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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

28/2/2015

 
With such a distinct air of uncertainty regarding the future of CAH evident around the organisation, it was indeed convenient that the production schedule for this particular edition of our newsletter did not require the writing of this Front Page Story (‘FPS’) until a week or so had elapsed after the AGM/Open Meeting held on 25 February 2015 had gone by. However, that schedule did require a decision be made as to whether we would actually publish a Spring 2015 edition of Arnold’s News, at all. It was decided that we would – knowing that it could be constructed such that only the content of the FPS needed to take account of the outcome of the meeting. The rest of the newsletter could be the same as it would have been.

The decision was aided by the fact that both the Autumn 2014 edition and the Winter 2014-2015 edition had proved to be extremely popular.

The timing of ‘deadline dates’ for other local newsletters to which we endeavour to make regular contributions meant that, even before the AGM/Open Meeting, we had had to submit articles for the Feb/Mar edition of Corsham & Box Matters and the March edition of Spring Spirit. Both went in.

It was clear that the AGM, due to take place on 25 February, was going to be key to the future of CAH. For this reason, we made it an Open Meeting, i.e. not paid-up CAH members only. While it would only be these who were entitled to vote on anything formally proposed, we were keen to gather the views of as wide a cross-section of the local community as we could. Accordingly, we cast a wide net when sending out the “invitation to attend” communications – direct emails, group emails, even a piece in the 19 February edition of the Gazette & Herald. We actually received 14 formal apologies! Rewardingly, they were out-numbered by the 20 persons who attended.

Everyone had something to say – which was good. The way forward is now clear on a number of matters. There is one big one that requires the existing (and, for the moment, still operational) Management Committee to deliberate upon. The vast majority of those present urged the Committee to give consideration to forming an alliance with another Corsham group known to have an interest in researching and presenting the history of Corsham and its surrounding towns. A meeting of the Committee will be convened to examine how this might be done – who, when and how.        

As a significant contributor, CAH was formally invited to attend the launch of the first showing of the Wiltshire at War exhibition at the Springfield Campus on Friday, 27 February. We duly attended.

We have continued to make good use of the Exhibition Space at the Springfield Community Campus. The Quarrying display that we mounted over the 5-week period commencing early October 2014 was followed by a WW1 display that we erected at the very beginning of the New Year (2015). It was replaced by one showing Corsham’s prefabs and the building of the (Pickwick Road) Library, both with a time-stamp of approx.1965. It is due to remain in situ until the end of March. What happens then rather depends on whether there is still a Corsham Area Heritage group!

CHAIRMAN'S REVIEW OF 2014

25/2/2015

 
I will structure my Report into three sections:
  1. What has been achieved in 2014.
  2. What’s our present problem.
  3. Where this leaves us – and what might be done about this.

Achievements in 2014

  • We presented 8 Lunchtime Talks, the last one on 26 August.
  • We mounted a total of 8 new displays, 7 in the Pictor Room at Arnold House and 1 in the Entrance Foyer of the Springfield Campus (a 2nd one was prepared in 2014 and erected 3 January 2015).
  • We led Corsham Area’s participation in the following History Centre (Cocklebury Road, Chippenham) projects:
  • Pass It On (centred on Corsham’s Maternity Home).
  • Wiltshire at War (Corsham’s involvement in WW1).
  • [We have recently been invited to lead Corsham Area’s participation in the ‘Story of Wiltshire in 100 Objects’ project.]
  • We participated in Corsham Town Council’s “Corsham Commemorates” project, marking the town’s contribution to WW1.  Our representative on the steering group has been Pat Whalley.  She personally took responsibility for “delivering” the highly-successful WW1 Concert, held on18 October.
  • We provided Heritage Support to the First Corsham Walking Festival (participating in the walk that went to Lacock and back).
  • We began collaboration with the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI) in September, initially motivated by our interest in the John Hanning Speke memorial on Neston Park estate and its relevance to the Second Corsham Walking Festival, now scheduled for 12-14 June 2015.  (Speke was one of the ‘Nile Explorers’, currently a project being undertaken by BRLSI.)  The collaboration resulted in CAH being invited to broadcast live on BBC Wiltshire Radio – affording us the opportunity to express the merits of our town with appropriate awareness and enthusiasm.  
  • In the interests of keeping the name and purpose of Corsham Area Heritage in the Public Eye, we submitted, and had published, articles in the following:
  • 5 editions of (the bi-monthly) Corsham & Box Matters.
  • 8 editions of (the monthly) Spring Spirit.
  • We published 4 editions of our flagship newsletter, Arnold’s News (the 4 seasonal ones).  Per edition, we distribute 150 hardcopies around the town.  We also distribute over 700 copies “electronically”, i.e. as email attachments.  It is also uploaded to our website www.corshamheritage.org.uk
  • We met with Corsham Town Council to discuss its Strategic Plan priority, ‘Destination Corsham’. They made it clear that the history and heritage of Corsham is key to that initiative and that they would look to CAH to take the lead in representing these in their plans to encourage Tourism and visitors.
  • We have continued to develop and enjoy supportive relationships with Corsham Print and Right Angle Picture Framing.  Both provide their services FOC to CAH.  We are extremely grateful for this.

The Present Problem

Basically we are suffering from having too much to do with too little resource – resource of the human kind.  We’re not short of cash.  We’re short of people who have the enthusiasm to identify how to spend it and ability/interest to make those “things” happen. 

It was not always this way.  Our situation has changed over the last year or two. Our ‘stalwarts’ have served us well.  They have brought us to the point where we can declare the above “Achievements” with some satisfaction, even pride.

However, for a variety of reasons, they are now looking to reduce their commitment. Some have other interests that they feel they have ‘let slip’ for too long.  If they don’t get back to them now, they never will.

Some have interests which are capable of bringing them in an income – ‘capable’, but only if they get started now.  Perhaps the opportunity hasn’t been there over recent years, but it is now – and pursuing that opportunity now might make all the difference to their later life.

Some simply want to complete a task they have set themselves, but never seem to get to grips with.  Pat feels she has another book in her – and is eager to crack on with it!

None are burnt out.  All want a life where “things CAH” are not so all-consuming and where the achievement of CAH objectives does not revolve exclusively around them.

CAH needs New Blood.  Without exception, every one of CAH’s current stalwarts is willing to tutor those new resources – just as long as there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  

Where this leaves us / what’s to be done?


Without that light at the end of the tunnel, the present CAH Team has collectively decided that it is prepared to throw in the towel.  It feels that the present CAH is going nowhere – better to ‘end it all’ now than to struggle on, increasingly frustrated and lacking in satisfaction.  None of its Management Committee members are prepared to offer themselves for re-election.

The thought occurs that perhaps CAH has the wrong structure for what it tries to do.  Presently, it is a membership, subscription-paying group – having a Constitution appropriate to such a group.  Maybe it would be better if this were abandoned, and that a ‘looser’ form of structure were adopted – with no formal Constitution and no expectation that an annual subscription should be paid.  That wouldn’t prevent those ‘driving’ the group addressing the present members as if their right to receive news concerning CAH’s activities by electronic means and by such methods as newspaper articles and postering remained, but the ‘quid pro quo’ aspect of the relationship would drop away.  Perhaps we would see a greater willingness on the part of the ‘members’ to contribute towards ‘making things happen’, if this were the situation.

So what would this new ‘body’ require?  It would need New Blood to contribute towards the following Needs;
  1. Basic Historical Research.
  2. Lunchtime Talks organisers.
  3. Meeting the Need for the Scanning-in of Documents (ongoing).
  4. Mounting displays in the Pictor Room (Arnold House) and at Springfield Campus.
  5. Editing/Assembling Arnold’s News.
  6. Distributing Arnold’s News.
  7. Writing articles for: Arnold’s News, Corsham & Box Matters and Spring Spirit.
  8. Co-ordinating the relationship with Wiltshire Council’s CMAS Group.

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Corsham Area Heritage 2014