British Sundial Society

A summary of the recent
British Sundial Society
Exeter Conference - 2010
April 9-11 2010
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This year's conference was a great success - not least because the sun actually shone for us!!. Thanks to all who helped make it so successful and thanks especially to all those overseas delegates who braved the risks of a rail strike to come.

If you didn't come this year why not try and make it to next year's meeting?
To whet your appetite here are some images from the meeting; thanks to Mike Isaacs, Chris Lusby-Taylor and John Davis for these.

A summary of comments received is given below but first, some pictures. Click on any thumbnail for a larger image.
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Here is a short video clip of the dials we saw on Martin Jenkins' excellent Saturday Dial Tour.

This year we placed a questionnaire into each delegate's conference wallet. So far we've had about a 36% response! Click on the image below to see a breakdown of the comments we have received so far. A summary in percentage terms was also included with the June edition of the Bulletin.

If you were a delegate and have not yet submitted your completed BSS Questionnaire, please do send it to Patrick Powers at the address in the back of any Bulletin. Your views will be added to those in the table above.

Here's a reminder of where we were, what we heard about and the excellent facilities that Exeter University offered us:

Here are some images of the University facilities. Top to bottom and left to right, we see two external views of Holland Hall, inside a bedroom, the approach to our block of rooms, room fridge (unstocked!) and safe, two shots taken inside the dining hall, the self serving area, the lecture theatre, the lectern and the 20ins deep modular tables that were used for exhibits.

Click on the image below to see a Word document of the Exeter Conference Programme

The Location	The Streatham Campus, which is the biggest of the three University sites in Exeter, is built within a former country estate overlooking the city and its surrounding countryside. The campus is one of the most beautiful in the country with gardens having many rare species of plants and trees. It presents a beautiful and relaxing environment for students and visitors to enjoy. There are also excellent sporting facilities on site. At the centre and in an area which we shall pass as we walk to and from the lectures, is the Italianate Reed Hall Mansion. You can get a flavour of the site here. Those who may be interested to see a 360 degree panorama view of some of the parts of Holland Hall may select 'Holland Hall' under 'Catered Accommodation' in the link here.
Holland Hall	Holland Hall is named after Sir Geoffrey Holland, the Vice-Chancellor of the University who retired in 2002. Often called, 'The Pride of the University', it is one of the newest halls and opened in September 2004. It is the University's largest and most expensive of the catered halls and was built to very high standard, with en-suite rooms having double beds, showers, toilets, heated towel rails, telephone and Internet points. (See Panorama View of a room).
Trivia	The University was founded in 1855. Across all of its campuses it caters for some 10,800 undergraduates and 5,000 postgraduates. The University is rated 13th in the 2010 Guardian University Guide, 9th by the Times Good UK University Guide. It is rated 7th in the national universities and colleges satisfaction ranking and 4th in the list of traditional universities. It is said that the University's Streatham Campus has more trees per student than any other university campus in the United Kingdom. On the Campus there is a Sculpture Walk, including pieces by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and a statue to commemorate the events of 1989 in Tiananmen Square. The Harry Potter authoress JK Rowling read French and Classics at Exeter in 1983. Having previously been called "Dutch Courage", the bar in Holland Hall is now called "The Clog". Worried about the weather after the terrible January? Well, there's hope yet!! The warmest moment in the UK came in Exeter (no less!) on January 16th, when the mercury reached 12.4˚C (54.3˚F). How about that? Let's hope that April will also be above average..
Cancellation Policy	Delegates who booked a place at the Exeter Conference and who found it necessary to cancel any part or all of their booking were able to do so with a complete refund where notice of the cancellation had been received by the Conference Organiser before February 1st 2010. After that date the Society became contractually liable to the University for cancellation fees and applicable proportions of other fixed costs. Any cancellations made within 3 weeks of the event commencing will be subject to a University charge of 100% of the expected accommodation and catering charges. The Society regrets that it must pass on any such that may be applicable to a cancelled booking. In view of the nature of the contract with the University and the sliding scale nature of the University's cancellation fees, it is possible that any refund that may be due might have to wait until final invoices for the conference have been issued in late April and all costs known. BSS however, does not apply any additional cancellation fees of its own for this event.
Disclaimer:	This web page is provided solely as a descriptive, general guide to the conference arrangements and to the facilities that are expected to be provided by the University and other authorities. Facilities and details described here may change and in any case the contents of this page will change as the date for the conference approaches and passes. The most up to date and relevant information about the Conference may therefore be expected to be that available close to the start date of the meeting. Members should come back to this page from time to time to note any new or altered information. For reference, the latest date of page update is stated below left. No copies of earlier versions of pages are archived on line. All information on this site is believed to be correct at the time it is entered but it is all necessarily based on information obtained remotely which on occasion may not be entirely up to date. Where situations change or corrections are needed they will be made on a normal day to day basis without notice. BSS does not make any representations as to the suitability or fitness for purpose of any external link provided on this site. Neither BSS nor any members of its Council can accept any liability for any errors or omissions that there may be. Nor can BSS or any of its Trustees accept any consequential loss that may be incurred by any person as a result of reliance upon data given here. If reliance is to be placed upon any fact or statement in this website Members should confirm it personally and in writing with the Conference Organiser beforehand. Members should note that positive confirmation of some issues may involve a delay whilst the University or other authority is contacted.. E & OE