Enacted by the Pembroke College Winnie-the-Pooh Society in the second Presidency of Owen Barritt and the third Secretariat of Martin Seaton, and in the absence of the Lady Foundress, Helen Masters.

Description of the Document

1. This document and all rules and regulations herein are the constitution of the society known as the Pembroke College Winnie-the-Pooh Society.

The Society

2. The name of the Society shall be the Pembroke College Winnie-the-Pooh Society, hereinafter referred to as `the Society’.
3. The aim of the Society shall be to meet in Elevenses and General Meetings in order to preserve and disseminate the works of A. A. Milne, such meetings to be hereinafter referred to as `Meetings’.

Membership

Entitlement

4. All undergraduates, graduates, and senior members of the University of Cambridge, shall be entitled to be members, and membership applications from these people are not subject to ratification.
5. Applications for membership from persons resident within the precincts of the University as defined by the statutes of the University of Cambridge, but not qualifying under clause IV may be considered if supported by a member of the Committee, and shall be ratified by motion of the membership at any Meeting; the which membership, having once been ratified, shall not require subsequent ratification except in the case of rustication.

Conditions

6. Membership is awarded until the first Elevenses meeting in November of the following academic year, and is contingent upon the payment of a Pooh Levy, the exact amount of which shall be as set by motion of the membership.

Rustication

7. Membership may not be revoked prematurely, but rustication may be imposed by motions at two successive Elevenses Meetings. A member who is thus rusticated shall be excluded from Meetings until the motion be revoked, or until the next Annual General Meeting, whichever be the sooner.

Honorary Membership

8. Honorary membership may be awarded by motion of the members at any Meeting and does not require renewing. No Levy is to be taken for honorary membership. A person thus awarded honorary membership shall have their name added to the list of honorary members, and may attend Meetings at any time, and shall hold the same voting rights and be vulnerable to the same sanctions as paying members.

Meetings

9. A Meeting may be opened only in the presence of at least three members of the Society, of whom one must be a member of the Committee (see clause XXXVI).

Elevenses Meetings

10. Elevenses Meetings shall occur once a week during full term. A Meeting shall be deemed to be quorate in the presence of a quorum, which shall be at least 10% of the paying membership.
11. Meetings shall be held in members’ room on a voluntary basis, unless other provision has been made, and the host shall provide refreshments as they may consider to be necessary and appropriate, the expenses of which are not refundable by the Society except by motion of the members.
12. The location of a meeting shall be decided at the previous meeting where possible.

Committee Meetings

13. The committee (see clause XXXVI) may hold a meeting separate from the rest of the society as and when it is deemed necessary (for the purposes of vetoing (see clause XXXVII), etc), such a meeting shall be deemed quorate in the presence of at least three members of the committee (see clause XXXV).

Annual General Meetings

14. An Annual General Meeting shall be held during the Lent Full Term, at such a time as may be arranged, for purposes of elections and other such requirements as may arise.
15. The Annual General Meeting shall only be recognised as such in the event of the presence of at least 33% of the paying membership: if this condition is not fulfilled a new Annual General Meeting must be called.

Extraordinary General Meetings

16. An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be called in the event of the resignation of an officer, or on the request of two members of the Committee, or of 33% or more of the paying membership, and shall be subject to the same rules and capacities as the Annual General Meeting except those outlined in clause XXVI.

Annual Garden Party

17. The Committee (see clause XXXVI) with the assistance of the membership shall be required to hold a Garden Party each year during May Week. All members paying and honorary should be invited to this.

Minutes

18. The minutes of any Meeting, including Committee Meetings, shall be required to be read at the next Elevenses or General meeting.

Officers of the Society

The President

19. There shall be an officer, called the `President’, who shall be a member of the society and shall be elected in renewable terms of approximately one year in General Meeting.
20. The duties of the President shall be to provide general guidance for the society, to preside at meetings, to liaise with Senior Members of the College and University concerning Society matters, to act as the point of contact between the Society and others, and to carry out such other duties as may be necessary and appropriate.

The Secretary

21. There shall be an officer, called the `Secretary’, who shall be a member of the Society, and shall be elected in renewable terms of approximately one year in General Meeting.
22. The duties of the Secretary shall be to arrange and notify members of Meetings of all sorts, to take the minutes and keep the records of the Society, to arrange freshers’ events, and to carry out such duties as may be necessary and appropriate.
23. The Secretary shall be the President’s deputy.

The Treasurer

24. There shall be an officer, called the `Treasurer’, who shall be a member of the society, and shall be elected in renewable terms of approximately one year in General Meeting.
25. The duties of the Treasurer shall be to collect the Pooh Levy and arrange, in consultation with the President and Secretary, such matters as may concern the financial business of the society, including maintaining a list of the members of the Society, and any other duties as may be necessary and appropriate.
26. The Treasurer shall deliver a very brief summary of the Society’s accounts at the Annual General Meeting. This summary shall be brought to the Annual General Meeting by the Treasurer in the Society’s red cash box. The treasurer should hold up the cash box, "Chancellor of the Exchequer" style, to display it to any members of the press and/or general public who may be in the vicinity, before entering the building where the Annual General Meeting is to be held.

The Under-Secretary

27. There shall be an officer, called the `Under-Secretary’, who shall be a member of the Society, and shall be elected in renewable terms of approximately one year in General Meeting.
28. The duties of the Under-Secretary shall be to provide such assistance as the Secretary may require.
29. The Under-Secretary shall be the Secretary’s deputy.

The Foreign Secretary

30. There shall be an officer, called the `Foreign Secretary’, who shall be a member of the Society and shall be elected in renewable terms of approximately one year in General Meeting.
31. The duties of the Foreign Secretary are to specifically facilitate* liaison with College and University organisations, inter alia, and in general to carry out such duties as may be necessary and appropriate in accordance with his or her office. These shall include relations with affiliated organisations and chapters of the Society as described in Clauses LXIX and LXX.
32. The Foreign Secretary shall be the Under-Secretary’s deputy.

The Christopher Robin

33. There shall be an officer, called the `Christopher Robin’, who shall be a former officer of the society, but still a member, who shall be elected in renewable terms of approximately one year in General meeting.
34. The Christopher Robin shall have no duties or powers, and shall not exercise a Committee veto, although he/she shall have the casting vote in matters on which the Society is divided.
35. The Christopher Robin shall have the right of speaking first in debates.

The Committee

36. The Committee of the Society shall be composed of all the officers named in clauses XIX, XXI, XXIV, XXVII, XXX and XXXIII above.
37. The Committee shall hold a right of majority veto, which need not be exercised in the presence of the general membership, over motions proposed and carried at Elevenses Meetings, whereafter, if the veto be contested by the membership, the aforesaid motion shall be submitted to an Extraordinary General Meeting or the Annual General Meeting, whichever be the sooner.

Other Society Posts

The James

38. There may be, if a candidate present him/herself, an officer called the `James’, who shall not be a member of the Committee, and may be voted into or out of office at any time.
39. The duties of the James shall be to abstain from voting on any matter, to find innuendo where no others can, and to provide hunny-and-condensed-milk sandwiches once a year at a time which may be convenient to him/her.

The Captain of Poohsticks

40. There shall be an officer, called the `Captain of Poohsticks', who shall be a member of the society and shall be appointed by the society.
41. The Captain of Poohsticks shall be ultimately responsible for the society's Poohsticks team, including but not limited to matters of coaching, competition and cake consumption.

The Coastguard(s)

42. There shall be at least one officer, called the Coastguard, who shall be a member of the society and may be voted into or out of office at any time.
43. The duties of the Coastguard(s) shall be to act as society Librarian, keeping and maintaining any Society property deemed appropriate to the post, including but not limited to any Coasters and/or copies of any part of the extant corpus of A.A. Milne
44. The Coastguard(s) shall ensure that the Society Coasters, copies of the extant corpus of A.A. Milne and any required items of the society in their possession, are present at each Meeting.
45. Copies of the extant corpus of A.A. Milne and any other books the Society own should be available for loan to any members of the Society. The Coastguard(s) shall keep track of any such loans.

The Characters

46. There may be, if candidates present themselves, officers representing each of the characters in the extant corpus of A.A. Milne, the Christopher Robin being a special case of this as detailed in Clauses XXXIII, XXXIV and XXXV.
47. The Characters shall have no duties associated with them (with the exception of Clause XLVIII below.), but the holder of such a post shall have the right to read the part of their character during any reading at which they are present.
48. The Rabbit of the society shall be required to organdise a Winnie-The-Pooh quiz to take place during the Annual Garden Party.

Other posts

49. Temporary posts may be created at any time by the Committee, or by motion of the membership, and shall remain in existence until abrogated by motion of the membership or until the requirement leading to the post’s creation has elapsed.
50. Such temporary posts may or may not entitle their holders to membership of the Committee, as is felt to be necessary and appropriate to the office, and this should be stipulated before voting on the creation of the office: however, on no account shall such a post have the right of Committee veto.

Elections

51. Candidates for election to those offices or posts of the Society which require election shall be proposed and seconded by two other members of the Society, and the proposal submitted in writing to a member of the Committee. Election shall be by simple majority, with the candidate with the higher or highest number of votes cast winning. In the event of a tie, a new vote shall be taken between the tied candidates only; in the event of a further tie selection shall be made by lot, trial by ordeal, foodfight, sumo wrestling or other selection procedure as may be chosen by those present.
52. Election to Committee offices may only be made in General Meeting; elections for the post of James, Captain of Poohsticks (if election is deemed appropriate), Coastguard(s) the Characters or for temporary offices for which election has been deemed an appropriate method of selection may be made in any Meeting.
53. Multiple candidates may stand, on a single ticket, for joint election to the post of Coastguards.
54. During election the candidates (or proxy skippers if necessary) shall be required to skip once around the nearest court of Pembroke College or other suitable venue.

Refusal of Office

55. If a person elected to an office shall refuse the post or later wish to relinquish it, the candidate next in the ballot shall receive the post, or failing that a new election shall be called, and an Extraordinary General Meeting if this be necessary.

Motions

56. Motions (excepting those touching the Constitution) may be proposed at any quorate Meeting, by any member. Any other member present then has the right to second the motion.
57. All motions proposed and seconded within a quorate meeting shall be voted on immediately by those present, and shall be carried by a majority vote.
58. In the absence of a quorum a Meeting’s motions shall only be valid for the duration of that Meeting.

Constitutional Motions

59. Motions touching the Constitution and amendments to the Constitution may only be proposed in General Meeting with the exception of those outlined in Clause LXI.
60. Amendments to the Constitution may only be made by the approval of a majority of two thirds of those present in General Meeting.
61. A temporary exemption or suspension of one or more clauses of the constitution, excepting clauses LIX, LXXI, LXXII and LXXIII, and this clause itself, may be proposed in any meeting, and shall require a two-thirds majority for approval; such suspensions and exemptions are valid only for the duration of that Meeting.

The Lesson

62. During each Meeting, there shall be a reading from the extant corpus of A. A. Milne, which shall immediately be followed by the benediction, "Gratias Agimus A. A. Milnei," or alternatively, "Thanks be to A. A. Milne."
63. On no account shall any one person be permitted to read `Lines & Squares’ in a Meeting any more often than once a term.

The Loyal Toast

64. During every Annual General Meeting, a toast shall be drunk by all in tea, or whatever liquid be convenient, as follows: "A toast, to A. A. Milne, to the enduring glory of Helen Masters, our wise foundress, to Paul Smith, the first Secretary, to Monty Adkins, Composer of the Society Anthem, all the founder members, Solon the Wise, Lawgiver of the Society, and all the members past and present."

The Society Anthem

65. The anthem of the society, which should be played (though it need not be) at major events, shall be `Cottleston Pie’ as set to music by Matthew `Monty’ Adkins, Bard of the Society.

Financial Arrangements

66. The Society shall be financed by the Pooh Levies payable for membership, and by other Pooh Levies which may be imposed by motion of the membership or by unanimous Committee decision.
67. Expenditure on the Society’s behalf must be authorised by the Treasurer and at least one other member of the Committee, and should be reported to the membership at the next Meeting.
68. The society may, have a bank account the signatories of which should be the President, Secretary and Treasurer.

Affiliation of other Organisations

69. The Society shall only affiliate with other organisations of the same purview. In the event of such an affiliation, precise terms of affiliation shall be determined in General Meeting.

Chapters

70. The Society may allow daughter organisations to be formed: these shall be formed using this constitution and shall be invited to send representatives to Society events. They may amend the Constitution as is required by local circumstances using the procedures outlined in Clause LIX.

Ownership of the Constitutional Manuscript

71. Given the proviso in the next article, the constitutional manuscript shall be the property of the Society in perpetuity.
72. In the event of the dissolution of the Society, as provided for, the manuscript shall become the inalienable property of the foundress, Helen Masters, or her descendants by either male or female line, the Salic Law not applying, or, if her line has failed, the library of Pembroke College, Cambridge, which property shall not be alienated from the person or body to whom it belongs by decree or motion of any body, from either College or Society.
73. The preceding two articles, and this article, may not be contradicted or repealed or amended by any vote of the Society or any action of any person, all other rules and regulations notwithstanding.

This is the amended constitution as passed in the Annual General Meeting on the 22nd of the month of February in Anno Domini 2003 as detailed in the minutes of the society, during the second Presidency of Owen Barritt and the third Secretariat of Martin Seaton, in the absence of the Lady Foundress, Helen Masters, and in the presence of a quorate majority of the members of the society.

The original constitution and the first amendment of the constitution were written by Anthony Zachary, also known as Zak also known as Solon the Law-Giver. The second, third and fourth amendments were written by Jonathan Jarrett, Secretary. The fifth amendment was written by Martin Seaton, Secretary and Owen Barritt, Foreign Secretary. The sixth amendment was written by Martin Seaton, Under Secretary. This amendment which is the seventh, was written by Owen Barrit, President Martin Seaton, Secretary and Ben Parker.

* [The Jon Jarrett Memorial Footnote] The constitutions original split infinitive should not be removed in spite of any previous attempt to do so by the aforementioned Mr Jarrett (please note that, at the time of writing, as far as the society is aware, Jon Jarrett is alive and well).

Return To Archives