|
Chairman’s Comments.
So how was the Summer for you then? We seemed to have walked in a variety of weather conditions over the last few months with unpredictability being the byword for many of our outings. That said I hope that everyone has found the Summer Walks Programme well up to the usual standard especially in terms of variety of both locations and Walk-Leaders. As ever our Leaders have done a fabulous job in fixing up walks for us and just to add to their pressures we’ve also made them come up with another Introductory & Evening Walks Programme in an attempt to encourage more new members; so some Leaders have had anything but a ‘quite’ Summer. Many thanks to all Leaders for their efforts from myself and the Group Committee - we’d be ‘lost’ without you all.
That said, there is very little time for Walk Leaders in this Group to sit on their laurels unfortunately, and as you’ll see from the enclosed Winter Programme the Walks Coordinators have been out amongst them getting suitable walks together to carry us through the next six months.
We will also be having walks from some new Leaders within this Programme, and I would urge everyone to show their support in particular for these members who have stepped forward to fill the gaps that were appearing in our Leader ranks.
Supplementary programme.
As mentioned above our Supplementary Programme of Introductory & Evening Walks has been running throughout the Summer, and although we have seen some new faces on these walks we haven’t added significantly to our numbers from this initiative. Hence it has been suggested that we should think again about running these Programmes next Summer taking into account the extra work it entails for our Walk Leaders. On the other hand, we do feel these walks have given members that we don’t get to see very often the opportunity to walk with us (either because the distances are smaller or the time of day is better), and it’s been great to have them taking part. So what do you – the members – think? If you have an opinion regarding these walks in the future then please do let either myself or any of the Committee know your views. We’d like our members to have the walking experiences they want wherever possible.
Winter Programme Parking.
We’ve decide to move the location of our Walsall-based parking for the Winter Walks Programme, so that in addition to Oak Park Leisure Centre, we’ll also be parking at Daw End Lane, (B4154), in Rushall. This is the car park adjacent to the old Neighbourhood Office in Daw End Lane, which is immediately across the road from the exit to McDonalds. It’s basically the car park behind the bus stop on the left when coming from the Rushall lights, or the last turning right before the lights when coming down Daw End Lane from the Bosty Lane direction
Travelling to Walks.
This was mentioned in the last Newsletter and my thanks to all who took on board my comments about offering drivers a contribution towards travelling costs where lifts have been offered. Running motor vehicles is never going to get any cheaper, so please do continue to follow this procedure in the future. Remember even if the driver declines your offer at least they’ll generally feel better for having been given the opportunity to make that decision.
Finally please continue to note that walkers driving to the meeting point should do so on the assumption that they will be driving to the start of the walk and NOT that they can expect to receive a lift from the meeting point.
Footpath Maintenance.
Yes, I’m afraid the negotiations are still continuing with regards to convincing Walsall MBC that we Ramblers can make very useful (and cheap) volunteers to help maintain the Rights of Way around the Borough where Council resources have reached capacity.
We have been in meetings with the Walsall ROW team and urged them to consider our offer of help, whilst bringing in support for our cause from Staffs Area, Central Office and the equivalent team in South Staffs Council. Basically, as this is new territory for Walsall MBC we have to address all the concerns they raise and then wait while our explanations are fed back into the wider Council organisation for decision making. This is a somewhat slow and at times frustrating process, but I believe that we have to ‘hang in there’ if we’re ever going to be successful. We further backed up our proposals recently by submitting up to date reports on many of the footpaths in our area to illustrate the sort of work that we can take on.
Working with Cannock Chase AONB.
As a further display of what Ramblers can achieve when they get together, we’ve taken up a couple of invitations from the Cannock Chase AONB unit to help remove some of the more invasive species that are currently threatening the Chase, (Ragwort and Himalayan Balsam in particular), and evidence of our efforts have been passed on to Walsall MBC accordingly. (See www.walsallramblers.co.uk and click on Working Parties).
Winter Fare?
Bryan and Sandra’s Christmas Walk on Sunday, 18th December, 2011 is a 6.5 mile easy walk from Trysull, finishing with a lunch at The Bell, Trysull. Booking for the meal with the Walk Leaders is essential by 27th November, 2011.
AGM Information
The Group AGM will be held on Thursday 3rd November, 2011 at Pelsall Community Centre, and all members are invited as usual. Besides the election of officers to the Group and the other formal activities we will also be having a slide presentation from Brian Keats who has been Warden Co-ordinator for the Heart of England Way (HOEW) for the past 30 years. Details of the meeting, (agenda, minutes, etc.), should arrive ahead of the meeting date, but if anyone has any items they wish to have included specifically in the meeting agenda they should contact the Group Secretary as soon as possible.
Volunteers Still Needed.
Last time around I mentioned that on 25th November, 2012, the Walsall Group will host the Staffordshire Area AGM. This is when all the Group’s representatives in the Staffordshire Area meet to appoint Area officers and discuss the way the wider Area should be moving. This generally brings around 100 delegates to the host’s venue, so we’ll need people to help with pre-meeting walk-leading, refreshments, car-parking, and generally keeping or visitors safe and happy during their stay. Many thanks to those who have put their names forward already and we expect to provide more information regarding this later in the year. However I would ask any members who feel they can help to contact me as soon as they can, so we’ll start to know the depth of the support we can count on.
|
