Photographic Competition

See reminder in Sou'Wester and on MWW Blog. As far as I know birds (feathered variety) are not in a category for this competition! However I was amazed when this cheeky little Robin settled on my wing mirror as I parked and started to cheep and talk to me. This close-up was through the glass window and as I attempted to wind the window down to get a better shot - surprise surprise it flew away leaving S H one Tee on my wing mirror.

Author: mike morley

Our AGM Hersham 14 Nov 2012

The pre-assembled members at out AGM. Gordon Seabright CTC new CEO had agreed to attend and our Chairman/President Colin Quemby formally welcomed him to our proceedings. This was our first mid week AGM and Colin pointed out that numbers were well up on previous years (when the AGM had been held at Breech Lane Community Centre in Walton on the Hill where we used to get about 25 attendees). The numbers were however down on the MWW AGM held at Hersham where we had about 70 present. This was due to a respectable and respectful number of our members who wished to attend Phil Marks funeral taking place at Barnes at 12.30pm on this day. Our deepest condolences to his family from the wider CTCSWL membership.

Above shows Pete B our secretary deep in thought during the meeting with Colin in the middle and our CEO on the right. (apologies for the poor quality I had my camera on zoom and I was shaking a little - 2 much from the night B4 - no I joke not enough!)

Gordon gave us an insight into his background and set out four big themes as the way forward:

PROJECT (Advocates)

INSPIRE

PROMOTE

RUN MORE EFFECTIVE ORGANISATION.

It appears he has set out his vision to Council as to the way forward and will send Pete Barnard a 3 page synopsis of this vision. We look forward to receiving it. Jeff Tollerman was critical of the perception that CTC was rather secretive of what it is about and slow to release minutes of Council meeting to the members.

While I and many in our DA (member group) were critical of the way Council and Chair had pushed, in our opinion, the Charitable decision forward Gordon was adamant that this was a good thing. He comes from a charitable background with wide experience and expressed some views on his former time with RHS with 350,000 members and a huge membership fee return. It also being a charitable trust. Apparently the physical exercise exerted in the garden is for the wider public benefit! (I hope that Barbara will take note!)

Overall I felt that Gordon represented a refreshing new potential wind of change to CTC and I hope that I can speak on behalf of the whole of our DA (formal member group) in wishing him every success in his new challenge as our new CEO and I for one will give him my full support. Thank you Gordon for taking the time to attend our AGM your are the first CEO to do so and I think it gives you credit and is a good sign for the future!

Author: mike morley

1 Comment:

Jeff 15 November 2012 at 18:24 GMT

To clarify:
It was only after the AGM that I queried the long delay in releasing the minutes of the CTC National Council. This body meets four times a year, but the minutes of its meetings are not published until after they have been approved by the full Council at its subsequent meeting. I believe the draft minutes should be available to members after confirmation by Chairman and Chief Executive, subject to ratification at the next full Council meeting. Three months is too long a delay.
This is not of burning interest to most members, which is why I did not raise the subject during the AGM.
I should perhaps have added that the agendas would be more informative if they included the relevant attachments.

I know, I should get a life!

The CTC is at it again

Draft CTC Policy Handbook for Member Groups

The CTC has returned to one of its favourite pastimes - meddling with the structure of District Associations, Sections and Member Groups. It has produced a draft CTC Policy Handbook for Member Groups. I do not recall reading anything about this in Cycle or CycleClips and can find nothing on the new CTC website. Have I missed it? The CTC continues its superlative record of communicating openly and fully with its membership. To be fair, the document has been sent to our DA Secretary, except there is no DA.

We are told that "Groups MUST no longer use words such as 'District Association' or 'Section' in their titles as these terms are now redundant." As Editor of the Sou'Wester, I imagined that this was the Newsletter of South West London DA - that is what it says. The centre pages give details of our 'Section Rides'.Oh dear, what terrible punishment awaits us?

A couple of years ago, without any cogent argument or understanding of what it was doing, the CTC made a dog's dinner of the membership structure. As a result, the Midweek Wayfarers decided that they did not want to become a formal Member Group and opted to be an Informal Member Group.

This new draft policy instructs that if we want to be an Informal Member group, "we must submit a written request to the Secretary of the Formal Member Group with which (we) wish to be associated." There isn't one! And there isn't a DA! But the Cheam & Morden is a Formal Member Group.

So perhaps we shall go back to what we were before, but call ourselves a Member Group insead of a DA. Maybe the wheel will turn full circle. All we want  is to be left alone to organise our rides, within the reasonable requirements of what used to be our Club. But we are not a charity and are not part of the CTC Charitable Trust. Where exactly do we fit into the CTC, other than by paying our subscriptions? Nobody has yet told us.

Despite this disorganised shambles, I'm sure that we shall be able to sort ourselves out.

If anybody would like to punish themselves by reading this draft policy, I have put a copy on Google Docs. You will find it much more effective than valium in helping you to sleep and it is not addictive. Masochists, please click on this link and good luck!

The document does not say that it is for consultation nor invite comments, but we may wish to respond. Gordon Seabright, the 'new' CTC Chief Executive, will be attending our DA AGM at Hersham on 14 November.You might wish to raise a question or two.

Jeff

Author: Jeff

The CTC Charity Proposal and Vote

When you think that it couldn’t get worse, it does!

The Charity Commission has now explicitly stated that, with the CTC as a Charity, its members will have no power whatsoever to control or influence the policies and governance of the CTC.

Having advised the CTC on how to reword the relevant Articles within the revised M&As to meet its own requirements, the Charity Commission has now noted that Article 11 provides for a poll of the whole Club on any question, the outcome binding the Club and Council for 6 months. This is the Article that we used to challenge the conversion proposal.

The CC has now told the CTC, at some length and in some detail, that this Article, while not affecting charitable status ‘isn’t really appropriate for a charity’ and ‘we would strongly recommend its deletion’. If not at the AGM, because a 'faction' might oppose it, then at a subsequent General Meeting.

It is pretty difficult to summarise the 1,367 words used by the CC to support this claim.

The nub of it is that the trustees of the charity have ‘a legal duty to act as trustees only in the best interests of their charity in furthering its charitable purposes. ………In the case of a charity with a membership, the members role in its administration is normally to elect the trustees………But it would not be appropriate for trustees to be obliged to act on the recommendations of the membership.’ As we have been able to require since the CTC was founded in 1878.

The CTC responded to the CC: “The poll of the whole club was used for the first time in many years during the campaign by a small CTC faction to try and stop this charitable proposal. To suggest its removal at this point could antagonise this group again and jeopardise the prospects of getting the new objects approved.”

The CTC has asked the CC for further advice on how to respond to this concern. When is it going to be honest with members? Before the AGM on 12 May? It won’t because it is too scared that the truth would influence the vote!

Is it the legitimate role of the Charity Commission to conspire with the directors of a company owned by its members in order to influence and manipulate the outcome?

In other words, this is precisely what we have been saying for the past 18 months. The CTC ceases to be a members’ club, the members lose all power to control or influence the policies and governance of the Club and the members (an appropriate word) become no more than impotent eunuchs in the harem of the CTC and Charity Commission.

Are you prepared to vote for the castration of your Club? Is that worth a cycling jacket?

How on earth do we get this message out to the 50,000 odd voting members of the CTC, the media and the wider public?

Jeff

Author: Jeff

Barn Dance 2012

Some pictures from the evening. The numbers were down but the dancing enjoyable and the food as good as ever. Lets have your comments as to why you think the numbers were down. Do we need to review the type of annual prize presentation we have, the venue or location in regard to the centre of our DA?

Well done to Simon Jen Jake etc and anyone else who helped to organise. Congratulations also to all the trophy winners, details to appear in the next issue of Sou'Wester.

Author: mike morley

Annual Prize Presentation Saturday 24 March

Don't forget to get your ticket for the above, members and non members welcome. Contact the organiser Simon & Jen Mitchell, Mike Morley 01737816160 or your rides secretary. The food as always will be fantastic and the dancing superb!

Author: mike morley

Competition Time

Since Pete did his last bike ride supported by so many admirers from the club it reminds me that he was the guardian angel of so many things we did and helped remind us all about our CTC DA competitions. Reluctant though I have been to publish this reminder for fear I could end up doing the collating I am very pleased to see that Terry has agreed to collect the mileage totals either directly or via the chart originally composed by Lisa.

ANNUAL MILEAGE
Please submit total miles from 1st Jan to 31st Dec 2011 to terrylowe50@yahoo.co.uk or complete the chart if preferred. I have just totted mine up and know that I will not be the winner but it's the taking part that adds to life's sheer delight!

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
Always a great favourite to see the results at the Barn Dance your are reminded to get your entries to your section secretary under the various categories listed. Qualifying picture date is 1/10/2010 to 30/09/2011. See the old DA home page for full rules.
If anyone with a photographic bent would like to take on the roll of coordinator they would be most welcome.

Author: mike morley