Jon’s Journal September 2017
Dear SRC Members,
As the constitution states that the club Chair cannot serve more than five consecutive years in office this will be my final ‘Jon’s Journal’; the next newsletter, covering the period January to March 2018, will be written by the new Chair elected at the AGM on the 15th November. After ‘Jim’s Jottings’, ‘Rtta’s Ramblings’ and ‘Jon’s Journal’ I suppose the new Chair will have to find a new alliteration to head their communication. Or maybe not – this kind of quirky heading may have run it’s course!
After the dire warnings in my last newsletter concerning the need for a new Chair I think that we may have found a solution and the committee will be able to continue functioning. We will have to wait for the AGM elections to finalise matters; hopefully, the situation will be resolved one way or another then.
It was with considerable trepidation that I took on the role of Chair in November 2012. I had just retired from full time employment and envisaged a life of ease and leisure in my declining years; I thought I had said goodbye to stress, worry and deadlines! Well, I suppose there has been some of this chairing Stroud Rambling Club but, as the years have gone by, I have grown more comfortable in a role which has become much more enjoyable. That is, in no small part, due to the friendship and support of the committee and the massive commitment of individual members to the various tasks that need to be undertaken to keep the club running and organise the activities which make our club so unique and so valued by it’s members.
There have been many memorable Stroud Rambling Club events over the past five years. The two ‘Coast to Coast’ holidays; the trip to Lundy island, the holidays organised and led by Ray and Allen and our 60th birthday anniversary celebrations come immediately to mind, although there are many other highlights omitted due to lack of space and loss of memory, for which I must apologise. The highlight for me was the visit of our German friends. Partly this is because I was closely involved in this project, unlike some of the other trips and holidays. It was also good to meet some of our German walker friends for the first time, and delightful people they proved to be. But it also demonstrated our ability, although only a relatively small club, to successfully organise a week of enjoyable and varied events for overseas guests in which many club members were involved and which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part. And, of course, it gave me the opportunity to drive the minibus, sometimes in the middle of the road, which I thoroughly enjoyed!
As usual the committee is busy organising a full programme of walking, cycling, caving and social events for next year. It is particularly pertinent to mention at this point to that we are organising a trip to Germany as part of our ongoing series of visits to, and visits from, Reutlingen. This should be an exciting and enjoyable holiday to look out for.
In a club like ours there will be some sad events over a five year period. I don’t want to list here all the club members who have passed away since 2012, although they are all of course sadly missed, in case I inadvertently miss anyone. Also I don’t want this to be a kind of in memoriam piece. However I will just mention George Lodge who passed away in April of this year and who was a very good friend to the club over many years. We will greatly miss his good humour and generosity.
I am truly indebted to committee members who, to be honest, do all the real work of running the club and between them have the wealth of knowledge, expertise, experience and ideas which makes the continued success of the club possible. I must also mention the kindness, tolerance and friendship of committee members over the past five years which has made my uncertain and apprehensive start develop into an enjoyable, valuable and educative experience, for me if for no one else!
Whilst having some regrets at not being able to stand for Chair another year I do think that the five year rule in the constitution is very sensible. There inevitably comes a time when a different approach and new ideas are needed and it would be easy to just carry on in the same way if the constitution didn’t demand a change. I do hope to be able to continue to contribute to the club next year in a slightly different capacity, but things do have to move on.
Best wishes to everyone
Jon - 3rdOctober 2017