RAMBLERS GREATER LONDON FORUM



[pic] Essex Area Update

Volume 10. August 2011. Issue 4

The newsletter of the Ramblers’ Association Essex Area

“The Ramblers’ Association is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Company registration number: 4458492. Registered Charity in England and Wales number: 1093577.

Registered office: 2nd floor, Camelford House, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TW.”

Your friends and colleagues can get their own copy simply by emailing:

talkingwalking@

Or take a look at our website:

essexarearamblers.co.uk

Page 2. Ramblers Greater London Forum.

Page 3. News From British Waterways.

Page 4. Volunteer Survey 1011.

Page 4. Collins Short Walks offer on “Facebook”.

Page 5. DRAFT MINUTES of the AREA COUNCIL MEETING A311.

Page 7. Ramblers 999 Campaign Appeal to Emergency Services.

Page 7. Letters.

Page 10. From the “Groups.”

Page 11. News & Comments from the “Concerned Ramblers.”

Page 13. Capital Ring walk schedule.

Page 15 The 2012 Essex Area Ramblers Quiz.

Page 15. Dates for your Diary.

RAMBLERS GREATER LONDON FORUM

Ramblers Greater London Forum

The RGLF was formed in 2007 in order to promote and coordinate the objects of the Ramblers in the Greater London Area. Each of the Areas which; include London Boroughs along with the Inner London Area is represented on the Forum. Essex is represented because it includes Havering & East London, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Lea Valley Friends. Of course, most of Essex will have an interest in some of the work of the RGLF as many of our Groups include walks into London as part of their programmes.

In its work the RGLF tries to

• Seek to protect and enhance the walking network. It will aim to ensure that routes for walkers are maintained and improved; that road crossings are made safe; that whilst supporting increased security, to ensure that this is not achieved via path and passage closure.

• Increase the development of walking across and around London.

It will campaign for more efficient and discrete signage; the production of maps and booklets; it will make proposals for new rights of way and routes to be enjoyed by walkers to be incorporated into plans for new buildings and developments; will negotiate for increased access, especially along waterways; and the extension of traffic-free areas within the territory.

• Protect and extend the amount of green and open space available to walkers. It will encourage the use of parkland, woods and other green spaces for walking; it will campaign for the inclusion of open spaces and landscaping infrastructure within new developments. The RGLF will be active in ensuring that amenities are replaced or improved after short term projects, such as the 2012 Olympics.

• Promote walking for health and pleasure across Greater London.

It will encourage and support measures, which promote walking for health and recreation and activities, which introduce the joys of walking to all the communities in London.

• Support measures, which indirectly improve the environment for walkers. It will support measures to increase the use of public transport; reduce traffic; improve air quality.

After four years the Forum is gradually gaining a voice – we have started to influence the policy of The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG); we are talking to Transport for London TfL and are frequently used by Ramblers Central Office to represent the Charities’ point of view.

We have raised our profile with a highly successful walk around the London Loop in 2010 and are planning a similar event involving the walking of the

Capital Ring (26 September to 2 October 2011).

We are assisting with the planning of some Olympic Activity along the lines of Walk to the Torch which will be designed to encourage Groups to organise walks to the venues visited by the Olympic Torch around the country.

Just recently, we have been successful in organising the distribution of South East Walker to our London-based Groups. In this connection, we were quite surprised that only two of the Groups advertised the Capital Ring initiative – we hope that they will make a real effort to contribute to South East Walker given that two of the Groups have spent a considerable amount of time campaigning for it.

Just as Essex as an Area is promoting an Olympic Legacy walk, the RGLF is hoping to promote a whole network of routes across London which make linkages with the six strategic routes. We will also be active in encouraging London Boroughs to map, maintain, and advertise these routes.

Inner London Area has asked the Trustees to investigate the possibility of setting up a Greater London Area. The RGLF is currently consulting with its constituent Areas before coming to a view.

Len Banister

News from British Waterways

Progress on the Bow Riverside work site is continuing to gather pace. Now that the new bridge and elevated ramps have been installed and the waterway has been re-opened to navigation, the final stages of the project are underway.

 

The largest section of the structure: The bridge was craned into place on 3 June. Manoeuvring the main, 16.25 metres long 10.6 tonne section was a challenge for the on-site team, but the operation went smoothly on the day and was completed in just a few hours. The other sections of the elevated ramps were installed over a two-and-a-half week period. All of the elements of the structure were pre-fabricated off-site and lowered into place using a floating crane.

 

Now the bridge and the elevated ramps leading down to the towpath are in place, the project group are focusing on the towpath being constructed under the roundabout, the new pathway leading from the road and the reed planting around the bridge structure. Here sunken beds at the canal bank will provide the basis for foliage, which will soften the edges of the construction and help to integrate it into the surrounding landscape.

 

With completion expected by the beginning of August, British Waterways are looking forward to re-opening the towpath to users. The project will mean that walkers and cyclists can, for the first time, follow a continuous 28-mile waterside route all the way from Limehouse to Ware and Hertford. Following initial work by Leaside Regeneration, this £2.4 million project has been funded and supported by partners London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, British Waterways, the Olympic Delivery Authority, Design for London, Walk London and TfL, who are all looking forward to seeing the new scheme being used by members of the public in just a few weeks' time.  

Volunteer survey 1011

The Big Volunteer Survey has now been run twice with the results being used to help us to better support volunteers at all levels of the organisation. This report is designed to show how volunteer attitudes and perceptions have changed over time.

The headlines from the survey are as follows:

• Number of Hours, on average, given by Ramblers Volunteers every week was around 4.5 hours.

• 73% of volunteers said they were satisfied with their overall experience as a volunteer compared to 62% in the previous year.

• Satisfaction with different parts of the organization has also risen with the figure for Central Office rising from 15% in the 09/10 surveys to 23% in the 10/11 Survey.

• The number of people saying that they planned to continue volunteering with the Ramblers rose from 70% in 09/10 to 81% 10/11

Collins Short Walks offer on Facebook

To encourage more walkers to use our “Facebook” page, the Ramblers is offering 50% off Collins and Ramblers Short Walks publications, to everyone who 'likes' the Ramblers Facebook page: . These handy guides feature twenty walks under 5 miles with detailed OS maps and route descriptions.

Everyone can use the 50% discount voucher once they have 'liked' the Facebook page so please use the voucher yourself, share it amongst your Areas and Groups and promote to members and non-members, as you are able. The offer ends on 30 September 2011 but we would like to promote the Facebook page indefinitely.

The more people that become fans of the page, the more interest we spread about the Ramblers and its led walks and campaigns. These people are then more likely to become members of the charity if not already. It is also an excellent place for people to share images and tips as well as give feedback on walks. There are already over 1000 people doing this on the Facebook page and this number is growing daily. If you promote group activities such as led walks, events and campaigns via social media, please make use of the Ramblers Facebook page, either by:

1. Adding information about group activities directly to the Ramblers Facebook page - you do not have to be an administrator, you just have to 'like' the page and then post your comments/info to the wall;

2. Promoting the page on your own forums - the link to the Facebook page () and the link to the offer () can be posted on Area and Group WebPages and social media pages, as well as on publications, as you see fit.

Finally, please note that we will soon be featuring walks listed on the Groups Walks Finder on the Facebook page.

If you fancy listening to other people talking about walking in and around London, visit:



Draft Minutes

Minutes of

AREA COUNCIL MEETING A311

Held on 16th May 2011

1. Apologies were received from: Hazel Jarrold, Kevin Clark, Les Townsend, Roy Carpenter, Chris Barclay, Tony Hyde, Rod Eastham, Maureen Taylor, Gordon Grout, Mags Hobby, Richard Iles

2. Chairman – David Harvey, signed the Minutes of the previous meetings A111(10th Jan) and A211(5th Feb) as correct.

3. Matters arising:

a. A111, Item 9b – Len Banister added that the Essex motion tabled at General Council, although accepted still had no feedback from GC.

b. A111, Item 7b – The web based version for Footpath reporting is still off line and will be for at least a further three weeks. The mapping identifying FP No’s and position is inactive. A request was made to use a version from another area that works and should be adapted by ECC in order to clear backlog.

4. Secretary’s Report:

a. A listing of website information available from Central Office was summarised to the area and made available through the EAU website.

b. Kevin had attended a Get People Walking workshop held in London on the 8th May and covered such subjects as Use of the Walks Finder website coupled with a Get Walking Keep Walking course and the Walking for Health initiative to encourage greater use of short distance routes especially in inner city areas. The main discussion on Get People Walking concentrated on encouraging Groups to add more 3-5 mile walks to their programmes (based on figure of 8 formats) on a monthly basis especially if co-ordinated with affiliated groups. Central Office are in the process of setting up a Walking Routes website where members can create notable routes that will initially be mapped, then independently checked by volunteers, hopefully using OS mapping. Finally it has been suggested that Groups do not necessarily need to have a committee structure so as to cut down on bureaucracy and allow formation of say path clearing groups but this suggestion will have to be put to the Board of Trustee for approval.

c. The Area has been approached by RSPB Wallasea Island to man a Ramblers stand at their Wild Outdoors Day on 30th July 2011; Margaret Adams was looking into use of available display stands, publicity material and volunteers for the event.

d. Next year’s AGM will be held on 4th Feb at Stock Village Hall and this year Margaret Brown of Lea Valley Friends has volunteered their services to head up the always welcome catering.

e. Ramblers CO have asked Essex Area to investigate how groups can work better with Affiliated Groups especially footpath problems and identifying current needs. It was thought that grass roots contact would be more receptive than CO just obtaining lists of names and addresses to further the aims of the Ramblers.

5. Chair’s Report:

David Harvey picked up point regarding Affiliated Groups and suggested that an Area working group be set up to assemble a set of criteria that would involve various Affiliated Groups local to Essex to explore ways of working more closely.

a. Len Banister volunteered to set up working group and co-opt members accordingly and report back to Area in say 6 months.

b. Regarding next year’s AGM, it was suggested that Robert Peel (no not that one) be approached as a guest speaker, David to supply contact details.

6. Treasurer’s Report:

a. Paul Evans reported that the Inner London Area be expanded to emulate the old GLC boundaries which would have serious effects on current group establishment and numbers effecting budgets etc. Redbridge, Havering and West Essex are to be asked for comment on the effects of such a change and their thoughts on transferring to a London area.

b. Unity Bank has now accepted Paul’s name for such issues as disbursement of group and individual members’ cheques.

c. Preparation of accounts are giving some trouble as current spreadsheet software limits number of columns and such items as Gift Aid need to be recorded separately. Suggestion to use a different spreadsheet that can support pdf or Open Office which reads Excel Sheets to be investigated.

7. Footpath Secretary’s Report:

a. No report available

8. Membership Secretary’s Report:

a. No report available

b. AOB: .The Capital Ring Festival Walk is in need of volunteers for the various individual days, a complete set of details is listed on Essex Area Update in both e-mail and web based formats.

c. A set of legacy maps and the RODAM hardware/software was delivered to the Friends Meeting House for onward collection from the meeting. Unfortunately no prior notice was given and it was left to David Harvey and Paul Evans to sort out, which, was not appreciated considering their limited carrying capacity.

d. The walk set up to commemorate the 2012 Olympics is all but complete with requirements for naming the walk and printing booklets. Decision has been reached and agreed at Area to name the walk as the Hadleigh to Stratford Legacy Walk for the booklet title and the H2S walk on any stickers. Further details required using the “Inspire” logo on any advertising cover issues such as numbers on walk (50 – 100) and age range (7 – 84) as agreed at Area.

e. This year’s Area Quiz organised by Maldon and Dengie Hundred held at Wickam Bishops Hall on 3rd March only attracted 5 teams. Ideally attendance needs to be broader based with a team from each Group to encourage a competitive spirit with maybe future quizzes being held later in the year to see if this would encourage more interest.

Meeting closed at 21:40

Next AC Meeting: 19th September 2011, 19.30, Friends Meeting Hall Meeting closed at 21:40

Next AC Meeting: 19th September 2011, 19.30, Friends Meeting Hall

Action Points:

1. Len Banister to set up working group for remit to work with Affiliated Groups.

2. Kevin to contact Robert Peel for AGM guest speaker.

3. Paul Evans to contact outer London groups re comments on revised boundaries.

Ramblers 999 Campaign Appeal to Emergency Services: Don’t let walkers fall off the radar!

The Ramblers call for:

• All Ambulance Trusts to take responsibility for rural incident responses by ensuring they have adequate software and offer comprehensive training to control room staff to interpret grid references, to ensure all countryside users are within their reach.

• The Department of Health to produce a 'best practice' guidance document which should be distributed to all Ambulance Trusts encouraging them to ensure that the software they use to process calls can handle grid reference locations, and also that all staff receive on-going training on how to input these types of location.

We urge members to sign up to our campaign by sending a letter to The Department of Health. Visit the Ramblers 999 Campaign page for further information.

Letters

Join us in Harwich for a welly fun day!

On Sunday 16 October walkers will be donning their wellies to raise some pennies for the Lifeboats.  Why not join in and give it some welly too!

There are two distances to choose from – 5k and 8k.  Both routes are suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.  You can even bring the dog!  The walks take in the stunning coastline between Harwich and Dovercourt as well as some of Harwich’s hidden treasures including the Redoubt Fort, which will be open on the day with free entry to all welly walkers.

Wearing wellies is optional, but we suggest every adult aims to raise a minimum of £42 - the cost of a pair of crew wellies.

There will be a quiz on route and fun activities at the Lifeboat Station after, including free tours of the RNLI all-weather lifeboat and of Lightvessel No 18 which has just taken up residence next to the RNLI Lifeboat Station and is the last example of a manned Trinity House lightvessel in original, unaltered condition to come off station.

All in all, it promises to be a welly fun day! 

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea and continues to rely on public donations to maintain its lifesaving service.  Our volunteer crews rescue an average of 22 people every single day of the year. So please support us by forwarding the attached poster for your members to see.

If you require any further information about the Welly Walk or the RNLI please go to  .uk/welly walks or contact 01473 822837 or email events_e@.uk.

Thank you for your support.

Rachel & Becky

RNLI Events Team East

RNLI Fundraising & Communications Office, East

Magdalen Road, Hadleigh, Suffolk, IP7 5AD

Tel : 01473 822837

Website: .uk

Hello all,

May I please introduce the Fox and Hounds in Clavering to your organisation. 

A small, walker- friendly country pub situated in the centre of the picturesque village of Clavering, near Saffron Walden. Essex.

We are fortunate to be sited amongst a network of public footpaths, byways and bridleways. The village itself is steeped in historic interest and the walks are extremely pretty. See .uk

Various walking clubs visit us at present, both during the week and weekends. Walkers arrive in groups normally around 10 am and park in our large car park.

We open the pub early to enable use of our facilities; a copy of our menu is made available for pre ordering and off you go. All you need to do is let us know roughly what time (between 12 and 2:30) you expect to be back and we will have lunch ready for you. Our home cooked honey roast ham with two local free- range eggs and chips goes down a really well with worn out walkers!

Paul & Clare Perriam

The Fox & Hounds

High Street

Clavering

Essex

CB11 4QR

foxandhoundsclavering.co.uk

Email foxandhounds2009@

01799 550321

07875 403148

From the Chair

I thought it timely to remind Group Officers that the only persons who have the authority to negotiate officially with the Highway Authority or any other Government Agency over Footpath Orders or Diversions are the Footpath and Countryside Secretaries. Countryside and Footpath Secretaries posses documentation, which authorises them to negotiate on the part of Essex Area.

David Harvey

Dear Colleague

As part of my work for the Big Opportunity I have been working with LOCOG to ensure that people from LB Newham, Barking. Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Waltham Forest and Hackney get access to job opportunities at London 2012.

A large number of posts will be coming up starting in early 2012 with LOCOG contractors who will be delivering   a wide range of services at the Games and after.

All posts at the Games will be paid at least London Living Wage at 2012 levels. 

The LOCOG Jobs and Training Team will be running road shows about job opportunities and are also working closely with statutory providers. They would also like to come out to talk to the wider VCS about how they get the message on jobs across to communities that can often be excluded from job opportunities.

Initially the focus will be on the six host boroughs and we want to work on reaching older- people, (50+) younger people, disabled people and BAMER communities. It will widen later but this is where we wish to place our resources in the coming weeks.  

If you have an open meeting or a meeting of VCS leaders in between August 2011 – January 2012 the contractor jobs team would be interested in coming to speak. The intention would be to be a guest speaker on Contractor Jobs at the Games at a meeting that you are already planning

If you are interested taking up this offer of a presentation, please e-mail me with:

Date: Time: Venue: Address: Organisation: Target Audience: Predicted number of attendees:

Paul Bower

Programme Manager

The Big Opportunity

London Civic Forum

18a Victoria Park Square

London E2 9PB

 

Tel:      020 8709 9788

Fax      020 8709 9771

Mobile  07711 11 83 88

e-mail          paul@.uk

Around-the-Coast Update.

Stan Woolfson (Redbridge) and I (West Essex) have very recently completed a walk from Manningtree to Rainham marshes-a traverse of the Essex coast plus Mersea Island and Wallasea Island, some 355 miles in total!

A very interesting and enjoyable walk - 28 legs in total with average of 12 1/2 miles per leg.

 

(If you think it relevant, you could mention it in future newsletter with note that Stan and I would be very happy to advise and assist anyone who is interested in doing the same. I have o/s maps and routes with transport facts etc.)

Having reached the Essex border at Rainham marshes we decided to continue on to finish at Tower Bridge/City Hall. I contacted the media dept in the Mayor's Office and asked if it was possible for someone from "management" to welcome us outside city hall as recognition of the walk!

Well! I got a reply and, when we got to city hall, the Deputy Mayor for London, Richard Barnes, came to chat and have photos with us!! - A nice finish to our adventure! Shows you are never too old for a challenge!

We have also got a contact in the Essex Tourist Office who wants to do a piece on us for the magazine!!

 

What is that saying? 20 minutes of fame!

We shall of course be pushing the West Essex and Redbridge Ramblers Groups.

All best wishes … will send more words and photos soon

Cheers,

Chris Marshall

Woodham Walter Village Hall is available for parking and all modern facilities for a modest hire charge.

This popular walking village forms a useful axis to the countryside For more information please contact caretaker-wwvh@

From the Groups

Brentwood Group.

Quite a number of our more senior members, who are still very active, don't wish to walk up to 12 miles at a pace that they are not comfortable with and are making their own arrangements - mainly doing say 8 to 9 miles fairly leisurely with a longer lunch break. We are looking for feedback as to whether we could include walks like this on the programme. The thing is the programme is already very big and we don't want to add extra pressure on the leaders that we already have; some of them are leading many walks. However, there is definitely a gap there that could be filled. Are there people out there that would be willing to lead such walks? To be quite frank, both of us are middle aged and grumpy and we are aware that other walkers have begun to make their own walking arrangements from their early 70's onwards! Dianne & Les

Brentwood Ramblers

1st Aid Course

After another very informative and instructive evening course given by Jane Marr here is a list of items that is suggested you may like to carry with you when out and about. This is by no means obligatory but may be useful in case of emergencies.

THIS IS NOT A LIST AUTHORISED BY THE RAMBLERS ASSOCIATION

FA booklet/ Resuscitation chart Tweezers

Pack of hypoallergenic plasters – assorted sizes Jelly babies

Wipes No 8 medium dressing

Triangular bandage x 4 No 9 dressing

Safety pins x 4 Tick removal tool

Disposable gloves x 3 pairs Face shield x 2

Micro pore tape

Disposable heat retaining blanket x 1 Pen & paper

Crepe bandage Nappy sacs

This assumes that walkers already carry mobile phones, water and warm clothing as necessary. It would be easy to use the triangular bandages instead of no 8 and no 9 dressings as these can be difficult to obtain. The list could be decreased or adapted as appropriate to the length of walk and the terrain.

Jane and Dianne

West Essex Group.

After a slightly disappointing holiday with Ramblers World Wide, West Essex representatives met with the RWH Board have negotiated a protocol, which will prove to be a major improvement for Group holidays with the firm in the future. Congratulations to John & Pat Juchau and John Francis.

News & Comments from the Concerned Ramblers.

Welcome to this edition of this Newsletter. Items covered this month includes perspectives on recruitment and the vexed question of co-options to the

Recruitment 1

As the Membership Secretary of my local CAMRA Branch one of my responsibilities is to organise the membership stand at our annual Beer Festival. This year is our second festival and during the three days of the festival we recruited 59 new members: this is up 18 from last year.

One of my many responsibilities in RA West Riding Area is Show Co-ordinator. Each year we have a stand at six shows selling walking books, answering questions on footpath and countryside matters and handing out walk programmes and membership forms. In the past we used to have special membership forms which gave a discount to new members but this was stopped as CO felt it was too time consuming for the staff.

So why does CAMRA do so well in recruitment.

o If we look at the membership fees there is a series of rates depending on age, there is a £2 differential if you pay by Direct Debit. Members joining by Direct Debit in the first year get 15 months membership. Full membership is £9 less than the RA’s.

o CAMRA’s message is clearly in the public’s mind ‘Promote Real Ale and support Pubs’. I feel that the RA doesn’t project a clear message of what it stands for and therefore doesn’t catch the public eye. We need to tell the general public that the RA message is that it "Protects Footpaths and the Countryside and promotes Real Walking".

o The publicity material from CAMRA is excellent and clearly states what the organisation stands for. Please have a look at the publicity material issued by CO and you will find very little of use in order to promote the RA.

Rather than looking at the Scouts who are working with children and young adults we should be looking at what CAMRA is doing on recruitment the age range of members is similar to the RA’s.

Mike Church

Recruitment 2

Anyone who cares about the future of the Ramblers’ can only be deeply dismayed at the continued drop in membership. We cannot sit and watch the Association fall into terminal decline, so what are the options?

In essence recruitment and retention are simply selling: attracting customers and keeping them. If sales or membership figures are falling the same choices are available for either. They are, at their simplest:

❖ Improve the product,

❖ Improve marketing,

❖ Lower the price

These three approaches can be tried alone or in combination, and the following are some of the ways that they could be applied in the Ramblers’.

Improving the product:

Improved “after sales service”: for a new member, the first few weeks in a new organisation are crucial. If everything goes smoothly and the recruit is made to feel welcome, a long lasting loyalty is built up. Unfortunately the problems with the CRM over the past few years have prevented this happening. If the CRM really is working properly now, we should be able to build that loyalty again and retention should improve.

Incentives (for both existing and potential members): modest free gifts (the Ramblers’ coaster was very successful); a really good handbook; improved shopping discounts.

Introduce “easy” payments: Staged payments, particularly for Direct Debit payers, monthly, 3 monthly or 6 monthly.

Loyalty benefits: Reduced subs, or a subscription “holiday”, after, say, ten years membership.

The biggest and best improvement to our product would be to have a Big Issue, like the Right to Roam campaign, or the Hoogstraten affair: things which really capture the public imagination. Unfortunately these can’t be manufactured: the climate has to be right, and Coastal Access, and Get Walking Keep Walking just hasn’t had the same resonance.

Improving marketing:

Improving the product is of course a good marketing strategy in itself; so all the above suggestions have relevance here.

Increased Advertising: more ads in National newspapers, many of which have walks sections at weekends, or complete pull out sections. We should try to ensure that these always carry a Ramblers’ Application form.

Branding: We have consistently failed to find a strong and durable brand image. They have always been not quite right.

Reducing the price: We have already tried minor (and one major – the £1 membership) reductions for new members, but these create problems for retention – the new member has to decide whether it is worth paying the full price, and may feel it is not. Permanent discounts for Direct Debit payers have some value too, but DD payers are more “locked in” anyway. What we need to think hard about is a general reduction in all subscriptions, with the aim of building a larger membership. We need more members - not just for more income (the treasurer will doubtless disagree) - but also to give us more strength in negotiation. In an ideal world, an Association with twice the members each paying half the subscription would be a really formidable organisation.

Of course, reducing the subscription carries a big financial risk, but so do all the alternatives, and so does doing nothing. Indeed, doing nothing – the grand old solution of hoping for the best is the most risky policy of all, except for continually increasing subscriptions.

At one level the subscription should not be an issue – it’s less than £1 a week – so maybe it is in convincing people of the value of membership that we are falling short. Nevertheless the general feeling amongst ordinary members seems to be that if it is not too high already, then this is as high as it can go, and comparisons are constantly made with other organisations which either are cheaper, or provide more services, or both.

Every increase in subscription, like every multi-page directive from Central Office, will cause someone or other in the group to say, ”we ought to leave the Ramblers and set up a local walking club”. But that’s the nuclear option and we are all too loyal to our (probably romanticised) view of what the Association was, and could be again, to actually do it.

But one day someone will.

John Elfes

Co-options

Once again, at their first opportunity after elections at GC, the Trustees have made one co-option to the Board, and are proposing another. The reason given is that it “helps to fill a key gap in skills and experiences that the Board had identified”. There is an essential daftness about this reasoning. If every conceivable gap in skills and experience were to be filled, Board meetings would need to be in the Albert Hall, or provide a future use for the Olympic stadium. In any case Boards don’t need

specialists , they need generalists – if they need specialist advice that the senior management team can’t provide, there is a whole world of advisors out there that they can easily call on.

The justification for the second co-option, if carried through, is to fill another “key gap”, this time in marketing. But, hang on. Don’t we already have a senior member of the SMT whose function is marketing? Do the Trustees know that? Or is it that they just don’t talk to each other?

Whatever the reasoning, these co-options are wrong: not only do they subvert the democratic process, but, in the end, are totally unnecessary.

*****

If you are reading a borrowed or circulated copy of this newsletter and would like to receive our future publications direct, mail

Michael Church:church_mj@

All Concerned Ramblers’ publications can be found



Capital Ring walk schedule.

(Suggested start time published as 10.30)

Miles Total

Day 1 Woolwich (Foot Tunnel – South Side) -

Falconwood Stn 6.2 6.2

Grove Park 3.5 9.7

Grove Park Stn 0.4 10.1

Cut offs:

Falconwood Stn

Mottingham Stn

Day 2 Grove park Stn - -

Crystal Palace Stn 8.2 8.2

Streatham Common Stn 4.2 12.4

Cut offs:

Beckenham Hill Stn

Ravensbourne Stn

Beckenham Junc Stn

Kent House Stn

Penge East Stn

Crystal Palace Stn

Streatham Stn

Day 3 Streatham Common Stn - -

Wimbledon Park Stn 5.6 5.6

Richmond Bridge 7.0 12.6

Richmond Stn 0.5 13.1

Cut-offs

Balham Stn

Wandsworth Common Stn

Earlsfield Stn

Wimbledon Park Stn

Day 4 Richmond Stn - - -

Richmond Bridge 0.5 0.5

Osterley Lock 3.8 4.3

Greenford (A4127) 5.0 9.3

Greenford Stn 0.2 9.5

Cut Offs:

Brentford Stn

Boston Manor Stn

Hanwell Stn

South Greenford Stn

Day 5 Greenford Stn - -

Greenford (A4127) 0.2 0.2

South Kenton Stn 5.5 5.7

Hendon (A5) 6.0 11.7

Hendon Stn 0.3 12.0

Cut Offs:

Sudbury Hill Stn

Sudbury Hill Harrow Stn

Harrow

Northwick Park

Preston Road

Day 6 Hendon Stn - -

Hendon Park (A5) 0.3 0.3

Highgate 5.3 5.6

Stoke Newington Stn 5.2 10.8

Cut Offs:

Hendon Central

East Finchley

Highgate

Couch Hill Stn

Finsbury Park

Manor House

Day 7 Stoke Newington Stn - -

Hackney Wick 3.7 3.7

Becton District Park 5.0 8.7

Woolwich Foot Tunnel 3.5 12.2

(South Side)

Cut Offs:

Clapham Stn

Hackney Wick Stn

Pudding Mill Lane

West Ham Stn

Royal Albert Dock Stn

Becton Park Stn

Cyprus Stn

North Woolwich Stn

The 2012 Essex Area Ramblers Quiz

Will be held at the Wickham Bishops Village Hall (2 miles off A12) starting 7.30pm on Saturday 3rd March 2012.

 

This quiz is open to every Essex Area Group who, are urged to consider entering a team of up to eight contestants for prizes and the converted Essex Area Quiz Trophy. Unfortunately, in recent years Ramblers' Group attendance has been poor with only five Groups participating in 2011. This is a social and, for those taking part, a very enjoyable evening, so please encourage Groups to enter this date into diaries and add this to Group Committee's Agenda.

 

Team entry application and further details will be advised in due course.

 

John V Champ

Chelmer & Blackwater Group Chairman  

Dates, for your Diary.

(Unless stated otherwise, all meetings are held at the Friends’ Meeting House Chelmsford)

Dates for 2011

17/08/2011 Footpath Committee

19/09/2011 Area Council

25/09/2011 Mike Richards Memorial Walk – Maldon and

Dengie Group

26/09/ to 2/10/2011 Capital Ring Walk (full details above)

2/10/ to 9/10/11 National Walk in the Woods Week, Wickham Bishops Village Hall

30/11/2011 Footpath Committee

12/12/2011 Executive Council – TBC

24th December to 2nd January. Festival of Winter Walks

Dates for 2012

09/01/2012 Area Council

23/01/2012 Executive Committee

03/03/2012 Essex Area Ramblers Quiz

11/04/2012 Footpath Committee

23/04/2012 Executive Committee

05/05/2012 Coast for Most

14/05/2012 Area Council

26 to 28/05/2012 Get Walking Weekend / Get Walking for the Games

02/07/2012 Executive Committee

15/08/2012 Footpath Committee

17/09/2012 Area Council

28/11/2012 Footpath Committee

10/12/2012 Executive Committee

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Editor

Len Banister

talkingwalking@

020 8527 8158

Phone: 020 8527 8158

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