CHAIRMAN

Along with many other members, I very much enjoyed a most successful conference in Oxford in April. I am sure that all delegates will join me in congratulating the Conference Team on their attention to every detail. These occasions involve a considerable amount of work over a prolonged period and this is all much appreciated.

It was especially good to welcome new members, all of whom joined the Society via the BSS Help-and-Advice service. This service is now largely in the hands of Sue Manston who frequently finds out far more than the enquirer expects.

As usual, there was an excellent programme of talks covering a wide range of topics. The talks are outlined in the June Bulletin. On Saturday morning, Allan Chapman gave us a most memorable Andrew Somerville lecture and he continued to entertain those who were on his table at the Gala dinner later.

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CHAIRMAN

It was splendid to see all of you who attended the Nottingham conference. Chris Lusby Taylor is to be congratulated and thanked for his third conference. Recognising that three years is a long enough stint for anyone, several proposals were made at the conference and several volunteers came forward and, as with the editorial role, the conference role has now evolved into a team. The 2016 team has got off to a flying start and you will see elsewhere in this Newsletter that they have announced both a date and a venue.

I am delighted to note that David Pawley has once again arranged the annual meeting in Newbury which, this year will be on Saturday 26 September. Please put this date in your diaries.

I must also take this opportunity to thank Nick Orders for serving as our Librarian for several years and to welcome our new Librarian John Wilson. He is a recent BSS joiner but he has been a member of the Nottingham Subscription Library for some years and is very familiar with its organisation.

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CHAIRMAN

My main activity over the past three months has been working with Christine Northeast and Bill Visick to produce a normal-length Bulletin for March.

There is nothing like doing something yourself to discover exactly what is involved. I have to repeat what I said in the December Newsletter, but with even more admiration and awe, and stress just what a Herculean burden John Davis has shouldered for so many years.

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CHAIRMAN

The Bulletin‘s editorial explains why the December issue is thinner than usual and that the editorial role has evolved beyond a single volunteer. Having been personally involved in the production of the December Bulletin, and taken professional advice, I can see that the role is enormous and that there are many stages and skills. It is capable of being organised in a more collegiate form.

First and foremost are our contributing authors, without whom there would be no Bulletin. We have some articles in the pipeline but more are needed. Please could would-be contributors send their articles to editor@sundialsoc.org.uk

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CHAIRMAN

Two significant flagship policies have recently come to fruition: our new website is up and running and the Society is now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). I’m sure you will all join me in congratulating Bill Visick and Chris Williams for their Herculean labours. Together these go along way to making the Society fit for purpose in the modern world and better able to meet our charitable object – educating the public in the science and art of gnomonics.

We have put an initial selection of dials recorded by the Society on the website – again I’m sure you will all join me in congratulating John Foad. We plan to put further dials on the website along with our older Bulletins and other educational material recently donated by Tony Moss.

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CHAIRMAN

Our 25th anniversary conference in Greenwich was hugely enjoyable and a great success. The venue, the splendid Wren buildings of the former Royal Hospital for Seamen, was certainly something to be savoured. Even the view from the gents was breathtaking! This conference was more than usually ambitious, with extra outings and tours, and we must all be grateful to Chris Lusby Taylor for the organisation and for overcoming a number of run-time challenges that were outside his control.

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