C O N T E X T 8 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 33 IHBC News Notes from the chair Although we had known for some time that Gus Astley was bearing serious illness with great fortitude, it was still a considerable shock to hear of his death. It was particularly so for me, as I had been to see him only the week before. He was still full of fighting talk about the failings in many quarters and what we should be doing about it…just as he had over the last 15 or so years I had known him! Such was the high regard for Gus in the many walks of his multifaceted life that, at the funeral, the church was packed with over 300 people. I have thanked his family for sharing that day with us as generously as they had shared much of Gus with us for, probably, more years than they should have. Gus was so much more than a hyper-active membership secretary. Since we said our farewells, I have heard several stories of his thoughtfulness and simple acts of kindness dedicated to ensuring that our ‘machine’ had a human touch (p34). The membership function will go on, but it will never be the same without Gus. So we are taking steps to ensure that he is not forgotten. There will be more on this in due course. Meanwhile, I am happier to say that I have also witnessed a conservation birth – The Eastern European Centre for Historic Building Conservation. At the beginning of September, I was invited to Romania to see the fruits of the fifth year of our collaboration with the Transylvania Trust. I have to say that I was astonished at the progress that has been made. Over 300 craftsmen have now been through the training programme and a measure of the success is that some of the earlier students have returned as instructors. The training combines tri-lingual classroom teaching, provided by volunteers from Oxford Brookes and Sheffield Hallam Universities, with live on-site training supervised by a loyal band of British craftsmen. As well as the philosophy of repairs, the modules cover stone repair and carving, brickwork including some tricky loadbearing vaulting, timber construction and lime rendering. The product of this work is the gradual repair of the ruinous Banffy Castle. But the point is that the castle is not so ruinous now. The café, established last year, is thriving and it will soon be joined by dormitory accommodation for future courses. The entrance block houses a small museum. The Miklos building, which many thought would have to be demolished, has been stabilised as a repaired shell with the first Baroque roof structure to be built in Eastern Europe for many decades. Next, the interior will be rehabilitated to provide teaching space and conservation laboratories. Hitherto, all this work has been undertaken at risk, in the sense that the project could at any time have fallen victim to political whims. Now, however, the local mayor has recognised that this international venture is here to stay and he has passed the ownership of the castle to the Transylvania Trust on a long lease. Thus the dream of establishing an eastern European centre has become a reality. I have to admit that all those years ago I was a little sceptical that such heady ambitions could be realised, but now we can all take some parental pride in the offspring of our partnership with the Transylvania Trust. I am only sorry that Gus, who was always a strong supporter of the project, did not live to see this achievement. Eddie Booth, [email protected] Banffy Castle, Bontida, Romania (top) with the Kitchen Block (before and after restoration), the subject of a forthcoming Context article by Dave Baxter IHBC chair Eddie Booth at Banffy Castle
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