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SYDNEY MEDIÆVAL & RENAISSANCE GROUP INC. (ABN 22 002 861 583)
THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HELD AT 4/415 GLEBE POINT ROAD
ON WEDNESDAY 21st April, 2004 AT 8.00PM
Apologies
Adam Lucas, Michael Nelson, and Diane Speed, Sharon Davidson, Beverley Sherry, Robyn Priestly, Irene Peacock, Barbara Munday
Present
Catherine Walton, Kendall St. Clair, Con Scott read, Maria Karlsson Lillas, Rosemary Huisman, Sybil Jack, Jon Marshall, Juliette Levy, Matthew Glozier.
Meeting started at 6.50 p.m.
Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting.
Motion: That the minutes of the last SMRG AGM be confirmed and accepted as a true record.
Proposed: Kendall St. Clair
Seconded: Sybil Jack
Passed: Nem. con.
Presentation of Audrey Meaney Competition Prizes.
The Sydney Mediaeval and Renaissance Group Incorporated, has much pleasure in presenting the first prize of one Hundred dollars to Mr. Timothy Hanna, who wrote a fine essay entitled Speaking and Weeping: The Parallels that Can be Drawn Between Dante’s Presentation in The Inferno of Francesca and Ugolino.
The second prize of fifty dollars goes to Agnieszka Piskorowska (Añyesh-ka Piz-korr-of-ska) for a very clear and interesting essay on War and Peace in World History: How did Islam and Christianity’s Concepts of War Differ.
Miss Agnieszka Piskorowska was not present.
President’s Report.
As President I present the following Report
- Introduction
It is depressing to note that we have a falling Membership. Our current numbers stand at fifty. This decrease is mostly due to the fact that we are all getting older, people are retiring and/or moving away and I suspect that a few people have just lost interest — after all SMRG started in April 1963 — that’s forty years ago — and some of our current people were Foundation Members and have been stalwart attendees ever since. I think the time has come to have a Membership Drive and so I ask you to think about what we can do towards bringing in new blood. I shall send round our Public Relation Officer’s details to you all and I hope that, in due course — now is not the time — there will be some useful ideas forthcoming.
- Events Since the Last AGM
This year has seen a good turn out of Members for each talk — and we have had one every month, and they were:
April The Annual General Meeting and . . .
Helen Fulton: The Red Book of Hergest: Fantasy and Romance in Mediaeval Wales. This was remarkably interesting and, as an exztra bonus, we learnt how to pronouce some Welsh words
May Mediaeval Food with Samples provided by Sybil and Ernest. Whilst we wouldn’t want to give up some foods which the poor mediaeval people hadn’t heard of, if Ernest’s cooking is anythign to go by, they didn’t do too badly.
June: David Rollison spoke to us on How Public Opinion Worked before The Media Really Got Their Hands on it: Renaissance England 114th - 16th Centuries. It appeared that things were much the same as nowadays with regard to propaganda and so on — except that news travelled more slowly.
July: Michael Hill: Smiles and Letters in Portraits. This was another tour-de-force from Michael: it is really surprising what information can be got from a Cardinal’s portrait, information which I’m sure was secondary to the artist’s intentions.
August Lyn Olson: A Workshop on the account of the running of a Commune under Bishop Arnald at Le Mans in 1070. I wasn’t able to go to this but they tell me that it was a great success.
September Rosemary Huisman and Tony Blackshield gave a Mediaeval Film Night —The Representation of War and Leadership illustrating early periods in film and how presentation of similar topics has differed. they put an awful lot of work into this evening as it kept us fascinated.
October Adam Lucas: Monastic Mills. This was on how monks actually ran their mills — those of us who thought that people in religious orders had a restful time of it — mostly just praying a lot — were much enlightened!
November Joanna Crawford: Mediaeval Dress — this was with lots of lovely illustrations. The time came for the talk to finish — and no one wanted to go home.
December Christmas Dinner at The Little Snail. Since you were all there, you don’t need me to remind you how nice it was. We think that we’ll go there again this year.
January Holiday
February Sybil Jack told us about: A Model for Matrons: Henrietta Maria. She was the wife of King Charles I — he who lost his head — and as one might imagine, she seems to have had a pretty thin time of it. We all felt very sympathetic. Sybil presented for us a demonstration of the price od public image in royalty.
March Joanna Crawford; Is My Liripipe Straight? Mediaeval Costume. Well, Joanna was so good the first time around, that we had to have her back again. Now we who heard her talk, and saw the illustrations, know what a `liripipe’ is, but we’re not telling: you’ll have to come to her next talk!
- Other Events
December 5th saw a talk on Portugal given to the WEA, and another WEA course covering Pilgrimage and St James of Compostella began on the 2nd February.
We applied to the City of Sydney Council for a Community grant of $5,000 for a Course we would give, however our application was not successful.
- Future Events
The confirmed events we have planned for the new year starting today, can be read on our Web Site (at http://sites.google.com/site/sydsmrg/) or, if you haven’t received a printed announcement from our new Secretary, you can ring me on 9569-5886 and I’ll tell you.
We have a proposed course on Forest and Freedom - Men, Women and Wilderness coming up and we are considering a course on the history of punishment — though we are not intending to appeal to masochists!
We have booked speakers, one a month, until the end if the year.
Motion: That the President’s Report be accepted.
Proposed: Sybil Jack
Seconded: Catherine Walton
Passed Nem. con..
Vice-President’s Report
The Vice President was not present due to illness.
Treasurer’s Report.
The Treasurer’s Report for 1st January 2002 TO 31st December, 2002 was presented to the Meeting and can be se on Application to the Treasurer.
She said, “The accounts are before you and I recommend them to you as a full and fair statement of our financial position.”
Sybil M Jack
Motion: That the Treasurer's Report be accepted.
Proposed: .Rosemary Huisman
Seconded: John Marshall
Passed Nem Con..
I now call upon Matthew Glozier, our Secretary, to deliver his own Report.
Secretary’s Report.
Much has happened in the twelve months that have elapsed since my previous report. In my opinion, by far the most important thing that has occurred is SMRG's offering of several Adult Education courses through the WEA and CCE. as mentioned in the President’s Report.
Motion: That the Secretary’s Report be accepted.
Proposed: Catherine Walton
Seconded: Kendall
Passed: Nem Con.
I.T. Officer’s Report
The IT Officer was away in South Africa and unable to Report..
Election of Committee.
The nominees are equal to the vacant positions. I have sent to you all a list of these nominees who are therefore, under our current Rules, taken to be elected as follows:
Office Holders:
President Kendall (again)
Treasurer Sybil Jack (again)
Secretary
& Public Officer Lyn Olson
Pub. Relations Patrick Curtis
Webmaster Luke Kendall
Also as Ordinary Committee Members: Rosemary Huisman, Catherine Walton, Matthew Glozier
Vote of Thanks to Outgoing Committee Members
Proposed: Sybil Jack
Seconded: Jon Marshall
Passed: Nem Con.
Meeting Closed at 7.05 p.m
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