Minutes of The Blake Society Annual General MeetingTuesday, 17 June 2008At the City of Westminster Archive’s Centre, 10 St Ann’s Street, London SW1P 2DEBetween 7.30pm and 10.00 pmMembers Present : Rosemary Antrobus, Ayla Demir, John Docherty, ValerieDoulton, Helen Elwes, Carol Garrido, Luis Garrido, Tim Heath, Peter Hodgman,Rod Iverson, Steven Micalef, Adrian Peeler, Kevin Power, John Sargent,Andrew Solomon, David Sudlow, Peter Woodcock.Non-Members Observing : Gary March, Niall McDevitt, Jude Rawlins, Amy Vail(plus two others who did not sign the register)1. Minutes of last year’s AGMReceived unanimously2. Apologies for AbsenceDavid McLaughlin, Detlef Doerrbecker, Felicity Bowers, Jay Ramsay, Jeanette Fogg, John Dollar, Kate Kelly-Tanguay, Keri Davies, Paul Cheshire, Shirley Mungapen.3. Chairman’s ReportTim Heath explained why this year’s AGM was delayed – without Accounts an AGM cannot be called. The Society has been without a Treasurer since Justin Barnard resigned in June 2007 due to personal circumstances. An expression of thanks was given for Justin’s professional contribution to the Society as a Chartered Accountant. After various repeated appeals to the Society, Peter Hodgman volunteered as Acting Treasurer in February 2008.A full report of our activities during the 250 Anniversary Year is to be sent separately and is also available on the website.4. Acting Treasurer’s ReportPeter Hodgman circulated copies of the Society’s Accounts, which follow the Charity Commission’s format for small charities.The Accounts are to be sent separately and will be also available on the website.Peter read and explained the figures and noted that this year’s receipts and payments were considerably more than last year – reflecting the Society’s increased activity during the 250th anniversary year. Peter asked for questions from the floor.Luis Garrido noted that since the end of the Accounting period the Society has had to make substantial disbursements such as paying for printing and posting of Blake Journal 10. Jude Rawlins queried cost of Website. Tim Heath explained that Society had outsourced the design and implementation of the new Blake Society Website to an independent professional web-designer. The accounts were received unanimously.5. Secretary’s Report: Tim Heath expressed regrets that Keri Davies was not seeking re-election as Secretary of the Society, though he hoped that would prove to be only a sabbatical. Tim expressed our thanks to Keri and commended his great contribution to the Society over so many years, his unfailing courtesy and scholarship.6. Membership Secretary’s Report: Luis Garrido reported that currently the Society has approximately 300 members of which 40 are from abroad. This year through the website 30 new members have already joined, thanks to all the many activities presented by the Blake Society during Blake’s 250th anniversary. Majority of members have not yet renewed their membership this year. We will be sending a reminder letter as soon as possible. Last year we sent two reminder letters and many subtle reminders with each and every invitation to a Blake Society meeting.Asked from the floor when is membership due: Luis said membership is for the calendar year, but we don’t usually ask people to pay until a full year has passed since a member last paid. We often write to members who have not paid and invite them to Society meetings and often distribute the Blake Journal to members whose payments are still due. Jude Rawlins asked whether we have considered offering the option of payment by standing order or direct debit. There was a show of hands to see how many people would be willing to pay by standing order if that method of membership renewal was available. Majority of people raised their hands.7. Election of the Honorary Officers for 2008:Chairman: Tim HeathTreasurer: Peter HodgmanSecretary: Luis and Carol GarridoHonorary Officers approved unanimouslyTim nominated Dr Keri Davies as a lifetime Vice-President of the Blake Society. This was approved unanimously.8. Election of the Committee for 2008Kevin Power, John Rowley, Andrew Solomon, Kate Kelly-Tanguay, Angus Whitehead.Valerie Doulton asked how were the nominations made. Tim answered that at the time of the last Annual Lecture emails were sent inviting members to volunteer to serve the Society. Every person who answered the invitation was invited again to formalise their reply by nominating themselves to serve on the current committee. Again, before this AGM another invitation was emailed to all members inviting nominations to serve as Honorary Officers and Committee Members for 2008. Under the Blake Society constitution, members can nominate others or nominate themselves. The Blake Society constitution is published on the Blake Society Website under “Society” and is modelled on the format supplied by the Charity Commission.Helen Elwes informed that she was aware that Jay Ramsay was willing to serve on the committee and had sent an email reply to that effect. Tim Heath answered that he had not received the reply to date, but he would look into this and contact Jay directly.The Committee was elected unanimously9. Approval to raise extraordinary funds for a new gravestone in Bunhill Fields:Luis gave a brief overview of the Society’s proposal for marking the location of William Blake’s grave. An enlarged version of the design of Blake’s memorial was put on display. The design is by Lida Cardozo of the Kindersley Workshop in Cambridge. The City of London, owners of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground requested that the person in charge of the design and installation should be a recognised expert in historical memorials and have considerable experience in dealing with listed buildings, as Bunhill Fields is a Listed Building, and any changes have to pass the approval of English Heritage. The Kindersley workshop has some prestigious commissions to their name and have done work for the City of London before, thus they were a sound choice as well as being the leading letter cutters in the UK. On the 30th of July we are expecting to receive a decision from the City of London whether the Blake Society proposal meets the approval of the City of London Open Spaces Committee. Lida’s design includes a flat stone right above the grave of William Blake with a hand-cut text. The cost of designing, supplying the stone, hand letter cutting, preparation of foundation, plus supplying and installing stone paving leading to the grave comes to a total of £25,000 plus VAT. Part two of Lida’s design includes engraving on the ground a poem by William Blake. This would be a very large inscription over 25 yards long, in very big lettering, starting at Blake’s existing memorial stone all the way to Blake’s actual grave on the lawn. The cost of this hand-cut lettering is estimated at £65,000 plus vat. The poem to be inscribed in large size on the paving stones is “The Bard” : Hear the voice of the Bard ! Who Present Past, & Future sees, etc …At this point we don’t know whether Lida’s design will be approved in its totality or whether only the first part will be approved. Once the Open Spaces Committee of the City of London grants approval the project will still have to pass the approval of English Heritage, and a planning consent by Islington Council. To fund this project the Blake Society will have to raise charitable funds from the general public, or from other institutions, private or public. No money will ever be raised until there is a certainty that all necessary approvals and permissions have been granted.A vote was taken to see who was in favour of marking the spot of Blake’s grave with a memorial. All present were in favour with three abstentions.A vote was taken to see whether we should wait until the next AGM, at which time we should know exactly what level of permission had been granted, before making decisions on fund raising. Majority agreed, with three votes against.Tim suggested an open committee meeting prior to the next AGM where these matters could be fully discussed.10. Any other Business – none11. Part 2 of the Evening: Aidan Dun’s poetic presentationLike Blake, Aidan Dun finds divinity in the streets of London and in particular the Quadrant around King’s Cross. Aidan Dun read a paper weaving together his thoughts and poetry with the writings of William Blake that have inspired his life.