There was a good turnout for the AGM, minutes of which have been circulated together with the Chairman’s Report. Copies of the Treasurer’s Report were made available for scrutiny at the meeting. The balance was healthy enough for the annual subscription to remain at £40 for the foreseeable future.
Maggie Cobbett handed over the Chair to Ian Gouge but will remain on the Committee as Secretary, aided by fellow Committee member and super-efficient note taker Sheila Whitfield. Caroline Slator will continue as Treasurer and Susan Perkins as Competition Secretary. Carol Mayer will also remain on the Committee and help out wherever needed, health permitting. (See below!)
The main change proposed and accepted was to switch to Wednesday evening meetings from the start of 2023, but the Treasurer will be looking into the setting up of Internet banking.
There was discussion about how the Group might improve its sharing of work, maybe by Zoom, and the possible acquisition of a sound system to help members with hearing problems. General approval met Ian’s intention to provide more opportunities in the programme for writing at meetings and for workshops, as well as compiling material for an anthology to be brought out next year.
Other suggestions were made for the new programme and these will be discussed further along with other matters at the first meeting of the new Committee. Fixed points on the programme will include three of RWG’s traditional competitions and a new one in honour of the late Daphne Peters, founder of the Group.
Hearty applause greeted a vote of thanks to Peter Page for his years of sterling service as Secretary.
In the short time remaining, Carol Mayer read out ‘Cartwheels in the Kitchen’, a rueful poem outlining the accident she suffered a few months ago and her gradual recovery from it. Onwards and upwards, Carol!
