The Autumn General Meeting of the Association was held at St Mary’s Kilburn on Saturday 12th October.
General ringing at this new ring of 6 bells followed a striking competition on the back-6 at St Augustine’s Kilburn, judged by Matthew and Heather Rayner from West Ham. Each team rang two extents of Doubles. In six very good pieces of ringing there were no method mistakes, and the results were as follows:
1. Staines 90%
2. Hillingdon 88%
3. Twickenham 86%
4. Aldgate 84%
5. Islington, Prebend Street 82%
6. Ealing 79%
Staines retained the Association Plate as the overall winners. Hillingdon won the Rhodesia Plate for the best 120 not rung by the overall winners.
After tea, 45 members were present at the Autumn General Meeting, with the President (Stephen Jakeman) in the Chair. The main outcomes from the meeting were:
1. Membership subscriptions are to remain at £8 in 2014, but the General Treasurer (Mark Harris) gave notice of an intention to increase the subscription to £10 in 2015.
2. The Master (Mike Palmer) reported on progress at the Association’s 12 bell practices at St Magnus, with Newgate and Bristol Surprise Maximus being rung as well as Grandsire, Stedman and Cambridge. There have also been a number of successful, linked quarter peals on 4th Saturdays at St Sepulchres. The Association will be sending a team to the London 12 Bell Competition at St Magnus on Saturday 26 October.
3. Two grants were approved from the Bell Restoration Fund: £5000 to St Stephen’s Rochester row (represented at the meeting by Stephanie Pattenden), and £500 to St Barnabas’, Homerton.
4. The Librarian (Paul Norman) reported on progress with relocating, organising and making more accessible the Association’s collection of Ringing Worlds (1920s to 2013).
5. A Change Ringing on Handbells event (free to members, with a nominal charge for lunch) is to be held at Harrow School on Saturday 12 April 2014, organised and hosted by Christopher O’Mahony. This will have separate streams for people wishing to develop their skills in ringing plain methods, treble bob and surprise methods, and Stedman ( on all numbers from six to 12). The Association’s two handbell competitions will also be held at Harrow School on that day.
6. New Rules were agreed for the Inter-District Striking Competition (on 8 or 10 bells), to be held on the same day as the Association’s AGM. A new trophy has already been procured and was displayed – it is to be known as the ‘Roger Bailey Cup’.
7. Revised Rules were agreed for 6-Bell Striking Competition.
8. Four Association representatives on the Central Council were elected to serve for three years: Linda Foddering, Helen Udal, Peter Kemp and Frank Blagrove
9. Linda Foddering was elected to the post of Assistant Secretary
10. The President gave notice that the Association will need to elect a new President and a new Master at the AGM on 26 April 2014, as the three year terms served by Stephen Jakeman and Mike Palmer will expire then.
Altogether a productive afternoon, and the tea arranged by Janet Drake was excellent too!
Stephen Mitchell
General Secretary