Newsletter Editor : Mike Fowler

              Spring 2010 Newsletter 

Newsletter
June 2010

The next 75    Tuesday Walks  From the Committee    Why the Ramblers
Why walk    Quiz    Poles part 2    Ramblers campaigns    A dozen don'ts    Quiz answers

Here’s to The Next 75 Years

Walking is the best way I know to enjoy Britain’s glorious landscape. The diversity of our countryside combined with its moderate terrain means that there are a very large number of suitable rambling opportunities for most walkers.
Very soon we will be celebrating the fact that the Ramblers’ Association has been in existence for 75 years and it was all due to the efforts of those walkers who in 1932 took it upon themselves to carry out a mass trespass on Kinder Scout and set off a string of events that would result in the setting up of the Ramblers’ Association.
And so today the Ramblers’ Association can boast of 500 local groups who carry out the work of the RA to promote walking and improve conditions for walkers at local level. They also organise hundreds of led group walks a week.
If you need proof of what we are all about just remember Britain is criss-crossed with over 225,000 km of footpaths, bridleways and public rights of way with National Parks, way-marked paths and enlightened “Right to Roam” and Coastal Access Acts. This makes us one of the most walker friendly countries in the world.
Think about this and remember 75 years ago 99% of the Peak District was out of bounds to the public, and people risked gamekeepers and even prison to simply go on a walk.
So “Happy Walking”
Geoff Jones

 
Tuesday Walks

Many thanks to those members who have supported these shorter walks using public transport to get to the start. Fifteen members joined me in April to walk in Sutton Park from Streetly Gate and fourteen members along with two newcomers experienced walking in some of South Birmingham’s little known nature reserves in May.
I am pleased to say that there are Tuesday Walks in the new programme for the months of July, August, September and October.
Mike Fowler

From your Committee :

What attracted me to the Ramblers ?

Before I joined the Ramblers’ Association I spent about fifteen years involved in sailing activities. I was member of a number of Dinghy Sailing Clubs which also included a few years as a sailing instructor with Staffordshire County Council. I eventually, along with a number of friends, branched out to hiring yachts and spent many happy times making voyages to the Channel Islands and eventually to France.
However, there came a time when sailing no longer held the attraction it once had, so Freda and I decided to change tack and took up walking. We joined the Ramblers’ Association as we both felt that they did an excellent job in providing us with means to follow our new hobby. (I still feel the same way about the RA). Freda loved organising our walks, which we did every Sunday and we both enjoyed every minute of our walking experience.  It opened up walking holidays with the likes of Holiday Fellowship. We met lots of new friends including Ron and Mary from Canada with whom I still keep in contact.
I have to admit that walking also helped me to stay reasonably fit and helped me health wise in a stressful job.  After the death of Freda I decided that I wanted to continue to walk and as we had been allocated to the Sutton Coldfield Ramblers I decided to join them.  I have to admit without sounding patronising, it was a very good move on my part. I have met a lot of good people who I like to think of as very good friends and I enjoy their company very much.
I said at the beginning of this article I am very supportive of the Ramblers’ Association as I feel that without their efforts since the mass trespass on Kinder Scout, we would only have roads and pavements to walk along and despite the RA’s current financial difficulties, as an organisation it does a remarkable job.
 Geoff Jones

Why Walk ?  It’s in the Blood !

As a child of the Forties, we had to walk, before the motor car became universal.  It was “in the blood”. We walked – to the shops, to see friends and relatives, for pleasure, and for a Suttonian child, the seemingly vast stretches of Sutton Park were our playground.
On holidays, car-less, we roamed the coves, beaches and headlands, often allowed to go off for long periods by caring adults, who feared what we might get up to, but were not burdened by  today’s dread of stranger-dangers.
This routine of walking grew into love of the activity, which lasted even when other transport was available. This desire to walk and explore is a strong and continuous link from early childhood through to the “senior years”.   Fellowship with rambling friends has been a logical enhancement of the walking bond, enjoyed in the good company of a party, and also on a more solitary “recce”, preparing for a group ramble over new terrain.  It’s in the blood !
Andrew MacFarlane

Many thanks to Geoff and Andrew for responding to my appeal for contributions on ‘Why did you join the Ramblers?’
I look forward to receiving more contributions from the membership  - Editor

A Walking Quiz

Do you ever feel like singing when you’re out walking…or even humming a tune as you ramble, maybe that Walker Brothers song – ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More?’  Perhaps that’s only for cloudy days.  Here’s a list of walking songs.  How many of them can you la-la?  And how many do you know the words to?  And just for fun, check if you know the singers – the answers are on Page 11 - and the year they came out.  Now if you know that, you should be on a quiz show.

1.              These Boots Were Made for Walking  

2.              The Walk of Life  

3.              You’ll Never Walk Alone      

4.              Walk Right In  

5.              Walk Like a Man  

6.              I Walk the Line  

7.              Walk on By  

8.              I’m Walking Backwards to Christmas 

9.              Walk on the Wild Side  

10.            Walk Tall

 Colin Lowrey

Trekking poles ? (Part 2)

Quite a few of our members have trekking poles and use them in a variety of ways. Some have just one pole and use it like an elderly person uses a traditional walking stick. One of the members uses their's a bit like a wand occasionally having contact with the ground. Whilst another member has their pole a bit on the long side and uses it bit like a shepherd using a staff.

Walking Using Walking Poles
Walking poles are becoming a very common piece of equipment for today’s walkers. The benefits of using poles are only maximized by ensuring that you use the poles correctly. Here are a few tips that should help you get the most out of your poles.

One or Two Poles ? You'll feel the difference if you use one walking pole, but as you'd expect, you'll feel far greater benefit if you use two poles. Many people choose to carry only one pole because they feel they need a hand free for balance. If the terrain is particularly demanding, you should consider putting your poles away in or on your rucksack. On terrain that you feel more comfortable walking on, using two poles gives you more uphill climbing power, increased leg endurance and improved balance over broken rocky terrain. Of course, the biggest benefit of using poles is that they reduce weight and pressure on the knees, in turn reducing the potential for knee damage. For me, using two poles is a 'no-brainer'. Although one argument against using poles is that they can increase your overall energy expenditure, as you are forced to use muscles in your arms and shoulders that would otherwise be rested. Make your own mind up but try using poles and make sure you stick with them for a long trial-journey before you decide whether or not to continue using them. Type of pole You need a pole that can be can adjusted according to the terrain and one you can collapse to put on/in your rucksack. A three piece pole is ideal. Many walkers use rubber feet on the base of the pole which are designed for slick hard surfaces and have no use in the hills or mountains. It is better to opt for a sharp/semi sharp spike tip. Technique To gain maximum benefit from your poles you should aim to plant the pole(s) in time with each step using a rhythm consistent with your footsteps  Pole length The ideal length your pole should be adjusted to will depend not only on your height but also the terrain you’re walking over. Normally you should adjust the poles so that they are shorter for going uphill and longer for going down. Having them too long on ascent will mean your arms are less effective. If they are too short whilst going down your body will stoop and your back will suffer. Ideally you should adjust your poles throughout your journey to adapt to the changing angle of the terrain.

The Ramblers champion walkers' rights through their campaigns.

In the build-up to the general election the Ramblers asked the membership to write and invite parliamentary candidates to sign up to Ramblers manifesto to break down the barriers to walking. 1 in 5 elected MPs pledged their support. Unfortunately Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield MP) and Richard Shepherd (Aldridge Brownhills MP) were not among them.

I emailed Richard Shepherd before the election but did not receive a reply. Below is a copy of my email to Nick Clegg who did support the Ramblers campaign.

Dear Deputy Prime Minister,
Congratulations on being elected to parliament. I am writing to thank you for pledging your support to the Ramblers manifesto, to break down the barriers to walking.
These barriers include:

As a walker I am very pleased to know that you will be championing walkers' rights and I hope that you will continue to work with the Ramblers in the future.

If you would like to see a full copy of the Ramblers manifesto please follow this link:
http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Campaigns+Policy/Election10.

 Many thanks for your time.

 Yours sincerely,

Michael Fowler
71 Nicholas Road
B74 3QR
e4mikefowler@googlemail.com

 

A dozen 'Donts' for Ramblers

Extracted from 'The Midland Area of The Ramblers Association 1930-1987'
By Michael Bird which is published on the area website: www.warwickshireramblers.org.uk

Answers to the walking Quiz

1. These Boots Were Made for Walking – Nancy Sinatra 1966

2. The Walk of Life – Dire Straits 1985

3. You’ll Never Walk Alone – Carousel 1946 & Gerry and the Pacemakers 1963

4. Walk Right In – Rooftop Singers 1963

5. Walk Like a Man – Four Seasons 1963

6. I Walk the Line – Johnny Cash 1956

7. Walk on By – Dionne Warwick 1964

8. I’m Walking Backwards to Christmas – The Goons 1956

9. Walk on the Wild Side – Lou Reed 1972

10. Walk Tall – Val Doonican 1964

Colin Lowrey

The next issue of the newsletter will be published and distributed at the beginning of September 2010.
The deadline for any material submitted for inclusion in this issue is 15^th August.

Newsletter Editor : Mike Fowler

Website Created and Maintained by Brian Downing

Newsletter
Spring 2010

From the Chairman From your Committee Help beat the recession How the coach list works

Tuesday Walks Walk Registers Walking Poles Marilyns & Munros Annual fees

How did you join? Communications Late coach seat cancellations

Jottings from the Chair

The New Customer Relationship Management System (Update)
The new RA Customer Relationship Management System (CRM for short) has replaced the twenty year old membership database, (which was well past its sell by date). The reports that the system produces were developed from feedback given by Membership Secretaries.

The old system was well known for providing poor quality data, such as lateness of membership statistics, inaccurate membership numbers and there have also been times when the lateness or the absence of address labels meant that some members of our group did not receive a Newsletter, walks programme and other items of mail.

The new CRM went operational at the beginning of 2008 and as with all new software systems there can be problems and this one was no exception. It has taken almost twelve months for the CRM system to start to produce data that is meaningful, accurate and hopefully making the Membership Secretary’s job easier. 

In the long term the new system will enable the RA to improve the service to members by reducing the bureaucracy associated with the old system, it will also allow the RA to reduce the amount of paperwork by greater use of e-mail, (did you know that it takes 10,000 sheets of paper plus the costs of postage, copying and printing every month to send out the RA membership reports to Membership Secretaries.)  Not only will the CRM system make monetary savings but it will also reduce the impact it has on the environment. 

The new CRM will also provide more up to date information to Area and Group Membership Secretaries by enabling data from members joining on line to go straight into the system without it being retyped.  

The CRM has also introduced changes such as being able to monitor when group members for whatever reason have let their RA membership lapse.

This is necessary as the RA takes out Civil Liability Insurance annually to protect Walk Leaders against damage to third parties. These may be Landowners, a member of the public or a member of the ramblers. It also covers other activities such as Committee Meetings, Campaign Rallies, Publicity Events and even Social Events. That is why it is essential to be a fully paid up member. It is also worth noting that only fully paid up members can lead walks.

The way paid up members are monitored is by taking the anniversary date the member joined the RA which covers the twelve months subscription. The next payment should be made on or just after month 12. If payment is not received at this time the member goes into months 13, 14, and 15 under the heading of payment pending. If no payment is received by the end of month 15 membership is lapsed.  Once renewal has been received and processed the member returns to Month 1of the12 Month cycle. Can I also remind members to ensure any changes of address or personal details are also passed to RA Central Office.

As with all Charities and Businesses it is necessary to maintain a cash flow within the system in order to maintain RA running costs. With this in mind that, I ask you to ensure your subscriptions are paid on time and up to date and if it is at all possible pay by direct debit or standing order which costs a lot less for the Ramblers to process. Also if you can, make enquiries about completing the Tax Exemption form which allows the RA to claim from the Government 28p in the pound. This is at no cost to members. 

Geoff Jones

From your Committee:

Actions & Information

Since the AGM in October 2009, your Committee has discussed a number of important issues.  These include:

Ramblers’ 75^th Anniversary Celebrations
Ramblers throughout Britain are celebrating the 75^th Anniversary on the weekend of 22^nd and 23^rd May 2010.
Already, we have a Sunday coach walk on the Welcombe Hills, Warwicks as a main part of our festival.  This will be advertised by Warwickshire Area, offering the chance for some outside walkers to link up with our party at the location.
In addition, we are organising three walks in Sutton Park on Saturday 22^nd May, starting at 10 am from the Visitor Centre, between Town Gate and Wyndley. Walks will be 3, 5 and 7 miles in length. We shall advertise locally and hope to attract interest and recruit members for The Ramblers.   We hope that members will take part in these walks, helping to welcome new walkers and tell them about our Group.

Use of Coaches: Alternative Sunday Walks
We received feedback from members who cannot, or do not wish to, take part in coach walks. As a result, when there are two coach walks in the same month, we will try to offer one alternative Sunday walk (meeting South Parade) in that month. This restores the previous balance which existed prior to the increase in coach walks.

Coaches: Increased Fee
Due to increasing costs, the coach booking fee is being raised to £7 from 1^st July 2010.
The previous charge had been held for many years. The fee for the first coach walk (led by Clive Hannaby on 1^st November 1991) was £5.  We have certainly received excellent value for money for more than eighteen years !

Coaches: Baggage
Increasingly, walkers have been bringing heavy kit on to the coach, instead of using the luggage compartment. This is causing some disturbance. 
Please stow heavier items in the “hold” and retrieve on arrival. Thanks!

Walks Programme:
Many walk leaders are now placing very useful travel and walk details on the website giving valuable pre-walk information. These supplement, but do not replace, details which will also be provided by the traditional travel hand-outs at South Parade and telephone contact with the leader.
Colin Lowrey is seeking leaders for the next Walks Programme (July to December 2010).     The relatively harsh winter has been a reminder to select December and January walks with care, ensuring that terrain and travelling distances take account of failing light and the possibility of poor conditions.

Walks: Harsh Weather
During the poor winter, several walks were either cancelled or accomplished with a few difficulties.  Don’t hesitate to contact the walk leader, or look at the website, if you need to confirm walking conditions or possible cancellation. See also Page 11.

Notice to Walk Leaders: Walk Register
Please return your Walk Register to Colin Lowrey as soon as possible.   It is a very important document and (perish the thought!) might be needed in case of injury or incident eg for insurance purposes.
In addition, we need to make faster contact with new walkers, who are potential members. If registers are not returned for several weeks, this delays the sending of membership details, creating a very bad impression.  

Andrew MacFarlane

Help Ramblers beat the recession - Gift Aid it !

If you pay income or capital gains tax in the UK, you could give the Ramblers 28% more with every donation you make - and it won’t cost you a penny!

Gift Aid allows Ramblers to reclaim basic rate tax on any donation you make to them, including your Ramblers membership fees, meaning that for every pound you donate, they get 28p more. In fact, in November 2009 BBC News reported that if everyone gift aided their donations to charity, it would more than make up for the shortfall charities like the Ramblers have suffered at the hands of the recession.

Contact the Ramblers for more information and to complete a Gift Aid declaration – it only takes a minute and means that they can reclaim that valuable extra 28% on every donation you have made to them in the past 6 years and any you may make in the future.

How the Coach Waiting List Works

There has recently been a good deal of debate about coach walks and it might be helpful to explain how the seat allocation system works.

Priority for seats is given to the walk leaders (and usually one helper each if they have helped with the recceing) and to the administrator. The next block of seats is allocated to anyone who signed up on the previous coach walk.  No one is allowed to put down the name of a person not actually present on the coach. 
Typically this results in around 42 of the 49 seats being filled.

The remaining seats plus any which become available as the result of cancellations are filled from the waiting list.  If a place is offered to a walker who cannot accept it, it is offered to the next person on the list.  Walkers maintain their position on the list until they accept a seat.

The waiting lists move surprisingly quickly.  27 names were on the list between 1^st January and 22^nd January.  13 accepted places on the 31^st January coach, 10 were offered places but declined and only 7 were not offered a place at all.

Could I please mention that I prefer not to be asked to put a name on a list when I am out walking as I cannot guarantee that I will remember. 
A phone message on 0121 354 4465 or an e-mail to elaine-horton@hotmail.co.uk is best.

Elaine Horton

Tuesday Walks

On each of the third Tuesday of the months of April, May and June I will be leading walks which are classified D easy. The ethos of my Tuesday walks is that they of about 5 miles in length and that the starts can be reached by public transport hence the different start times and meeting places. Also as the walks are shorter in length there is no need to bring a packed lunch just a drink and a snack.

Tuesday 20^th April 2010
Meet at Streetly Gate, Sutton Park at 10:30am. The S1 Sutton Link bus from Sutton Parade (opposite McDonalds) stops very close to Streetly Gate. The Bus Route goes from the Parade to Mere Green Island, Belwell Lane, Streetly Lane, and Thornhill Road. Get off the bus in Streetly Village before the bus turns right into Foley Road East. The S1 Sutton Link bus carries on through Streetly, Bakers Lane, Kingstanding Circle, Beggars Bush and the Yenton, terminating at Erdington Six Ways.

Tuesday 18^th May 2010
Meet at Moor Street Station at 10:30 am to catch 10:40 train to Acocks Green. From here we walk to Sarehole Mill where we do a circular walk taking in some of South Birmingham’s little known nature reserves.

Tuesday 15^th  June 2010
Meet at Sutton Coldfield Station at 10:10am to catch 10:21am train to Barnt Green. Members who hold a Centro Concessionary travel pass will have to pay a supplement for the Longbridge to Barnt Green part of the journey. Get into groups of 4 at Sutton as four adults can travel for the price of two.

The Walks Programme for July to December is now being planned. Hopefully the third Tuesday of the month D easy walks will continue.

Mike Fowler

Walk Registers

Members who walk with the group have to sign a walk register which each leader provides before the start of the walk. The walk register is a Ramblers legal document which provides the group with information such as:

1.      It provides a record of members who are walking with the group. It is important that members print their name so it can be read easily.

2.      Non members who sign with their contact details at the bottom of the sheet can be contacted with details of Ramblers membership by the membership secretary.

3.      If there is an incident on the walk there is a pro forma on the back of the sheet for the walk leader to gather information from those involved.

4.      It provides data which might be used in planning future walk programmes.

5.      It enables the group to track non members who are allowed to walk up to three times with the group before they are expected to join us.

6.      It can also be used to flag up those members whose membership has lapsed.

Walk leaders: 
Note that the walk register form (aka walk record sheet) is available to be down- loaded from the 'Walks Programme' page on this website   
Register forms should be sent to Colin Lowrey a.s.a.p. after the walk.

Do You Need Walking Poles?   

Walking upright has taken its toll on the human frame. Back, hip, knee or leg problems are a common complaint especially amongst walkers. If you recognise this description the answer may well be a pair of trekking poles. Medical research has shown that using a pair of poles on an eight hour walk will relieve the strain on your knees by 250 tonnes - the equivalent of 60 elephants bearing down on you!

On the level - poles will give you greater stability improve your posture and allow you to keep a much better walking rhythm.

Uphill - poles will take some of the strain from your hamstrings making hill climbing less tiring.

Downhill - poles will alleviate strain on your knees.

Contouring - poles provide balance and help maintain a steady height.

You can also check the depth of bogs, use them for balance when crossing streams or rivers, fend off animals, or just attack your fellow walkers when they annoy you!

Och, aye, there’s more than one Marilyn, Munro

Sometimes when you’re out plodding up a sweaty hillside you can overhear passing hill walkers tersely talking about their expeditions and exploits and words like Munro and Marilyn crop up. If ever I’ve been part of these conversations I’ve usually tried to look impressed without any real idea of what’s being talked about.  So now I’ve done some looking up.  If you’re like me maybe these notes will help you understand a bit more of walkers’ talk.

 It seems that in the beginning there was this Scotsman.  He was Sir Hugh Munro. He saw that there were lots of mountains in Scotland over 3000 feet high. And he saw that they were good.   So he set about compiling a list of them. I don’t know why he chose 3000 feet but the result was   a book - Munro's Tables.  There are now lots of serious hill walkers who go out Munro-bagging – that is climbing all the 277 separate mountains over 3000 feet that are listed.  And they are really serious about it.  It’s no joke getting up a three thousand footer, let alone 277 of them!

 Of course, once there were Munros there just had to be Marilyns to go with them.  A Marilyn is a hill of any height with a drop of 150 metres or more on all sides. It’s a relatively high hill.  Marilyns are all listed in a book called “The Relative Hills of Britain” by Alan Dawson.  When the book came out there were 1554 Marilyns.  There have always been some arguments about whether certain hills should be included but this is what happens whenever walkers get talking about hills.  Some are looking up.  Some are looking down.  And some are only half way up, so they’re neither up nor down. 

Anyway, that’s Marilyns and that’s Munros.  Just mention those names in casual conversation round a stile next time you’re out and you’ll be marked as a serious walker.  No smiling, now, but enjoy your walking.

Colin Lowrey

Current Ramblers Membership Annual Fees

Individual Annual Membership at £29.50 works out at 57p per week. Joint Annual Membership at £39.50 for two adults at the same address works out at 38p per person per week.
 Exceptionally good value for money I would say, in most people’s book!
 Concessionary rates are available for students, people on means tested benefits or those who are solely reliant on the state pension. I wonder how many members we have got in these categories.
Individual Annual Concessionary Membership at £17.50 works out at 34p per week.
Joint Concessionary Membership at £23.50 works out at 23p per person per week.Increase the value of your membership by 28% at no extra cost to you.
To qualify for Gift Aid, you must pay an amount of income tax and/or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax that the Ramblers’ Association will reclaim on your membership (currently 25p for each £1 you pay).                                                              
Apparently if all members who qualified for gift aid did it, the Ramblers’ deficit would be wiped out overnight. Some thought!
On the new membership forms members are asked for their email address and telephone number. Most of the Sutton Coldfield membership has blanks in these spaces on the CRM.
It would be helpful if you could update your details by contacting the Ramblers online at www.ramblers.org.uk/membership, or by telephoning them on 020 7339 8595 weekdays only.

Why did you join the Ramblers?

• To walk with a local group
   

• To meet new people
   

• To support our campaigns  
            

• To improve your health   
                         

• To use the membership benefits

I invite all members, new and long standing,  to add variety to our group newsletter by sending to me for publication their answer to the above question. It does not need to be any longer than two or three sentences. Though, of course if you wish to write a longer article your contribution will be more than welcomed.

Communications

As with any large group of people, communications within the membership of Sutton Coldfield Ramblers can at times be overstretched. This has been especially so with the cancellation of the January 10^th coach to Mow Cop and the more recent February 21^st coach for Part 3 of the Geopark Way.

The January 10^th coach to Mow Cop was not such a problem as it was cancelled on the Thursday evening. Those on the coach list whose email addresses we had were contacted by email whilst the rest were contacted by a landline phone call.  

The February 21^st coach was a rather different situation. The decision to cancel was made after 7am on the morning of the coach when several members called Colin Little to inform him that they would not be able to get to the coach because of the amount of snow on their drives. Christine Little and Elaine Horton phoned as many as they could to inform them of the cancellation whilst Colin made his way down to the car park to inform the large number of people who had arrived there.

These two cancellations raised a few issues that took up quite a lot of discussion both inside and outside of committee.

The following decisions were made:

1.    The persons responsible for cancelling the coach are the named walk leaders for that coach. They will be emailed a copy of the coach list by the Coach Secretary on the Saturday pm prior to the coach. Along with the coach list will be contact numbers for Grayshells, the coach firm.

2.    Members will be informed of the cancellation by a text message because this is the quickest and cheapest way of contacting a large number of people. Those who do not have access to text messaging will hopefully be informed by a landline phone call.

If you are a member who partakes in the coach walks, you need to inform the Coach Secretary of
your mobile phone number and email address.

Late cancellation of a coach place                     

If you cancel your place on the coach after the Thursday evening prior to the coach you will have to pay the coach fee unless a replacement can be found for you. If you cancel after Saturday afternoon you will need to inform the coach walk leaders.
 

Newsletter Editor : Mike Fowler

Website Created and Maintained by Brian Downing