The Wheel's Silver Jubilee 1978-2003

On 1st March 2003 Fr Ian celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his brainchild, The Wheel, with a dinner for 25 friends and supporters at Worth. Below is the speech he gave at the dinner, and Abbot Christopher's response.

Fr Ian's speech:

Abbot Christopher, Dear Friends…

A very long time ago, when I was a little boy, a gypsy told my mother that her son would one day be known all over the world. The gypsy spoke more truly than she knew because The Wheel has been published in at least 17 countries, from Canada to Australia, throughout Europe, from Kenya to Sri Lanka, and from Peru to India.

In 1975, I was Information Officer for Worth Abbey. There being no precedent, I floundered about for several months and then in April 1976, I did a very interesting course in communications, run by David Miles Board, who has been a consultant in communications to the Vatican. This course taught us how to deal with the Press and how to produce interesting newsletters. I was very aware that Worth badly needed an internal staff newsletter, so I asked Abbot Victor if I could begin to write The Wheel.

Why did I call it The Wheel? I thought of myself as the hub of the large extended family that is Worth. My readers are the spokes and I keep everyone in touch with each other. Moreover, if you stand by the altar in the Abbey Church and look up at the lantern, the cross that you will see is the cross reproduced on every copy of The Wheel.

Readership

As I said, it was produced for the staff, but then I started to send it to my family and to friends, to parents whom I met at School occasions and to the Governors. I also began to put the school news into it, so the students saw it on the notice boards and in Housemasters’ rooms. Today, there are 180 names on the mailing list, while the total issue is about 380 copies.

The Wheel began as one A4 sheet folded in half, and then in about 1981 we had our first breakthrough when Fr Michael, Worth’s man in Peru, said he wanted more news. So I enlarged the bulletin to 2 A5 pages folded in half, giving me 8 A5 pages for news. During its 25-year life there have been about six occasions when The Wheel has been 12 A5 pages, and it has now reached number 148. There are three complete sets of The Wheel in existence. One is in the archives at Downside Abbey, and it is there at the request of the archivist, Dom Philip Jebb, one set is in the reference section of the Worth library and one lives in my own room. In the summer of 1986 I indexed year by year every issue of The Wheel up to that date, using a reference system which I invented, and in the Summer of 2001 I changed the spring back binders for ring binders. We have been able to print in the Jubilee issue a copy of the very first number of The Wheel.

Production

For many years, producing The Wheel was a cut and stick job folded by hand. Here I would like to pay tribute to Fr Jerome, who died in 1986. For 8 years he wrote the titles of the paragraphs in his fine italic hand, and also to thank Anne Fagan for the many fine special title pages she drew for me. Then about 10 years ago we had our second breakthrough. John Truman taught me how to use a word processor, and Fr Patrick introduced me to Word and taught me desk-top publishing. My debt to them is enormous.

Further, the modernisation of the Print room and the introduction of the Risograph printer with the collator and booklet maker took a lot of the drudgery out of the production of The Wheel. I am most grateful to all my helpers, especially to Rosemary, who now maintains The Wheel database, and to Julia, who types the editor’s circulars. About 10 years ago, a correspondent said that there were more spelling mistakes in The Wheel than you could find in the work of a class of primary-school children, but Fr Luke has put paid to that with his careful proof reading.

Ups and Downs

Fr Jerome claimed to be a member of AUTWAC, the Amalgamated Union of the Title Writers and Allied Craftsmen, and he frequently threatened the Editor and his staff with industrial action. Also, there was the financial dispute with Fr Edward, who died in 1986. An account of this was published in the 100th issue in 1992. I would like to say a very brief word about finance. Sold originally for 2p, the price of The Wheel has risen to about 35p, which those better at maths than myself, tell me represents a galloping inflation rate of 13%.

The Wheel has always been completely self-financing, and receives no subsidy from either monastery or school. The Wheel is also financing tonight’s celebration in its entirety and all other special jubilee initiatives. For this I am most grateful to my many benefactors, amongst whom I would like to specially mention Theresa and Erica, who are happily here tonight.

To sum up…

Perhaps Abbot Christopher will have something to say in his speech about the future of The Wheel. I would certainly like to continue to publish it three times a year. To sum up, I would like to say two things: first I regard my editing The Wheel these 25 years as a work entrusted to me by God; and secondly, it has been great fun, hard work, creative and fulfilling, a service to the Worth Community, and an historic record of Worth over 25 years. Thank-you all for coming and for making today such a happy one for me.

Dom Ian

Abbot Christopher's response:

When you take on a new position, you find that certain other jobs go with it... so as Abbot of Worth, I find I am the proprietor of the Wheel.

The Editor asks about the future of the Wheel. Our R&D dept is currently working on the following:

• The Wheel online edition, with hotlinks to Hello magazine;
• The Wheel colour supplement, with a plastic wrapper to hold the following pullouts;
• A guide to what’s on this week in the Abbey Church and the PAC; the Vatican radio programme guide; a Travel supplement describing all the places where the Editor has been on holiday (v large); a best buy wine guide sponsored by Arc de Triomphe wines and written by D Booze; a good schools guide with 10 glossy pages on Worth and letters of complaint about Ampleforth, Brighton College, Hurst etc.

New marketing initiatives:

• The Wheel special offers: vouchers for meals at the Cowdray Arms;
• Tokens for reduced fares on Fr S’s airline Abbotair

A buyout by Murdoch and News International?

A rival? Who will be OK to the Wheel’s Hello?

It’s competitor “Evolution”? No, this glossy upstart has no sense of what really interests Worth readers; it's not the new building and the Appeal, the IB and the sports programme that interests us.

Contrast the non-glossy Wheel: I pick one news item at random to illustrate the Wheel’s instinct for a hot story: headline from the April 1980 edition: “Save the Cockroach”.

The School recently called in Rentokil to deal with an infestation of cockroaches: but this has not meet with universal approbation. "Save the Cockroach" leaflets have appeared, saying, “The cockroach is an integral part of life at Worth. Why are these innocent creatures being slaughtered in their hundreds?“

So striking was this story that the nationals took it up, with the Universe splashing the story on page 3. And as a PS. Old Boys were reassured to hear that the cockroaches, like the old boys, are now sending their own offspring back to the alma mater!

But what is the Wheel? Invented in Mespot c. 3,500BC.

But our “Wheel” was invented 25 years ago this year in Ian’s mind and, by now we’d say, if “The Wheel” didn’t exist we’d have to invent it. As an expression of our commitment to community living we need a newsletter for those in the community. Ian is at the hub, we are the spokes; he carries out this task in a very Benedictine way, because he humbly produces something that joins together everybody in the community.

What do letters WHEEL stand for:

• Worth has exceptional, energetic life: true.
• We have ecstasy everywhere, lads! Not a popular slogan with the Headmaster.
• (Using Celtic spelling!) Worth Has Eoin’s Energy & Love.

The Wheel stands as a testimony to Ian’s devotion and his perseverance. Ian has withstood industrial action, technological change and the arrival of Sky News. Perseverance indeed. We all this evening represent the readership and the production team. We all together say to Ian, as the French put it, mille fois merci. So on behalf of the monastic community and on behalf of the wider community, I say thank you to all of you who have supported the Wheel by writing it, producing it and reading it. And thank you especially to Ian, for 25 years of service. Please rise for a toast to the Wheel.

Abbot Christopher