secretary, Christopher Williams.
Also, on my own account and on behalf of my partner, Doreen Bowyer, I should like to thank you all for the warmth of your good wishes on my retirement, for the beautiful gifts, and for the honour that you have bestowed upon me in making me your new President.
Chris Daniel
It is a great pleasure to write this note for the Newsletter as the new chairman of the British Sundial Society. At the AGM on 1st May, Chris Daniel retired as chairman after 21 years of distinguished service. We must all be grateful for his enormous contribution to dialling.Our long-serving president, Sir Francis Graham-Smith, has also retired and I am delighted that Chris Daniel has filled that vacancy.The new Council will no doubt be examining the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead. We need to attract new members. I strongly share Chris Daniel's view that we should be seen as a friendly and welcoming organisation. I also echo his comment that this is a Society which has a sense of fun.The Wyboston Lakes conference was blessed by sunshine. The venue was excellent and all the indoor essentials were in one building. Patrick Powers is again to be congratulated for all his hard work as organiser.This is the time of year when, in British Latitudes, the sun's altitude can reach a respectable 60 degrees. Why not try out those altitude dials that you have been keeping hidden away? If you haven't done so already, you should read Mike Cowham's monograph on the subject.
Frank King
I am pleased to report that the new Chairman, Dr. Frank King and Secretary, Chris Williams were elected at the AGM held at Wyboston Lakes on 1st May 2011. Thus, both Chris Daniel and I can retire as planned confident that the administration of the Society is transferred to very capable and well qualified hands. As Secretary I have been able to initiate measures which have streamlined various administrative processes and ensured that we have complied with changing Charity Commission requirements. When I became Secretary I had hoped to achieve much more, but time and effort has had to be diverted to respond to various other problems and issues. Despite this, I have enjoyed my term as Secretary and would like to thank all my friends on the Council, both Trustees and Specialists, for their support, cooperation and ongoing contribution to the functions of the Society.
There is more to do in documenting our operational procedures, describing all the tasks, so that more members, given this insight, will be encouraged to volunteer to help in the management of their Society. The Society was very fortunate that Frank and Chris agreed to be nominated; we may not be so lucky again unless other members have expressed a serious interest before they are needed. This is my last report as Secretary but the new Council have co-opted me as a Trustee to assist in the smooth transfer of responsibilities to the new Officers, to continue to provide Restoration and Grant advice and care for our Reference Library.
BSS Reference Library.
There is little to report because a Library is a rather passive entity. Our Library is located in a splendid and appropriate listed building, Bromley House in the centre of Nottingham city. Full access details are given on the BSS Website. Some new acquisitions will be placed in the Library in the coming months and their titles published. Unfortunately, the Library receives few visits from BSS members possibly because there is so much dialling information in the Bulletins, Compendiums and on the Internet that there is much less incentive to browse a book for information. Many of the historic dialling books have been scanned (not by the BSS) and are available to view on a PC. On practical matters, I have reported recently in the Newsletter that the access security has been improved and you need to be able to prove your identity in order to enter. Bromley House have the latest Membership list (only hard copy not electronic). The BSS is part funding an internal security system for the Thoroton Room where the collection is kept. This has just been installed, approval having been delayed by the listing authority with concerns over cable routing.
Sundial Restoration and Grants.
The Society has paid a grant of £1500 towards the cost of the reconstruction of the Merides Media Noon Mark Mean Time Sundial at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. This exceptional early payment was made to assist the start up of the project. One new application is expected for the restoration of a vertical declining dial on a church at Stamford.
Graham Aldred
The 6th of March was a normal day until Chris Daniel invited me to consider nomination for the post of Hon. Secretary. The rest, as they say, is history. My email traffic has already perked up! I am most fortunate in having Graham's induction support; our joint objective is to achieve a seamless transition. I have begun to read myself into post - both as Secretary and Council member - using the opportunity to also simultaneously undertake an 'independent' review. When assuming a new post the achievements of predecessors loom large. I will strive to do them and the Society proud.
Chris Williams
At the time that this was being written, completed questionnaires were still coming in from conference delegates so members interested to see the complete analysis should go to our special conference web page. This can be reached from a link on the Society’s web site or directly by using the short form web address: bit.ly/wyboston
The sun shone all that weekend and we had been offered an usually interesting set of papers so that may be why 100% of respondents enjoyed the conference with many saying they thought it was the best they had attended and that we should again go for venues like Wyboston Lakes where all conference activities are under one roof. Naturally, such venues are not the cheapest available but a large majority thought Wyboston good value for money and would come again to any similar venue. As a result of a move to semesters, we are increasingly finding that University accommodation is not available to us at our preferred time of year and even those that are available are not far different in cost. However, I would like to hear from members who did not attend Wyboston Lakes because of cost considerations.
Of course, we had a few grumbles. The projector at the Robinson Centre seemed only able to project in a 16:9 aspect ratio so circular dials looked oval! We have never had that problem before so it will now be added to our venue check list! One delegate said that they had not submitted a talk because of our policy of not accepting papers where the author’s laptop had to be connected to the projection system before the slides could be shown – adding that there is no technical reason why this cannot be allowed. Now, that is entirely correct, there is no technical reason. However, to say that misses the point. The problem is the loss of time whilst the system is disconnected and reconnected and the projector restarted. Members may remember the Grange meeting where we reached our nadir in this respect with over half an hour lost from laptop switching and, on top of that, the plenary lecturer’s slides could not be projected. We now issue notes to all presenters and use the NASS approach where all presentations are submitted some time before the meeting so that compatibility can be checked and the meeting kept better to time.
The dial tour at Wyboston managed to get to see six dials of various types including a rarely seen stained glass dial – all in sunshine – and in the case of two church dials, with the church bells ringing too! Next year’s venue has yet to be confirmed but the Cotswolds is high on the list. Please do try and come and please do consider offering us a presentation.
Patrick Powers
Tony Wood and Ian Butson have been doing some interesting research into dials that have been used for War Memorials, as you will see from their article in this issue of the Bulletin. Their project is on-going, and the Imperial War Museum are closely involved and are proving very helpful. Some of the dials commemorate individuals and some honour a wider body of men. Many are for one or both of the World Wars, but some cover other conflicts before and since. Usually it is clear from the Register entry that a dial falls into this category. But occasionally, even if the original report spelled it out, the key fact may not have been transcribed across into the Register. If, therefore, you have sent in any such report, and you know that its status as a War Memorial has not been mentioned in the Register, I would be most grateful if you could let me know. I will then not only be able to improve the Register entry, but also to pass the information on to Tony and Ian for their further work.
John Foad
01622 858583
Subscriptions
The new levels (effective May 2012) will be announced in the December Newsletter. The structure will be simplified by removing Family membership. Local Groups It was agreed that Local Member Groups (self-governing) should be welcomed (see separate mention in this Newsletter under Membership). Library The Society Library in Nottingham is very little visited. Nevertheless after discussion it was agreed that we should always maintain a library of printed works, despite the absence of regular use and the world-wide trend towards digital archiving.
Restoration
Funds amounting to £1,148 were donated back in 1993 for restoration of the dial at St Katherine Cree, London (SRN 2273), and have been held in a ring-fenced account ever since. This restoration is unlikely to go ahead and we are in negotiation with the Charities Commission to release the money for use on other restorations.
Bulletin back issues
Now that the full set of BSS Bulletins is available on DVD, we are running down the stock of back issues that we hold in store. The remaining copies are available charged only at the cost of postage plus a £1 handling charge (enquiries to Elspeth Hill or John Foad). It was further agreed that spare copies of the Bulletin may be disposed of at the holder’s discretion. If you want to release shelf space, you are encouraged to pass any old copies to libraries, charity shops, doctors’ waiting rooms etc.
Register back issues
The situation is different here. If, with the issue of the 2010 Register, you need to get rid of previous copies, you should remember that they are confidential and not to be put in the public domain. If you can get them to me I can arrange for shredding.
Next Meeting.
Thursday 7th July 2011, at the Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London.
John Foad
Entry into the Register has slowed down, and then late extra entries for Hertfordshire and Leicestershire has meant more work before I take the latest batch of Counties up to York. John Davis has requested that I publish the completion of the Yorkshire Monograph by Alan Cook. It will appear as Monograph 3a, ‘Addendum to the Mass Dials of Yorkshire’. Otherwise, the usual trickle of reports, including FIVE internal mass dials at Ashwell in Hertfordshire - all very mysterious, but all good dials.
Frank King's memorial to Margaret Stanier must rank as the ultimate mass dial and will go into the Register as a modern one, alongside one or two others (for future archaeological reference!).
The Conference gave the opportunity to a small but select group of eager searchers to tot up no less than ten mass dials from about ten churches in N. Beds and S. Cambs. which was a good haul.
Keep snapping away with your digital technology - much better pictures these days.
The period 1920 to 1940 is almost devoid of photographs, all dials being described and maybe sketched.
Not Mass Dials, but an appeal to anyone who may be able to help Ian Butson, John Foad and me. We have in mind a Monograph on War Memorial Sundials and are in touch with the Imperial War Museum, who have already come up with a list for us to check out. A joint publication is in mind, with possible sales by/via the I.W.M.. Details will be in The Bulletin, September issue.
Tony Wood
Members have often asked if there are any other sundial enthusiasts in their area, so I would like to propose the idea of local groups. If you would like to form one, I can supply you with a list of members in your area (except for those who have requested confidentiality). How you manage the group is totally up to you, but we would like some feedback on your activities and we may be able to give advice on talks etc.. Do contact me if you are interested. We have had a number of new members in the past months. Robert Clinton from Suffolk, Robert Tito from Norfolk, Francesco Caviglia from Italy, Wayne Darren Lowe from Glasgow and renewing his membership is publisher and diallist Peter Drinkwater.
Jackie Jones
During the discussion that followed the AGM at Wyboston Lakes, the conference organiser asked for views on a cost-saving and rather more democratic measure whereby, in future, we would publish the Society’s full accounts on the website rather than specifically printing what is now a 12 page booklet, solely for the AGM attendees. Of course, and as required by the Constitution, a copy of these full accounts will always be available to view at the conference prior to the AGM and additionally those unable to access the web site will always be able to receive a text copy of them on request. The short version of the Accounts will, in any case, continue to be published in the Bulletin each year. There were no dissenting views expressed at the meeting. Any member who may in any year be interested to receive a printed copy of these full accounts by post should let our Treasurer, Graham Stapleton, know. His contact details can be found in any Bulletin.
Patrick Powers
Saturday 24th September 2011.
This is, as always, the fourth Saturday in September. We are meeting at a NEW location this year, in a lovely country village hall. Free parking, No traffic wardens. Easy access. See www.suttonhallstockcross.org for pictures inside and out of the Hall. Look for the flyer enclosed with this month’s Bulletin. First this year, easy access by bus, 10 minutes from Newbury Bus / Train Station. If you would like to come but do not have transport, send me an email of your area to info@towertime.co.uk, and I will try and link you up with others coming by car. Likewise, if you are coming by car and can offer a life, please send an email also of the area you are travelling from. I cannot promise linkups, but if everyone would send me an email I will try to do my best. You enjoy the day, this is your chance to enable others to enjoy the day too. Likewise, it is helpful to have some idea of numbers attending - so kindly email or write. No booking required, just turn up, but just drop me a line of your intentions. Look forward to seeing you all, with your grand displays and talks.
David Pawley