The 2001 Annual, General Meeting of the Guild was held on Saturday 17th November and we returned to a central venue in the City of London.
A band met at St. Lawrence Jewry at 11.00am and a quarter peal of 1260 Grandsire Triples was successfully completed. This was rung as a tribute to David Wick’s 70th birthday.
The afternoon had been especially organised by Susan and Sebastian Lucas so that those who wished could arrive by public transport and all towers could then be accessed by foot. Our first tower of the afternoon was the 8 of St. Botolphs, Bishopsgate. The bells here are a challenge with great tower sway but we kept the methods simple with moderate success.
Many of the afternoon towers were old favourites for members of the Guild, but the 2nd tower was a tower grab for most people, this being the 3 of St. Mary Woolnoth. Ken had kindly visited and oiled them prior to our visit and I think it is fair to say that most of us would not have wished to ring without some of that tender care. This tower was tightly sandwiched in the timetable so we could arrive in batches and then move on the short distance to St. Vedast, Foster Lane. These are a very pleasant 6 and it was surprising to see the 18th Century graffiti in the window wells now picked out in gold – thus graffiti is not a new problem and has now become an interesting exhibit.
The last tower of the day was the 10 of St. Clement Danes which was beautifully restored after the war and re-consecrated as the Central Church of the Royal Air Force. We were ushered out to a trumpet fanfare as a private service was to follow our visit.
We had a very short walk down the Strand to ‘Ye Olde Cock Tavern’. This was under new management and had recently been refurbished and we were made very welcome. Twenty eight of us sat to dinner here around one long table. After the meal the business meeting was held.