FROM THE CHAIRMAN
As I write, I am about to set off for the 2012 NASS Meeting in Asheville, North Carolina. This sounds to be a fascinating place in its own right, a splendid setting in which to talk about and hear about sundials.
The new BSS Council has met twice since our own Conference in Cheltenham and our immediate priorities are to enhance the website and to give thought to celebrations in 2014.
The next item on the BSS agenda is the Newbury Meeting on 22 September and I hope to meet many of you there. I have put myself down to give a talk on Disposable Sundials. The organisers will no doubt supply a decent-size rubbish bin.
BSS 24th ANNUAL CONFERENCE EDINBURGH 5-7 APRIL 2013
Next year’s Conference will be held in the lovely city of Edinburgh. Not for nothing known as the Athens of the North, Edinburgh has been a centre of civilisation for many centuries, the sciences being well established there. Scottish sundials are, of course, quite distinctive and it will be fascinating to see them on their home turf. Our base will be very near Arthur’s Seat in a modern conference centre, with the Gala Dinner being held in the University’s magnificent Playfair Library. Rather than a coach tour, we plan a walking tour of the sundials and other sights of the Royal Mile, including the collection of the National Museum of Scotland.
It is 22 years since the Society last ventured across the border. In view of this, it is hoped that we can give the conference a distinctively Scottish flavour.
As usual, the conference is set to be on the weekend after Easter, running from Friday afternoon to Sunday after lunch. If you wish to extend your stay beforehand or afterwards, this can be arranged.
Although Edinburgh may be further for many members to travel to than some previous locations, it has excellent transport links (e.g. fly from London City for £55) and very reasonable costs, so the overall dent in your pocket may well be less than you’d imagine. In particular, the supplement for accompanying spouses will be kept to a minimum. The cost to attendees has yet to be set, but will be as soon as possible. Please look on the Society’s Web site for news, or email the conference organiser, Chris Lusby Taylor, with any questions.
Call for papers and exhibits
The Council invites authors to submit proposals for oral presentations at the forthcoming conference in Edinburgh. Papers with delivery times in the range 15-45 minutes can be accepted. The breadth of papers delivered at our conferences reflects the widely differing interests and expertises within the sundialing community, from the amateur making their first dial to the professional historian. We are particularly hoping to include some that refer to Scotland, anywhere from prehistory to the present day. Without meaning to discourage our regular speakers, we extend a warm invitation to new members and those who have hitherto not addressed a conference, to do so. If you are at all diffident please discuss your proposed subject with the conference organiser, Chris Lusby Taylor.
The Council also invites all delegates to bring items for display at the meeting. There is no charge for exhibition space but we will need some idea of how much space to allocate to you. Weather permitting, we will be able to display dials outside as well as indoors.
REGISTER NOTES
One of the commonest questions I get is “Can I see that dial on the Web?”. Before too long, I will be able to say “Yes, and many more besides”. You will see in a separate flyer that we are preparing, at this stage, to show most of the country’s dials. There is a lot of work to do, both on the computer side and in preparing the material. Please read the flyer, and if you are able to help, or if you have any questions about the project, do get in touch.
John Foad
01622 858583
MEMBERSHIP
It is with sadness that we have to announce the recent death of two members, both of them well known to many of us.
Peter Hingley, the librarian at the Royal Astronomical Society, died in June. In May, he organised a tour of their library for BSS members, allowing us to look at a large number of their historical books and also gave us a tour of the building, explaining its history.
Professor Gerard Turner, who gave the Somerville lecture some years ago, died in July. He was also the founder Chairman and first President of the Scientific Instrument Society.
TREASURER
A relatively small number of members have found that their bank has ignored their instruction to cancel their membership standing order paying to our old account. Rather than argue with the banks to have these reversed, for this year only, I am automatically issuing cheques to resolve the problem. Finding duplicates requires manual cross-checking, which is fallible. If you have not had a refund after two months, please do draw my attention to it.
NEWBURY BSS MEETING
The Newbury meeting is one of the highlights of the dialing year. It is on the fourth Saturday in September. We are meeting again at the same NEW location as last year, in a lovely country village hall. Free parking, No traffic wardens. Easy access. See www.suttonhallstockcross.org for pictures inside and out of the Hall. See the flyer with all the details, enclosed with the last June Bulletin. A copy, hopefully, will be on the BSS website. As a last resort, a copy can be emailed by request to the email address below.
Again, easy access by bus, 10 minutes from Newbury Bus / Train Station. If you would like to come but do not have transport, send me an email of your area to info@towertime.co.uk, and I will try and link you up with others coming by car. Likewise, if you are coming by car and can offer a lift, please send an email also of the area you are travelling from. I cannot promise linkups, but if everyone would send me an email I will try to do my best. You enjoy the day, this is your chance to enable others to enjoy the day too. Likewise, it is helpful to have some idea of numbers attending – so kindly email or write. No booking required, just turn up, but kindly just drop me a line of your intentions.
Look forward to seeing you all, with your grand displays and talks.
David Pawley
07880 802 912 text please if possible.
MASS DIAL MEANDERINGS
The Society has provided the Mass Dial Group with a new printer and we can now print off County Listings much faster than before. All organised by John Foad who has also copied the Register to Ian Butson’s computer and sorted out a scanning problem for us. Some counties have been run off in response to requests and currently await despatch. Both Northants. and Kent consist of 3 volumes of 70 pages each. They had previously taken all day to print off. Currently Herefordshire is being entered and it is hoped Ian will soon make a start on South Gloucestershire.
The usual trickle of mass dial sightings; again NADFAS have sent reports, this time from Sussex, complementing Maureen Harmer’s ongoing survey of the County. Maureen reported ‘dials not there any more’ in a couple of cases so only our records remain as evidence. Also reports from Irene Brightmer and Carol Berwick – two new dials from Kedleston in Derbyshire.
The Department of Archaeology at York University have expressed an interest in mass dials, following our archiving of reports at their Borthwick Institute. I had a short meeting with Drs Finch and McClain and filled them in with what we were about and and where had got to. They may be able to help academically and so I am now looking at specific questions which might be passed on. If anyone has any suitable topic in the Medieval dial (and Saxon dials) field, please let me know.
Nearly all new photographs are better than the ones we have on file. I am now asking for ‘slanting light’ photographs if possible but know how difficult it is to move the sun round a bit!
THE CHELTENHAM CONFERENCE
A total of 84 delegates gathered at the Cheltenham Chase Hotel over the post-Easter weekend to listen to one of the most interesting programmes that we have had for a long time. How delegates judged the conference and its venue can be seen by going to the special conference web page where there is now a summary and review of the conference, an analysis of delegate questionnaires and even links to reviews of the earlier Exeter and Wyboston conferences too. Go to: www.bit.ly/bss2012 for the full details, lots of photographs AND a surely unmissable chance to download and listen to Frank King’s sundial interview with Chris Evans on Radio 2!
In the interests of openness or if anyone might wish to make their own analysis of the questionnaires, the originally submitted comments – ‘anonymised’ of course – can also be seen via a link on the above page. In short:
- Everyone without exception enjoyed the conference and appreciated the all-in-one venue
- Every respondent thought that the conference was good to excellent value for money
- All those staying at the hotel liked the accommodation
- Delegates highly rated the conference for its lectures, for meeting other people and for the venue,
the dial tour and the auction. - 92% felt we should consider an hotel based conference again
- 88% wouldn’t even change anything next time
- 65% of delegates had viewed the conference web page and all but one had found it useful
- Only half (51%/55%) of delegates/forum attendees felt the discussion forum should be repeated
- Very few delegates recorded problems of any sort. In fact nearly 60% of delegates had no suggestions for improvement at all.
Having the conference in a 4-star hotel proved to be exceptionally comfortable even if some of the prices for extras – like bar food – were at rather higher prices than the discounted rates we had obtained for the conference might suggest. Some partners of delegates wished we had been a bit nearer to a city centre – though of course had we been much nearer we may not have been able to command such beneficial conference rates. Some delegates felt that the hotel’s nouvelle cuisine dinners could have included more vegetables and even a well-done option for the Saturday night’s lamb. A significant comment was that the projection screen could have been raised a little to make the slides more easily visible from the back of the flat auditorium. The dial tour was particularly enjoyed by delegates though one thought it a bit long and one would have liked to see some of the other well known dials in the Cotswolds. The problem for us of 
course is that many of these other dials are in mediaeval villages which are simply not accessible to any size of coach let alone an 80 seater. Still, despite that, we managed to see nine lovely dials in all and still arrive back with an hour before dinner.
This was the last conference to be organised by me; Chris Lusby Taylor is picking up the organiser’s baton from now. I would like to record my thanks for all the very kind comments – and even cards – that I have received saying how much people have enjoyed this and earlier conferences. They have been very much appreciated. Thank you very much.
Patrick Powers – 2012 Conference Organiser
BSS PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION, 2012-2013
After a break of a year, the Society will again be running its Photographic Competition, with the results being announced at the 2013 annual Conference.
A prize and certificate will be awarded for the winning entry, and certificates will also be awarded to the runners-up.
In recent past competitions, those delegates attending the conference were given the opportunity to consider the competition photographs, before the results of the official judges were announced, and to take part in a “Conference Vote.” As this proved to be very popular it will again be included, with a small prize being awarded to the winner of this vote.
Although the summer months will soon be a memory, it is still not too late to dust-off the camera, iPhone, Blackberry, or even the latest capable electronic device, and to seek-out that winning photograph.
A copy of the Entry Form, with abridged rules, will be included with the September as well as with the December 2012 issues of the Bulletin.
The full set of Competition Rules may be seen by visiting the Photographic Competition section of the BSS website, or by contacting the competition organiser.
OLYMPIC PARK SUNDIAL
Readers may like to see some photos of the silver (= stainless steel) sundial that I designed and delivered for the Great British Garden in the Olympics Park, London.
The garden is about 60m to the northwest of the main athletics stadium and can be picked up on Google Earth at 51o32’25.15″N 0o01’05.52″W