There was a time when members of this “small friendly Lochaber based club” would turn out regularly in any weather and do a walk in or on the hills, even if it was not the hill on the programme. This was because they “shared a passion for the local countryside, the Scottish hills…”. They enjoyed being outdoors, and each other’s company.
Sadly, these days are long gone. The Nevis Hillwalking Club has moved on and the majority of the active members have different priorities. On Saturday 28th May, Gerry and I turned out for the Glen Shiel day. The forecast was not good, and once again, there was nobody at the meeting places, the Fort and Spean Bridge. There was no coordinator rostered for the day to ring for information. In view of the cold wet and windy weather forecast for the west, we decided to do one of “eastern alternatives” that had appeared on a previous programme, Creag Dubh at Kingussie. It was a good sunny day, very cold but with only the occasional shower.
Soon after starting the walk, Ralph phoned to say he was waiting for other members in Glen Shiel. I explained what had happened. He had been staying in the area for a few days. Had we known this we would have gone to Glen Shiel.
It is clear, that with fewer people turning out regularly and no regular social events, information about Club activities is not being passed around. A coordinator for each walk day is more essential than ever. For what it is worth, the information I passed on to the new committee was as follows:
The 14 coordinators on the list were emailed asking them to name their preferences for the 2nd Quarter programme that had just been circulated. There were three replies:
Norman Wares volunteered for June 5th, Ben Lomond. He will meet members at Rowardennan Pier.
John Burton’s first choice was June 25th, Aviemore.
Stuart Moralee was not able to give a specific day but would coordinate at short notice if he were available.
Since then:
I have volunteered for 3rd July, Glen Spean.
Gerry Gilbert has volunteered for 9th July, Glencoe.
Andrew Gilbert
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2 comments:
Clearly, Ralph sitting in Glen Shiel on his own is not good. We urgently need some way for members to make arrangements and tell each other what they are doing.
The defunct "coordinator" scheme was not universally popular and certainly had its problems. As did the old permanent coordinator scheme. But at least they avoided this sort of thing.
The problem with both co-ordinator roles we have had is that few members ever phoned the coordinator. How can the co-ordinator co-ordinate if members do not inform him/her of their plans?
I did not have any information on the volunteers for this quarter. And I had suggested to Andrew G. that this would be discussed at the next commitee meeting. If any members have any comments / ideas please e-mail me so the committee can discuss.
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