W&MHS committee meeting 26.04.22

Minutes of committee meeting – Tuesday 26th April 2022

Held via Zoom

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Present were: Stephen Dutfield

Anthony Panes

David Richards

Brian Coles

Steven Tyrer

 

Apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Dr. Ed. Cloutman.

 

Minutes of meeting 26th November 2021

These had been received in advance of the meeting and were approved.

 

Matters arising

There were no matters arising.

 

Finance

AP reported that the current balance in our account was £767.94 but that payments of £93.52 had not yet cleared – including the renewal of the society’s Zoom licence - leaving a working balance of £674.42.

 

New Website

ST had been giving the society website a complete overhaul, with a new, clearer format. He had circulated a link to committee members for them to preview the site. Some had been able to preview the new look, but SD had not been able to open the link, so ST shared his screen to display pages from the new site. This was wholeheartedly approved by all present, and the site had gone live. It was considered clear and easy to navigate, especially for some of our more elderly members.

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Summer meeting 2022

SD asked whether there was an expectation that we would be able to resume holding our summer meeting at the Cardiff Model Engineering Society this year. Following discussion about the recent upturn in Covid cases, and the fact that the room there doesn’t allow for effective social distancing, it was decided not to hold a meeting there this year. As an alternative it was agreed that we should try to arrange a couple of Zoom talks for June and July. SD will try to organise these shortly.

 

AP asked whether he should contact the people at Grosmont regarding an autumn meeting. All agreed that, provided the local authority’s previous stringent social distancing rules had been relaxed, we would return there this October.

 

Future speakers/subjects

Following on from the above there was a general discussion about future speakers. SD felt that we hadn’t covered watches sufficiently in recent years and should perhaps redress the balance over the next year or so. BC suggested a talk on collectable watches below £100 which would certainly interest many in the society. ST has compiled a list of speakers/subjects into a reference document which is in the Dropbox folder.

 

W&MHS 40th Anniversary

SD noted that the 40th anniversary of the society’s first meeting had passed in January, and that it would be a good idea to arrange an event later in the year to celebrate our first four decades. Rather than a meeting SD thought that a social event for members and partners would be suitable. Following discussion about locations geographically suitable to attract the most members DR suggested that Abergavenny would be ideal with good road links from the Swansea and Hereford areas in addition to Newport and Cardiff. It was agreed that we will investigate suitable venues in the town with a view to the dinner taking place in the autumn.

 

A.O.B.

There was no other business.

 

Date of next committee meeting

This has yet to be decided.