THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.00 pm on Thursday 11th May 2023 at the Corner House Club Leeds LS17 6QE
1. Attendance. R. Town in the chair with, I. Scholes, G. Roper, J. Aldersley, H. Soutar, M. Murray, A. Kibler and I. Blakeley.
2. Apologies for absence. J. Burton, S. Stacey, A. Rogers, G. Toulson, J. Bentley & B. Yates.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting. Dated 6th April 2023 were approved and signed.
4. Matters Arising. Mr. Roper told us that following our last meeting he has spoken to Francis Atkinson regarding his current health, Francis said he will not be around for a while. He has been placed under a specialist in London which is where he will get his treatment.
5. Treasurers Report. Mr. Kibler read out his report which covers all financial transactions since last month’s council meeting and includes the balances in each bank account. He commented that due to enforced changes to our bank account we have incurred bank charges for exceeding 10 transactions in a calendar month. This results in a charge of 30 pence for each subsequent transaction. Mr Kibler said this month’s expenditure includes our donation to the Candlelighters Charity (Sherburn Aero Club nominated charity) this was given as a thank you to Sherburn Aero Club for giving us an excellent visit and guided tour.
The following transactions were reported:-
| Date | Details Of Transaction | Debit | Credit | |
| 11/Apr/23 | Dinner – Raffle Prizes | 24.50 | 0.00 | |
| 17/Apr/23 | Subs – Stephen Gledhill | 00.00 | 30.00 | |
| Dinner – Free Drinks for all | 159.89 | 0.00 | ||
| Dinner – Meals | 1175.00 | 0.00 | ||
| 20/Apr/23 | Golf – K. Preston | 0.00 | 68.00 | |
| 21/Apr/23 | Postage – I. Scholes | 4.20 | 0.00 | |
| 24/Apr/23 | Golf – B & F Beesley | 0.00 | 56.00 | |
| Dinner – E Battye & Raffle Money | 0.00 | 301.00 | ||
| 25/Apr/23 | M. Murray – Postage | 5.55 | 0.00 | |
| 26/Apr/23 | Dinner Collection for St Gemma’s Hospice | 226.00 | 0.00 | |
| 2/May/23 | Golf – J Bennett | 0.00 | 68.00 | |
| 2/May/23 | Donation to Sherburn Charity | 100.00 | 0.00 | |
| 9/May/23 | Golf – S. Ball | 0.00 | 56.00 | |
| Golf – R. Johnson Craftsman Tools | 0.00 | 100.00 |
The bank balances were reported but are not recorded in the minutes.
6. Correspondence. Mr Yates has been approached by a group of American engineers concerning the use of Bio Fuel to generate electricity at Drax power station. Their concern being that high quality timber is being converted into Bio Fuel and this is being shipped thousands of miles in the name of conservation They wanted him and our association to join a protest against this practice. We discussed the subject at some length and concluded that we are not a political organisation and would not take sides on this matter. However, we agreed to send out the information to our members who can then make their own judgement and sign the petition if they believe the argument is valid.
7. Membership. We have no new members since the last council meeting, but we are all delighted to have attracted three student members recently. All three of these new members are keen to play an active part in the association. It would be good to have younger members on council and we will try to encourage them to put themselves forward for election. Mr. Aldersley commented that the three students live in different districts of Leeds and do not have their own transport so getting to some of our events could prove difficult. He said if any of our membership live in the same area as any of the students it would be good if they could offer them transport to our events. Mr Murray said he has sent the journals / rule books to the three new members.
8. Current Programme. The visit to Sherburn Aero Club was enjoyed by all seventeen visitors. We were given a talk on the history of the club and the part it played in the second world war. We were then given a tour of the hangars and got to see several planes landing and taking off. We were told there is an open day on August Bank Holiday where anyone is free to attend. Our remaining programme for this session comprises of our annual Church service at Leeds Minster in May followed by the summer solstice walk in June.
9. Next Session. Mr. Toulson had asked whether we can confirm our lecture / visit programme up to December 2023 prior to the end of this current session. This then gives us breathing space to obtain events for the coming year and encourages the members to participate. We currently have a lecture planned for September to be given by Mark Batchelor on rebuilding a model steam locomotive called Thunderbolt. We plan to visit Drakes in October (factory in Halifax) and have a lecture by Neil Cobbold (one of our members) which could probably be programmed for November. In recent times we have not had an event in December because it’s difficult getting people to attend so close to Christmas. We have an agreement with Carnaud Metalbox that we can have a visit to their new factory in Leeds but we need to fix a date either in January or February 2024. Gary Briggs Walker of Moreflex has agreed to give us a talk on turbine blades but we need to fix a date (Mr. Toulson has contact details). Mr. Aldersley has recently visited Leeds & Bradford Boiler Company with the college he works for and says he will try organise a visit for the Leeds Association. He is also due to visit Leeds University to carry out material testing and will try to find a contact there who can grant us a visit. It has been suggested by Mr. Kibler that we arrange more Saturday visits as they seem to be well attended.
10. Website. Mr. Aldersley suggested that we should publicise on the website about Harry Soutar winning the student prize and report on his progress, he gave us a talk on energy for the future, minimising environmental impact, and how he has gone on to be a member of our council. Mr Aldersley suggested that our three young engineers might be encouraged to make a regular contribution to our website on the lines of what it is like to be a modern day engineering apprentice.
11. Annual Golf Tournament. Mr Stacey has everything in hand for this year, he will circulate council asking if anyone would like to attend the evening meal and golf presentation advising the menu and the cost. He needs help in organising the tournament in future.
12. Church Service. Mr Scholes has been to see the vicar at Leeds Parish Church to discuss how we participate in the service. He was asked how many attend from the association, which of course is not many. Attendance has improved since we started offering a free lunch at the local public house for a member and their partner but this year, we are just offering a £5 subsidy for those that attend. Mr. Scholes asked council whether we feel that we should give up having this service but the general feeling is that for the time being we should carry on. Mr. Town our President has received a copy of the reading. Someone commented that the church service coincides with the date of the Leeds Marathon, but apparently that’s at the opposite end of the city.
13. Meetings at Morley. We have had a number of members saying they struggle to hear the person giving the lecture. We must insist in future that the lecturer uses a microphone.
14. Annual Dinner. Mr Kibler said the dinner had been well received by our membership and feedback has been complimentary. He said that income from the dinner was £1370 and our bill for meals was £1175 and the cost of supplying drinks was £159.89 and raffle prizes were £24.50 this left a small profit of £10.61. We only supplied 2 free meals this year. The raffle money collected was £226.00 which was donated to St Gemma’s Hospice.
Any other Business. Mr Roper said the landlord of his local public house is a member of the Straightliners Club who officiate over the drag races. He said the steam motor cycle that was subject of a visit at Thorite is now close to reaching its target speed of 200mph and will make an attempt to break the world record very shortly. If he can find the date, he will get Mr. Toulson to publish it on our website so that our members get an opportunity to witness the attempt. Having no other business Mr. Town closed the meeting after thanking those who attended.
……………………………………………President. ……………….. Date