Derek Spackman has resigned as Chairman of the Quantock Centre, mainly for personal reasons. He told the Committee at its meeting on 16 July that he was giving up all his roles in the Centre with the exception of the Music Group.
He felt it was a good time for a change of face and name at the head of the Centre and its Committee. The poor response to the appeals for volunteers to come forward for some very important jobs in the Centre meant there were likely to be significant changes in the way some operations take place. “It is, in my view, better that these are made under the auspices of the Chairman who is going to see the changes fully implemented,” he said.
Ken Hague, the Vice-Chairman, took over as acting Chairman with immediate effect, saying: “I know that I speak for all the members of the Quantock Centre when I state our gratitude to Derek Spackman for having served as Chairman during what must have been a very difficult period. I totally understand the reasons for his decision to resign.”
Mr Hague was due to become Chairman at the annual meeting of the Centre next February. In the absence of other volunteers, he had already offered to take on the job “because I consider this unique institution is worth preserving”. He emphasised, however, that the Centre still needed more help from its members. “This entails commitment, but the payback is a great feeling of satisfaction, allied with companionship, and it is fun.”
The National Trust is re-advertising the post of employee-volunteer to work on a joint Quantock Centre-Trust project, “Finding a Way Forward”, to explore ways to make the Centre and similar supporter groups “more secure and more attractive to new generations of members”. The Trust originally advertised the job to national firms which have historically encouraged staff to undertake spells of voluntary work to enhance their professional and personal development. They are now less willing to do this in the current economic climate. Potential candidates who contacted the Trust's recruitment agency, Whitehall and Industry Group, said they found the role interesting but felt they could not give enough time alongside current commitments. The Trust is now widening the recruitment net to other organisations, and it has trimmed the period of the project from six months to three.
The job is described as “an opportunity to use or develop your project management, planning, interviewing and analytical skills with the country's leading heritage and environmental charity. In addition you will be helping to shape future policy decisions for nearly 200 local supporter groups with 90,000 members across the country”.
A group of Quantock Centre representatives paid a special visit to Dunster Castle in June to be given their own “Siege and Surrender” presentation which is a popular feature of Castle tours, especially for children.
The Centre has donated more than £2,000 for four tailor-made Civil War uniforms worn by guides who, as “soldiers”, take visitors back in time to the days when the castle was a Royalist stronghold under the command of Colonel Wyndham. They give a vivid account of the siege by Parliamentary forces which ended in the surrender of the castle in April 1646.
Property Administrator Stephen Hayes, in a thank-you letter to the Centre, said the extra uniforms – two of them worn by the guides for the Centre's visit – “will mean that our war- (or should that be tour-?) weary soldiers can take a well-earned break and our new soldiers can take over in their place”.
Arrangements are now in hand for the Music Group's forthcoming 2008-09 season. There will again be a good variety of music to come and listen to, with one afternoon of music each month from October to April.
The Group's meetings are held in the homes of various members and usually start at 2pm or 2:30pm, depending on the time of year. They generally last about two hours, or slightly more, with about an hour and 40 minutes of music and the rest of the time for chat and fellowship.