musings0701

Midland English Setter Society publish an annual magazine, Musings, which includes news, articles and other items of interest to all who live with our breed. A selection of these will be published here from time to time. Our first Musings offering was published in 2000.

This is abridged from an article by Mervyn Grassby, a former Chairman and a founder member of our Society.

A Great MESS from the start.

1979 was an eventful year for the members of the English Setter showing fraternity. Talk between exhibitors about creating a Midland club began to take on more shape until an invitation was sent out to a wine and cheese evening on 25th March to discuss the possibility of forming an English Setter society for the area. With 47 people attending, Margaret Green agreed to act as Secretary and take notes of the discussions which followed. It was a very lively affair with many options suggested: these included a stand-alone society, a club affiliated to the ESA as the national body, or a local branch of the ESA. Eventually the meeting took a vote on the formation of a new Society. Before the end of the meeting a caretaker committee was formed, but no activities could be planned until the Kennel Club gave it's permission.

This was received in September, and a meeting was held where rules were drafted and Officers elected. A list of 79 founder members was submitted to the Kennel Club. On 18th October the letter arrived indicating that we were now registered as the Midland English Setter Society. It was now time to get the ball rolling, and start raising funds. All manner of evening events were organised and breeders were encouraged into persuading people who had bought their puppies to come along. Our Patron Mr Parkinson spoke at one of the first of these evenings, enticingly described as a 'Cider Supper' and a well attended group heard touching reminiscences of life with English Setters. We also had a novel trimming demonstration where the active part was conducted by Pam Wadsworth whilst Val Foss exercised her vocal cords; all this was followed by liberal amounts of cider.

Our first Open Show was proposed for 8th December 1979, just 5 weeks after the Kennel Club allowed the Club to be formed, and was held at Coombe Park, Coventry. It was judged by Mrs M Pearson, our President. The show was a huge success, and the same venue was used for several years.

The first AGM was held in 1981, and it was decided to hold two Open shows each year, with two judges at the May show to give more opportunity for judging experience. The Society logo and colours were also adopted. A calendar was published, with 13 English Setter pictures. At the 1982 AGM Gwen Broadley was elected as Patron, a position she held for many years. The Committee decided that the Society should be represented at Crufts as from 1983, to answer queries on the breed from members of the public and overseas visitors. In order to keep costs down, it was decided to create a stall to use at Crufts and at our own shows, to sell items relating to English Setters.

1983 was another milestone in our history - we held a very successful rally with a breed exemption show as the major event. Our first judging seminar was organised in 1984, and I think it was a first for the breed. 1985 brought another change in Cup Steward with Anne Green taking on this role. Anne also became the first committee representative to run our rescue and rehoming facility and puppy register.

Discussions took place in 1986 about other ways to help members. One of these led to the production of a Results Book, which continued for many years. It was around about this time that MESS Musings was first published, under the editorship of Chris Jennings.

1990 brought a traumatic end to the year - heavy snow resulted n the cancellation of our Championship show in early December. Not appreciating that the snow was not a localised fall I struggled for several hours to get to the venue, especially as I had all the prize cards, prize money etc. But conditions finally forced me to give up and only then did I find that only a handful of people had managed to get through. Talks were organised with the KC and we were finally permitted to hold the show in January, with the same catalogue.

1991 saw the Society break new ground with a shared show with Coventry Gundog. However with the limited space available to us and the reduction in income the experiment was not repeated. 1993 brought a new secretary, Colin Roberts. Unfortunately his work patterns changed in 1995 and he felt unable to continue. Jo King took up the reins in 1996, but only for a short period - her sudden death caused much sadness not only within MESS but generally through the gundog world in the Midlands. Fiona Mitchell was confirmed as Secretary in 1998.

Our next major project was under discussion in 1994 - production of a video on the breed, especially as many had seen an American production which left much to be desired. Finally at the 1996 AGM it was announced that the video project was to go ahead. Filming would start as soon as the weather was settled and fine.

The last changes in Officers before the Millennium came with the resignation of Treasurer Barbara Lilley in 1997 - our third Treasurer is Maureen Withey. Finally, after the May 1999 show I felt that the time had come to relinquish my position as Chairman. This enabled MESS to enter the millennium with the zeal of a younger pair of hands on the wheel in Stuart Tait as Acting Chairman. The success of the Y2K Championship Show in our 21st birthday year proved my decision to be the right one. So there you have it, it has been a fantastic experience, with a group of fellow officers, committee members, members an exhibitors who all in their way have contributed to creating and sustaining the society that is MESS. May the next 21 years be as enjoyable as the first.

Mervyn Grassby

2000