hold our subscription at its present bargain rate of just £7.50. Accordingly, in order to comply with the requirements of the Charity Commissioners we are asking members at the AGM to confirm the adoption of the existing Rules. Please come to the AGM on January 12th and support this measure and take advantage of the chance to hear Charles Morgan on the subject of Morgan of Malvern.
Looking ahead we shall soon be reaching our 50th Anniversary as a Society. This celebration will take place early in 2009. Will we still be here by 2009? It ought to be a daft question but we do need more active participation. There will be plenty of opportunities for volunteers to join in with one of our committees or working parties. Welcome aboard!
Our Anniversary - nearly there! It's true our Society will be 50 years old by 2009. Actually the first meeting took place on the 17th December 1958 at the Mount Pleasant Hotel. There were just eight members present to form themselves into the 'Friends of Malvern Society.' A gentleman of the name Mr. R H M Ody took the chair in the absence of Col W Garrard. They were certainly in earnest. Each clause of the proposed rules was read out and voted upon. Five years later on November 7th 1963 the rules were amended with this time Gerald Morice in the chair. Eventually, the Society changed its name to Malvern Civic Society in December 1989. Even then the rules under which we operate today are not quite the same as those listed in that year and so that is why we must ask you to adopt them formally at our forthcoming AGM. One notices with the passage of time we have become less formal than we were even just a few years ago and that surely is a good thing but dealing with the Charity Commissioners, that's another matter!
Remembrance Day: Recently I recalled the words of the late lamented John Ford who questioned why we continue to have our two minutes silence at Belle Vue Terrace. Not only is the site too small for the numbers wishing to take part, we also have to contend with traffic noise. John suggested that it would be more appropriate to hold the event at Malvern Library where we could hear ourselves speak and hold the silence near the war memorial and where the names of the fallen are commemorated. To their credit the Town Council listened to these views and decided that this year the event will be held in the Library grounds. This is surely the right decision.
Local Government Shake-Up: There have been persistent reports of a major change in local government. It's known that Ruth Kelly's
predecessor as the Minister responsible for Local Government, David Miliband was considering doing away with up to 24 district councils in the West Midlands and that list included the District Councils of Malvern and Wychavon in addition to Worcester City Council. News on local government reform has gone quiet but as I write we are hearing that Ruth Kelly is advocating new local powers in a wave of devolution that is intended to 'give power back to the people'. These ideas offer various options including the power to create our own by-laws and to have elected Mayors with 4-year terms of office. At present we have three tiers of local administration ranging from Worcestershire County Council to Malvern Hills District Council with our Malvern Town Council having very limited responsibilities. It looks as though that is about to change but maybe not in the way David Miliband had been thinking. He was reported as liking the idea of creating unitary authorities throughout the country but his successor, Ruth Kelly is likely to be encountering stiff opposition because plans of that nature would lead to the loss of hundreds of councillors!
Brum's Civic Society gets bashed: Anyone who thinks that Civic Societies who engage in debate on conservation and environmental matters will be leading a quiet life should think again. Birmingham Civic Society had offered to organize a series of concerts to celebrate the re-opening of the Town Hall. Apparently five letters were sent out to the City Council asking for the Civic Society to be involved in the planning of the celebrations of the £35m rejuvenation of the Grade 1 listed building due to be re-opened next year, but there was no reply. When eventually an eleven-day festival to mark the re-opening of the Grade 1 listed building was announced, the events committee did not include the Civic Society. This is very surprising since it is highly likely that without the Civic Society's persistent campaigning for rejuvenation the Town Hall would have been left in decline. No-one knows why they were excluded but one is left wondering if someone is repaying the Civic Society for its outspoken attacks on the Council's conservation record, one hopes not.