The time just goes by so quickly these days, and yet another year has come round again so we would like to wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year from all the members of the Bournemouth committee.
In this newsletter there are details of the talks we have booked for the spring of 2024, quite a variety of topics so hopefully there will be something there to interest you and for you to enjoy when you come along.
Monthly Meetings – No meeting: August or December
We are still holding our meetings at 10.45 am on the fourth Tuesday of the month (this is not always the last) on the ground floor in the newer part of the building, at:
St Mark’s Church Hall, Wallisdown Road, Talbot Village, Bournemouth, BH10 4HY
Bus stop: St Mark’s Church. As well as any normal public bus you can catch any UNI bus: they are not just for students. https://www.unibuses.co.uk/services
Plenty of parking at the church, at the back as well as the front of the building.
Liz Malin – Secretary
Harvest Cottage, North Street, Winterborne Kingston,
Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 9AZ
Tel: 01929 472441 Email: lizmalin1@gmail.com
CSPA Bournemouth and District Programme Spring 2024
23rd January 2024 – Jo Amey
“The Story of Decorative Tiles. Medieval to Mid-Century”
Jo’s talk will cover the history of tiles and their making from Mediaeval times to the present, with many examples taken from the southern area. As well as showing photos of tiles in situ, she will be showing tiles from her collection.
27th February 2024 – Charles Rees
“Richard III and his Mother”
She was Cicely Neville, the rose of Raby, a great beauty and hugely wealthy. It makes Richard real whereas Shakespeare’s Richard is a tragic comic monster. Richard saw his mother assaulted, possibly raped when he was 7 and his father and brother killed when he was 8. His mother died when she was 80 having seen her four boys die, two of whom were kings. This talk hopes to humanise Richard and give the respect to his mother which she deserves.
26th March 2024 – AGM
Mike Sparham CSPA National Treasurer
As a membership based organisation CSPA relies on income from membership subscriptions. Mike has an in depth knowledge of what that income covers and also CSPA financial policy. (No entry fee for AGM)
23rd April 2024 – Dorset Search & Rescue (DorSAR)
An enthralling talk about the work of this team of highly trained volunteers who work with the Police, Coastguard and other emergency services in the search, rescue or recovery of missing persons.
Additionally, they provide swift, flood water rescue teams, assistance in the search for significant objects (including crime-based searches) and support to the statutory agencies at major incidents.
The Kenilworth Files
I was privileged to represent the Group at CSPA’s AGM, held in the attractive surroundings of Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth. Despite some 25 years of membership, this was my first attendance at the two-day residential event, which gave me the opportunity for discussion and socialising both with other members, and with the Alliance’s national leadership.
Following the opening speeches and adoption of various formal reports, I seconded the motion thanking the former General Secretary Lisa Ray for her ‘sterling services to the CSPA’. Members will recall that Lisa was the guest speaker at our own AGM last March. Executive Council member Mike Lawler then gave a presentation of the work done to modernise the organisation and support new recruitment during the past year.
The rest of the day was given over to debating Business Motions from local groups, mainly related to governance; group structure; and recruitment. There was continuing concern that group closures have left some 60% of members without an active group, often because no-one is willing to run them. This links to the continuing fall in membership, leading to vigorous debate on several motions highlighting the vital importance of recruitment. Later, in a private discussion with Christine Buckley, editor of The Pensioner, I agreed to write about my own experience of volunteering.
Day two opened with a Cabinet Office presentation on the McCloud Remedy, which affects anyone with service between March 2012 and March 2015. There’s more about this on the McCloud Remedy web pages, clearly signposted from the Civil Service Pensions homepage. The pensions theme continued with motions covering State retirement age and the triple lock, as well as the over-80s age addition and the £10 Christmas bonus. Concern was also raised about the upcoming change in our pensions administrator in 2025.
Car parking payment apps and online banking were amongst the topics aired in the motions on digital exclusion, which also highlighted the costs of buying and operating the necessary devices. These could be some of the issues championed by a Commissioner for Older People, which was the topic of a lively presentation from George Stanbury of Independent Age. People in Wales and Northern Ireland already have such an advocate, something so far denied to Scottish and English residents.
Debate then turned to health and social care, stressing the need for a national social care service to complement the NHS. Waiting lists were an inevitable cause of concern, as was confusion in the delivery of Covid-19 vaccinations in some areas. The morning session concluded with motions urging support for comprehensive national bus services; and deploring the illegal and dangerous use of privately owned e-scooters.
A wide-ranging raft of more general motions rounded off the closing hours of the AGM. They included topics as diverse as the cost of living and the inherent unfairness of uprating pensions against the CPI, whilst regulated prices like rail fares and telecoms are increased in line with the more aggressive RPI. Public expenditure cuts; photo ID at elections; and the slow rollout of banking hubs were all causes of concern. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence and the axing of standard definition television broadcasts rubbed shoulders with a range of health, environmental and transport issues specifically relevant in Wales.
And what, you might be wondering, of our own motion urging a move to proportional representation on national and local elections? I’m sorry to report that it was ruled inadmissible by the Standing Orders Committee, and therefore not slated for discussion.
David Foster (Treasurer Bournemouth and District Group) 13 October 2023
NOTICE OF BOURNEMOUTH AND DISTRICT GROUP
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
THE 69TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of:
CSPA Bournemouth and District Group (Our 70th year) will be held at:
St Mark’s Church, Wallisdown Road, Talbot Village, Bournemouth, BH10 4HY
Tuesday March 26th 2024
10.45am refreshments, 11.00am meeting starts
Guest Speaker ~ Mike Sparham, CSPA National Treasurer
AGENDA
1. Apologies
2. Minutes of Annual General Meeting 2023
3. Matters arising
4. Officers’ Reports
5. Motions
6. Election of Officers, Committee & Scrutineer
7. Any other business
The AGM is your opportunity to comment on Alliance business at Group or National level. We would like to hear your views. Motions for discussion should be sent to reach the Secretary by 19th March 2024.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE
The Group Constitution provides for a Group Executive Committee of 15 Officers and Members to be elected at each Annual General Meeting.
We are far fewer than 15. If you wish to make any nominations, please complete the enclosed form and send it to reach the Secretary in time for the meeting or bring to the AGM on 26th March. Please obtain the consent of your nominees before submitting their names for election.
Group Executive Committee and Officers 2023-2024
who are available to be on the committee 2024-2025
Chairman: Ron Manley
Vice-Chairman: Vacant
Secretary & Speaker Organiser: Elisabeth Malin
Treasurer: David Foster
Deputy Treasurer: Vacant
Membership Secretary and Cashier: Ernest Whatmore
Scrutineer: Dee Kilroy
Newsletter Editor and Raffle: Marilyn Whatmore
Refreshments: Vacant
General Committee Members: Les Mondry-Flesch
We really do need more committee members to keep the group going successfully. If you feel you could help in any way, however small, please volunteer or speak to one of the current committee members before the AGM.
