Buntingford Civic Society

At the recent AGM of the Civic Society, Graham Bonner, who has fulfilled the role of chairman for some 7 years decided to step down from this role but he remains an active member of the Society. Our heartfelt thanks go to Graham for his leadership during his time as chairman. The new chairman is me, Graham Waite - yes, another Graham, and I hope to bring to the role the same enthusiasm and wisdom as Graham Bonner. The executive committee was voted back in by members en-bloc to continue for a further year but, ideally, we would like at least two more committee members. Meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday in the month and are quite painless, so if you are interested, please contact our Secretary, Carol Noble, at secretary@buntingfordcivic.org.uk.

The AGM was held in the Bunters Suite at the Seth Ward Community Centre on 18th April and following the main business of the meeting we were treated to a very informative and engaging talk by local PCSO Glen Stanway entitled 'My Life on Screen - reality takes over'. Glen (left) has been involved in the film industry for many years, working on films such as Harry Potter, Deathly Hallows and Guardians of the Galaxy, and on many TV series including Silent Witness, Eastenders, Luther and New Tricks. He entertained the audience with anecdotes about his experiences in the industry and the different actors he has worked with. The evening was rounded off with a glass of wine and snacks. My personal thanks to all who took the time to attend, the society is nothing without its members.

So far May has been a very busy month, what with local elections and the coronation of King Charles III. We would like to pass on our congratulations to the three new District Councillors. Our best wishes to them in their new roles which we are sure will be interesting and hopefully rewarding. It is hoped that the new District Councillors will carry on helping local residents with the many private unreported issues that our previous District Councillors did on a daily basis. We in the Society look forward to receiving the same help and support as in the past.

On Sunday 7th May Buntingford celebrated the coronation with a Family Fun Day organised by the Town Council. It was a great success and thanks go to the many volunteers, including Civic Society members, who not only helped plan the event but also gave huge support on the day by litter picking, stewarding and helping people in general.

As you all know, Christine Noble, who has been editing the Journal for almost 12 years, has decided to move back to her roots in Northumberland. As a committee we have known about this for some time and hoped it would go away, but it didn't, and this June issue of the Journal (out at the end of May) will be her last. It has been extremely difficult to find a replacement for Christine as her skill set covered many aspects of the Journal production, but we have been lucky to secure the services of Anne Wright, who will be taking on the Journal from the July/August issue. We look forward to this new chapter in the Journal's history. We wish Christine the very best for her move.

For a few years now we have seen a gradual decline in both Journal sales and Civic Society membership and the executive committee has had many discussions about the future, both of the Society and the Journal. An example of this is the cost of producing 10 journals per year. At the present level of sales, it is costing us approximately £1.50 per copy to produce and we sell it in the shops for 70p - not economic sense. Therefore, reluctantly and with some trepidation, we have decided that with effect from the July/August issue we will be raising the cover price of the Journal in the shops to £1, which will go some way to redressing the balance. We sincerely hope that this price increase does not deter non-members from buying the Journal. BCS members will still get their Journal delivered to their door for the membership fee of £10 per annum

Well, that's it for now and we hope you all enjoy the up-coming summer, maybe not as hot as last year.

Graham Waite, Chairman, Buntingford Civic Society

If you have any queries about Buntingford Civic Society or issues you would like to raise, you can email the Chairman direct at chairman@buntingfordcivic.org.uk.

The June issue of the Buntingford Journal will be available from the usual retailers from 26th May.

More information about the Buntingford Civic Society can be found here and membership forms can be found here.