Calne Branch AGM January 2024
The Calne Branch AGM was held on 13th January at St Mary’s Church, Calne. It was a bitterly cold day and the church heating was on for the occasion! The ringing beforehand gave a chance for people to ring on the recently rehung and augmented ring of bells. The service in Church was led by the new Team Rector, Caspar Bush, who reminded us of the day in 1638 when the original tower fell down, causing significant damage to the Eastern end of the building. Fortunately the tower was rebuilt and the recent project in 2023 has given us a splendid ring of 10 bells.
A bring and share tea was organised at the back of the Church and there was certainly plenty of food. The day was rounded off by the AGM. Patrick Holder-Mallett took the chair for the discussions, but passed the chair over to Ken Webb for the re-election of the Branch Chair. Many of the other post holder are unchanged, but Edward Spearey stood down from the post of Treasurer. It was not possible to formally approve the accounts as they have not yet been checked by the independent examiner. The accounts will be formally approved at the next business meeting. Ken Webb was elected as Treasurer, but stood down from the post of Ringing Master, which was taken by Richard Heath. Ruth Plumridge will be Assistant Ringing Master, alongside Andrew Woolley. Discussions about safeguarding and Membermojo were kept to a minimum, but will be revisited later in the year.
The programme of events for the year was approved and includes a Branch outing on 4th May. This will be organised by Ruth Beavin and will centre on Hungerford.
Jane Ridgwell
