Secretary’s Report for year to 30th June 2023
It is interesting and very encouraging to look back to last year’s report, and see that we have, again, come a long way. We are a lot more confident, now regularly have American Suppers and have stopped the requests for COVID tests. We have, however, retained our refunds policy so that anyone who is ill is refunded the ticket price and is not tempted to attend when they shouldn’t. This gives greater confidence to everyone when booking or attending. Our policy of financially supporting dances has proved to be a good long-term strategy as the number of attendees at dances and events has increased and they are now generally self-funding.
The first event included in my report is the Summer Fling in July 2022. The dances were recapped by Margaret Chambers, Pat Fish, Maggie Kirkup and Lynn Robinson who took the hot weather into account so that we enjoyed the afternoon’s dancing as well as the delicious refreshments.
Due to our 60[th] Anniversary Ball being in March 2022, we moved our Dawlish weekend to September 2022. We enjoyed David Queen’s teaching, including some of his own dances, as we danced to the music of Ian and Judith Muir. We had walkthroughs in advance for both evening dances; these were very well received as it gave newer dancers more confidence and refreshed everyone’s memory.
The New Season Dance was held in October with Ian Muir of Prestwick playing and Alan Cottle as MC. 69 intended to attend but there was some illness, and these people were refunded as per our policy. The feedback was good and it was clear why people travel to hear Ian play.
The Day School in November went well, the only downside was that we had to change the morning venue to St Edyth’s Church Hall where the floor was rather hard. Gary Coull was teaching and Ewan Galloway playing with Ian Robertson joining him in the evening. The interaction between the two or three of them was terrific and great fun for all. We will certainly be asking the musicians to play for us again.
Judith Muir played for us at the final class of term. We all enjoyed the music as well as the mince pies and mulled wine.
For the Newcomers Dance in February, we welcomed the Ian Robertson duo at St Monica’s. It was a happy and enjoyable evening, with a good number of our newer dancers. We also had a 9-year-old join us, she thoroughly enjoyed the evening and seemed at ease joining in a few of the dances.
We returned to our usual March date for another weekend at Dawlish. This time we had a French band and teacher Matthias, who had all travelled from Paris. The six musicians took it in turns to play and dance; they were all young and added extra energy to the weekend.
Andrew Lyon and David Queen played at our Summer Dance; as always we enjoyed their music and the whole evening went well. We had had a Tea Dance/rehearsal the previous Sunday at St Peter’s as some of the dances were less familiar. This was also a fun and enjoyable occasion.
We have been very spoilt over many years with George Miekle regularly playing at our last class of the Summer Term. As always, it was a pleasure to dance to his distinctive music.
A group of dancers performed for the St Monica’s Coronation celebrations; the display was enjoyed by all who saw it especially as so many different formations were involved.
As the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society has been celebrating its Centenary this year, we were asked to submit dances that were popular locally but had not been published. Schiehallion was chosen for publication and the branch was then asked to submit a video of the dance. You will find the results on Strathspey Server (my.strathspey.org).
Our Membership is 71 Members, made up of 33 adult single, 24 joint, 8 Bristol, 3 Young Adult and 3 Life Members.
I reported last year of the death of Jean Waller who had danced with us of many years, many of our group attended her funeral.
During this year we have also lost our patron, the Late Queen Elizabeth II; we sent condolences to King Charles III and received a card thanking us for our message.
The death of Hugh Ferguson saddened us all – he received the RSCDS Scroll of Honour in September 2021 for his worldwide contribution to Scottish Country Dancing music. We were privileged to have him play for us, he played for royal occasions too and we left his funeral to the music he composed for “The Earl and Countess of Wessex” which was devised by Joan. We think of the family but are pleased to see Hugh’s legacy as Joan, Sadie and Jose-Mae continue to join us.
Ruth Davies November 2023
Royal Scottish Country Dance Society - Bristol Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 30 June 2023
Registered charity number 1059608
Income and Expenditure account
| Membership (see note 1) Investment income Beginners summer classes Celebration class (2021) Free classes (autumn 2022) Autumn term other classes Spring term classes Summer term classes Monday classes & demos Summer Fling New Season Dance Dancers Day School Newcomers Dance Tea Dance Anniversary Ball 2022 Summer Dance Book 53 try-out Residential weekend: autumn Residential weekend: spring Administration (see note 2) Equipment repairs & replacements Depreciation (see note 3) Grand Total Note 1: RSCDS membership Membership collected for RSCDS Note 2: Administration Printing Computer software Insurance Subscriptions Publicity Website Zoom Gifts Health & Safety Misc Total administration Note 3: Equipment Value brought forward Purchases Depreciation @ 40% Value carried forward |
Unrestricted funds Year to 30 June 2023 Income Expenses Surplus £ £ £ 126 126 34 34 185 196 -11 158 -158 2104 2053 51 2242 1890 352 1502 1521 -19 300 280 20 145 176 -31 840 465 375 1535 1655 -121 1022 510 512 95 160 -65 693 549 144 15153 14738 415 16142 16775 -633 775 -775 0 0 63 -63 42117 41966 151 1270 1270 0 25 42 90 10 82 102 177 226 20 775 64 95 63 95 |
Unrestricted funds Year to 30 June 2022 Income Expenses Surplus £ £ £ 214 0 214 16 16 268 -268 2198 2368 -170 2494 2108 386 1563 1390 173 160 60 100 105 69 36 525 744 -219 1263 1253 10 624 781 -157 235 152 83 3425 4088 -663 616 710 -94 54 -54 922 -922 42 -42 |
|---|---|---|
| 13438 15011 -1573 |
||
| 848 848 0 16 75 10 357 104 173 185 2 922 106 0 42 64 |
| Royal Scottish Country Dance | Society - Bristol | Registered charity number 1059608 |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Financial Activities for the Year | Ended 30 June 2022 (contd) | |
| Balance sheet at year end | Unrestricted funds 30/6/23 | Unrestricted funds 30/6/22 |
| Current assets | ||
| Insurance paid in advance | 82 | 79 |
| Paid for future events | 150 | 1000 |
| Other debtors | 6 | |
| Cash and cash at bank | 10980 | 10218 |
| Other assets | ||
| Equipment (see note 2) | 95 | 64 |
| Current liabilities | ||
| Creditors | 360 | 570 |
| Total net assets | 10947 | 10796 |
| Unrestricted funds brought forward | 10796 | 12369 |
| Net surplus | 151 | -1573 |
| Unrestricted funds carried forward | 10947 | 10796 |
These accounts have been prepared on an accruals basis in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard FRS102 and with the Charities Act 2011. There have not been any changes of accounting policy during this period.
Signed on behalf of all the Trustees:-
Chairman Rosamund Rawlings
Treasurer Alan Pinder
Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees/Members of The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society-Bristol. Registered Charity Number 1059608
On the accounts for the year ended 30" June 2023 set out on page 1 and 2
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 (“the Charities Act’).
The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Act and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
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examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
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to follow the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Act), and
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to state whether particular matters have come to my attention
Basis of independent examiner’s statement
My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees conceming any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no material matters have come to my attention which give me cause to believe that, in any material respect:-
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities Act of 2011 and with the methods and principles of Statement of Recommended Practice for the Accounting and Reporting by Charities.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Date:
Mr J E Newsom 7 Hyland Grove, Westbury-on-Trym BRISTOL, BS9 3NR
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