MINUTES OF THE 17th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of THE FRIENDS OF MORSTON CHURCH

HELD AT THE VILLAGE HALL, QUAY LANE, MORSTON ON SATURDAY 22nd JUNE 2019 AT 6.30 pm

 

Committee Present

Dr. Peter Tibbetts, Chairman

Mrs. Carole Bean, Deputy-Chairman

Mr. Rob Metcalfe, Treasurer

Mrs. Sandra Morris,

Mr. Joc Wingfield

Mrs Susy Harrison

 

 ‘Friends’ and Members Present

Sir Robert ffolkes

Dr. Antonia Hardcastle

Mrs. G. Bullard

Mrs. V. Wilson

Mrs. G. Kay

Mr R. Longley

Mrs. S. Wingfield

 

1.Apologies. These were received from: Mr S. Bullard, Mr & Mrs D. Carnwath, Mrs. J. Tibbetts, Mrs. H. Todd, Mr & Mrs D. Pell, Mrs. Ann Wootten, Rev. I. Whittle and Mrs. M. Athill.

 

2.Minutes of 16th AGM. Held at Morston Village Hall on Saturday 23rd June 2018 at 6.30 pm. Proposed as correct by Dr Tibbetts, seconded by Mr Metcalfe, they were unanimously approved and were signed by the Chairman as a True Record.

 

3.Matters Arising. The Chairman announced that the PCC had again proposed Mr Wingfield as their representative on the FMC Committee. Approved unanimously.

 

4.Annual Appointments/Reappointments. Dr Peter Tibbetts proposed the re-election of Mr Rob Metcalfe and Mrs Sandra Morris to the Committee. This was seconded by Mr Joc Wingfield. (Dr Peter Tibbetts, Mrs Carole Bean and Mrs Susy Harrison were re-elected in 2018). The appointments were approved unanimously.

 

5.Committee Structure. Dr Antonia Hardcastle resigned from the committee, due to pressure of work. After some discussion it was agreed to continue with a committee of six, but to be prepared to approach a potential recruit if one was identified. There was a brief discussion about the possibility of creating the post of Membership Secretary, but it was generally felt to be unnecessary.

 

6.Committee vote for Chairman and Secretary. Dr Tibbetts was nominated for the combined position of Chairman and Secretary. This was proposed by Mr Rob Metcalfe and seconded by Mrs. Sandra Morris. The appointment was approved unanimously.

 

7.Committee vote for Deputy-Chairman and Treasurer. The Chairman proposed Mrs Carole Bean to be re-elected as Deputy-Chairman (seconded by Mrs Sandra Morris) and Mr Rob Metcalfe to be re-elected as Treasurer (seconded by Mr Joc Wingfield). The appointments were approved unanimously.

 

8.Treasurer’s Report. (FY 2018-2019). Mr Metcalfe presented the accounts and stated that the FMC’s income was over £5000 up on last year. This was due to a very successful Book Sale, additional income from the Dalham Hall event and it was the first complete year of ‘Easyfundraising’.

Expenditure was significantly up on last year as a result of the major work carried out on All Saints’, of which the ‘Friends’ paid nearly £85,000. 

The balance of income over expenditure was therefore down accordingly. 

The balance in the Current Account is, consequently, down from over £95,500 to just under £32,400.

The treasurer pointed out that subscriptions were down further this year, as were donations.

 

9.Chairman’s Report (including the Architectural Adviser’s Report). The Chairman read out the Architectural Adviser’s report. This stated that the PCC have completed the re-leading of the chancel roof and the replacement of much of the supporting timber. The drainage has been re-ordered and now the rainwater is carried away efficiently from the building. The chancel has also been redecorated. The replacement of the south aisle roofing with coated stainless steel has also been completed. The upstand against the nave wall has been redesigned to reduce the risk of leakage. Scaffolding has just been erected to repair the east window. Throughout all this work the altar was relocated to the nave and normal services have been held, including a full house at the Christmas carol service.

 

The Chairman thanked Mr David Carnwath for his report and noted that the ‘Friends’ still has over £50,000 in the current account. David is expecting further invoices totalling about £37,000.

 

The Chairman also thanked all the committee for their hard work at events throughout the year and in particular, Joc Wingfield for organising the Morston Quiz Night for 16 years and the Shovell Dinner for 13 years. Joc has decided to pass on the reins for organising these events to others. Peter Tibbetts will take these on next year and will continue with the Quiz but suggested that perhaps the future of the Shovell Dinner should be considered as there are only a limited number of speakers available to talk on naval history. 

 

The Chairman was sorry that Dr Antonia Hardcastle is leaving and thanked her for all her help over the years. She has been a valuable member of the committee since 2012 and has always been a very willing helper at all our events.

 

This year has seen the last Book Sale (in its current form). Over the last ten years the event has transformed the annual income generated by the ‘Friends’. This year the Book Sale, along with the Plant Sale and the Food and Drink, raised over £18,000, which brought the total for the 10 years to over £80,000. The Chairman congratulated the many helpers, without whom the event would not be possible. This success is largely due to the Metcalfe family, who spend 100s of hours each year pricing, sorting, researching, and selling books on-line. It will be a difficult event to replace in terms of fundraising.

 

This time last year we were preparing for the coach trip to Newmarket. We took 50 people to visit Darley Stallions’ Dalham Hall Stud. Our host, Sam Bullard, was very entertaining and his expert knowledge of the racing industry were a revelation to all those who attended. We had many messages of thank and very positive feedback. The Chairman extended his grateful thanks to Sam and his team for making this such a success in raising over £2,000.

 

The Chairman noted that, once again, there were no new ‘Friends’ in the past year. It was suggested that all those who have been married in the church or have had their children baptised there should be contacted. Those who have left email addresses in the visitors’ book should also be contacted.

 

10. 2018-2019 Special Events. 2019 Shovell Dinner is organised for Sat 12th October (Tom Harrison on “How the Shovell Dinner became a 3000-mile Passage”). Tickets at £40.00.

The 2020 Quiz was agreed to be on Sat 8th Feb. 

The 2020 Shovell Dinner will be on Sat. 17th October 2020. 

Mrs Sandra Morris is organising an “Impromptu Shakespeare” evening in Gill Kay’s walled garden on 20th July 2019. 56 tickets have been sold to date and Susy Harrison confirmed that we could use their farmyard for parking. Sandra said that sweet and savoury nibbles would be needed. Any raffle prizes would be much appreciated. Peter Tibbetts to order 2 firkins of beer for the event.

The 2020 AGM will be on Saturday 20th June.

 

11.Fundraising. Mr Rob Metcalfe gave an update on the future of the Book Sale. He stated that, of the books left over, Griston had 100 boxes and Hawk & Owl Books, Blakeney Village Hall and Cley Fete each had a few boxes. There are currently 600 individual books for sale on-line (£400 has been raised already) with an estimated value of about £15,000. We are still collecting. Rob stated that there may be the occasional ‘pop-up’ book sale.

 

The Chairman stated that we now have 15 supporters on the on-line fundraising scheme “Easy Fundraising”, who between them have raised over £1,100. The income from this is, however, dropping, so supporters should be reminded to use the service. We should also contact our younger members, who are more computer-savvy! Businesses such as 

 

The Anchor Pub and Morston Hall should also be approached.

 

12.The Tympanum Fund. The PCC has started a fund for the restoration of the painted Tympanum in All Saints’. This will be a separate account held by the PCC. The estimated cost has risen dramatically from that quoted in 2011 and the PCC is now looking to raise £75,000 by a variety of means.

 

13.AOB. None

 

Peter Tibbetts

Chairman