32nd (remote) Annual General Meeting 2020

Dear Member

Please find attached the papers for the KDLHG 2020 AGM.

Please note that because of the need to conduct this business remotely, if you wish to comment on the reports, nominate members for the committee or register a “ no” vote on the current nominations  you will need to either email, phone or write to the Chairman or Secretary to be received by midnight Sunday 5th April.  No response will be taken as meaning that you have no objection to the reports, and as support for the current nominations.  Any new nominations for the committee will be put to the membership  for consideration by email and post.  Please do consider nominating new members for the committee, having first obtained their consent of course.

Thank you for your patience while we have arranged these matters, which I hope will prove effective in continuing the management of the Group.

I wish you well and hope that things will rapidly return to normal, and we can meet together again soon.

David Freke,  Chairman

AGENDA        32nd (Remote) Annual General Meeting – 31 March 2020

1)           Introduction.

As you will be aware in the current health crisis your Committee has had to cancel the 2020 32nd AGM meeting, but we are still obliged to continue the administration of the Group, electing committee members and officers, receiving and approving our accounts and receiving the reports of the Treasurer and Chairman.  Rather than hold over the AGM until the crisis has abated, which would entail an unknown period of delay and uncertainty, we have decided to conduct a “Remote AGM”.  We are circulating by email and post the 2020 AGM Agenda, the draft Minutes of the 2019 AGM, the Treasurers Report and Accounts, and the Chairman’s Report.  They are attached to this email, or accompany this letter in the post.

Members are encouraged to make any comments they may wish, as in a normal meeting, but by email, phone or post.

In the matter of the election of the Committee and Officers, the names of nominees so far received are set out in the Agenda, with the invitation to members to nominate new committee members, including themselves.   The committee is currently too small for comfort and nominations for new members are welcome.  A vote for the nominees as set out in the Agenda will require no action, any vote against will require an email, phone call or letter to that effect.  The names of any new nominations with any supporting information must be received by the Secretary or Chairman by midnight on Sunday April 5th, and they will be immediately put to the membership, with a deadline for votes at midnight on Sunday April 12th.

2)           Apologies for absence

3)           Minutes of 31st AGM held on 15 March 2019

4)           Chairman’s Report

5)           Treasurer’s Report

6)           Appointment of a competent person to examine the Group’s 2020 annual accounts.  :

Proposed               Peter Waters

7)           Election of Officers

Nominees:

(1)  Chairman                         David Freke      Any further nominations

(2)  Vice-Chairman                Roger Gaunt     Any further nominations?

(3)  Secretary                       Ilona Sekacz      Any further nominations?

(4)  Treasurer                      Ted Crofts         Any further nominations?

(5)  Outings Secretary         Isobel Gill            Any further nominations?

(6)  Programme Secretary       vacant                Any nominations?

 

8)           Election of Other Members of the Committee

Nominees:

Claire Roberts

Catherine Petrie

Peter Waters

Any further nominations?

9)           Next Year’s Programme

10)      Any Other Business from members (please email or post AOB contributions)

Send comments or committee  nominations by midnight Sunday 5th April  2020

by email to:

frekedj@globalnet.co.uk

i.sekacz@btinternet.com

or phone to:

David Freke   01295 670516   or    07876290044

or by post to:

David Freke, or Ilona Sekacz

Westcote Manor Farm

Edgehill

Banbury

OX15 6HS

 MINUTES of 31st AGM held on 15th March 2019 at 7.30 in Kineton Village Hall

1            Introduction.  The Chairman David Freke welcomed our Honorary President Dr Robert Bearman, members and guests, and invited Dr Bearman to preside over the business of the meeting.

2)           Apologies for absence.   Richard Hurley, Ilona Sekacz, Olive Sekacz, Jackie and Mark Walker, Clive Benfield.

3)           Minutes of 30th AGM held on 16 March 2018, tabled

No matters arising

4)           Chairman’s Report for 2018

Honorary President, Guests, Members,

The continued success of this group depends upon two things:

  • stimulating output in the form of talks, activities, and research which engages our membership and which keeps you, as individuals, feeling that it is worthwhile coming out every third Friday and sitting still for an hour or so, or which stimulates members into engaging with historical issues, and

2) energetic input from individuals to initiate and facilitate our programme, to pursue interesting ideas through the group and to engage with research.

Parts of our output have been demonstrably successful.  Our talks have attracted good numbers of members, and often many visitors as well.  Last year we had a wide mix of topics presented by experts and enthusiasts, addressing locally relevant subjects from Tearooms at Edgehill to Treasure from Warwickshire, and not least Treats at Christmas.  I shall not remind you of all of them, as they are all reported in the monthly Newsletter.  Suffice to say, half of the 2018 programme was provided by our own members, drawing on their own experience and research.  Our trips to Bristol, Long Itchington and the Rollright Stones attracted a hard core of members, who invariably enjoy and appreciate the events, but sometimes in fewer numbers than would make them comfortable economically.  Other aspects of our output are more intermittent.  It is 20 years since the History of Kineton book was published, 11 years since the Snapshot, 8 years since the Churchyard Survey, 7 since the Battlefield Trust collaboration.  The website introduced 5 years ago continues to be accessed worldwide.  Of course, individual contributions to research and its dissemination have been made throughout the Group’s existence, for instance Peter Ashley-Smith’s articles about local history appearing in periodicals and academic journals, and the lectures and talks by members about their personal research topics to other groups and organisations.  We have also taken opportunities to set up our stall and exhibition material at conferences and other events, most recently at the Kineton Village Hall sale in January.  This year will see a significant addition to our output: the publication of a book of Peter’s articles gathered and edited by our President and Gill, with photos from David Beaumont’s extensive collection.  So much for output.

Continued input to support and contribute to these activities is also required.  From what I’ve mentioned it is clear that some members are undertaking research following up their own experiences and disseminating this through our own programme and elsewhere.  We are also contributing to wider research, for instance several members are taking part in Dr Maureen Harris’project, supported by the Friends of Warwick Record Office, to transcribe the Civil War compensation claims in the parishes around us, and we hope to hear more about this in due course.  But new ideas and projects generated within the group are always valuable. We would be keen to hear of any pet project which the group could support.

Key to new work is access to resources, and with Peter’s passing we risk losing access to the wealth of material he collected and produced, and this has reminded us that that other members also hold valuable material.  Many years ago Brian Lewis alerted us to this issue and in my first chairman’s address 11 years ago I also flagged up the management of, and access to, our archives as a priority.  It still is, but we are inching our way, Brexit-like, to a solution.  On behalf of the Group we have proposed to the Village Hall Users Committee that a new mezzanine floor be inserted behind the stage, to be our secure archive store.  We have prepared detailed plans, and a builder, and your committee is awaiting his estimates, and if they are acceptable and within our financial scope we will put the proposal to the VHC for their consideration, and we hope to have a decision in the next few months.

As well as historical inputs we need to support the administrative structure that maintains the Group itself.  Here we are perhaps less robust.  We have lost several long standing and energetic members over the last few years, either through death, relocation or retirement from the committee, and we need to replace them.  The election of the committee is coming up, please consider yourself or your best/worst friend/enemy for nomination.  I am pleased to announce that Ted Crofts is prepared to stand for the role of Treasurer, a huge weight off my mind.

We also have a declining membership, and I would like to think that the new housing developments around Kineton, whatever else they may cause, may also be source of new members.  When you encounter new residents please proselytise shamelessly.

It remains for me to thank the committee for all their hard work,

Roger Gaunt,

Isobel Gill

Steve Gill (who is leaving the committee),

Ilona Sekacz,

Catherine Petrie,

Richard Hurley (another committee loss),

Peter Waters, and

Claire Roberts

And, of course, our Honorary President, whose work on our behalf this year has been unprecedented and essential.

5)           Treasurer’s Report.  First we should heartily thank Richard Hurley who has looked after our accounts for a decade, and for all his meticulous work in keeping us solvent and financially informed.  He has moved to the west country and we wish him well.  There was a gap between Richard’s leaving and our new treasurer elect Ted Crofts taking up the reins, and we are indebted to Peter Waters stepping in to manage things.

The 2018 accounts were tabled, and are summarised below.

2018

Income:

Annual subs       690.00

Visitor fees         122.00

Books                     9.21

Outings            1133.50

Bank Int.                9.32

AGM supper     397.50

TOTAL            2,361.53

Expenditure:

Rental/Hall        210.00

Misc/IT subs        91.00

Speakers            270.00

Committee        126.00

Outings              986.00

Surplus               294.53

TOTAL             2,361.53

Balances:

Bank Balance        486.75

Investment A/C  8395.43

Petty cash                  2.16

PaypalA/C                55.51

TOTAL                  8885.13

6)           Appointment of a ‘competent person’ to examine the Group’s 2019 annual accounts.

Peter Waters has agreed to continue to undertake this duty.

7)           Election of Officers

The following members have already been nominated and were elected nem. con.

(1)  Chairman                                 David Freke                     

              (2)  Vice-Chairman                        Roger Gaunt                   

              (3)  Secretary                                  Ilona Sekacz     

              (4)  Treasurer                                 Ted Crofts         

               (5)  Outings Secretary                  Isobel Gill                        

              (6)  Programme Secretary          vacant

                                                                                                                  

8)           Election of Other Members of the Committee

The following members have already been nominated and were elected nem. con.

Claire Roberts

Catherine Petrie

Peter Waters                                

 

No further nominations were received

Dr Bearman handed over to David Freke to take the Chair

9)           2019  Programme

In 2019 we have already enjoyed:

David Beaumont (Admiral Cowan), and

Ilona Sekacz (Shakespeare and Music)

To come are:

April 26th         Tim Newman The Mills Family and the History of the Pillertons

May 17th          Martin Russell and Tony McKay: Unravelling the Cropredy Campaign

June ??             Visit to Hill Close Gardens Warwick Details to be announced

July 13th           Chipping Camden walk Saturday 10.30   £7.50

August 10th     Ironbridge day trip

Sept 20th         Paul Gaunt:    Shadows of the Past  WWII  memoirs of an RAF man

Oct 18th            Alan Benjamin   Constabulary Tales.  Policing in the 60s

Nov 15th          the doyenne of oral history studies:  Helen Lloyd, Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary                                People

Dec 13th             Victorian drama …….?

Jan 17th 2020   David Freke     Elegy: on country church local masons

Feb 21st 2020      Andrew Baxter       the Edgehill Light Railway

As in last year’s programme we have tried to cover both local and wider topics, and again we have recruited some of our own members as well as well-known presenters.   I hope you all will find some of these of interest, and some of you find them all of interest.  We are indebted to Claire and the committee for arranging these talks so efficiently.

10)      No other Business from the floor

At 8.15pm The business meeting closed to be followed by

“A TASTE OF THE  PAST”

Ilona SekaczClaire RobertsIsobel Gill, and Catherine Petrie presented delicacies made from historic recipes, accompanied by short introductions to the ingredients.  Among them were nettle soup (an 18th century regular when green vegetables were scarce, but archaeological evidence dates from 6000BC); pumpes (medieval meat balls); pottage; oatbead; shortbread; marchpane (a variety of almond paste – marzipan); and Banbury cakes.  Our thanks to Ilona, Claire, Isobel and Catherine for providing such stimulating and in some cases surprising tastes of the past.

To round the evening off the Chairman quizzed the group with 20 fiendish questions about historic food.   Probably the most disgusting dishes were some of those on the menu at Queen Elizabeth I visit to Kenilworth Castle: dried sturgeon stomach, pigs’ bladders and whale vomit.

The meeting closed at 9.30pm    DF

Agenda Item 5:  Treasurer’s Report  2019

This is the report on the Finances of Kineton and District Local History Group as at the 31st December 2019.

  • Income for 2019 was a healthy £3048.67 against £2,361.53 for 2018. This was largely due to the sale of the new book by Peter Ashley –Smith.

Although the cost of producing this book (£1250.00) together with the additional cost of the book launch (£141.47) was more than the amount produced from book Sales, the cost has largely been re-cooped (£1,159.90), and this bodes well for the future as any additional sales of the book will now produce additional profit for 2020.

  • The outings for 2019 made a very small loss of £2.40, against a profit of £147.50 in 2018. This shows the importance of having a good number of attendees at these outings, which are laid on for the benefit of the members. We would ask that where you can, you support these outings as any profit goes towards the running of the club.
  • Membership of the club for 2019 was 68, down 1 from 2018, Visitors Fees remained fairly consistent, amounting to £126.00 for 2019, up from £122 for 2018.
  • One additional expense for 2019 was the hire of storage space for the archives, whilst we are awaiting the go ahead on the permanent storage area at the Village Hall. This will be an ongoing expense for 2020 amounting to £30 per month until such time as we can complete the work.
  • There was an overall deficit in 2019 of £27.36, due to the reasons shown above.
  • All in all, the Club is in a healthy financial situation, and should remain so going forward. Funds on hand at the end of 2019 amounted to £8,912.49. Please cross reference with the Chairman’s report for proposed expenditure in 2020.

Ted Crofts, Hon Treasurer