Our newsletters...
The Bristol HF Rambling Club Newsletter is published 3 times a year,
to keep all members in touch with all club activities. 
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Hi, everyone. It was good to see Club members walking together again in September and October and now once again after the latest lockdown and many thanks to members who led walks during this period. Many of us finding ourselves in Tier 3 has imposed additional problems as we are trying to re-start the walking programmes; members who live in Tier 2 cannot come on our walks and we cannot walk in a Tier 2 area. I went on many of the Saturday and Tuesday A walks in September and October. These included a mountain walk in the Black Mountains led by Sue Finney, a walk on Blackdown and Dolebury Warren, a walk around Blagdon Lake also led by Sue, Muriel’s walk from Regil and Rosemary’s walk from Tresham and two walks led by Ray and Jan; Farringdon Gurney and Kelston. I led a walk from Castle Combe. It was good to see members complying with the club Covid-19 Guidelines. What did members do during the latest lockdown in November? I continued walking on my own going out twice a week and went over some of my walks that I have led for the club and notched up over 70 miles! Last September I celebrated my 70th birthday but was not able to have the party I had planned due to the Covid restrictions but my sister and her husband came to stay with me and we went out for a meal. (I wonder if I am the first chairman to have a 70th birthday while in office). Being that age, I had to renew my driving licence and take out new travel insurance. Last summer I planned two new Saturday walks which I look forward to leading in 2021. Both are unfortunately 11 miles; one is based on an old walk which I have altered and which goes west from Knapp Hill in Wilts and takes in the White Horse; the other starts from Leckhampton Hill near Cheltenham and includes a bit of the Cotswold Way and the Gloucestershire Way (I may be able to shave a mile off this one). Looking forward to 2021 it will hopefully be a better year for the club with our club dinner, coach outing, skittles evening and garden party which we were not able to do this year. So we can look forward to a year of social events as well as plenty of walks. Keep walking everyone and let us make 2021 the best year since the club was formed. Best regards Peter Holmes FROM THE EDITOR I am sorry that this is such a short Newsletter this month, but I am sure you will understand why. Normally at this time, we would be sending out the programmes for the first 6 months of next year and delivering quite a few of them by hand at the Christmas Lunch! But in view of the continuing uncertainty over Tiers and changing rules, we have decided that it will be easier all round to continue with the ad hoc arrangements that have been in place for the past few months, Lockdowns excluded. It has been an exasperating time as we have tried to make sense of the Covid-19 rules and what they mean in the context of our Group. And as we enter the Festive Season the decision to move Bristol and North Somerset down to Tier 2 but leave South Glos in Tier 3 has added a further level of complexity. As of Saturday 19 December, those of you who live in South Glos should not join or offer to lead walks other than in your own area and those of us who live outside the area should not join walks there. Fortunately, a lot of Members live in South Glos and there are plenty of walks, so I am sure the Programme Secretaries will still be looking for offers of walks from you. We may even have multiple walks on a Tuesday! For the rest of us, we are now able to expand our walking area into Somerset as a whole, BANES, Wiltshire and the rest of Gloucestershire beyond the South Glos boundary. You may travel through the Tier 3 area to the start point of a walk, but, of course should not stop en route. I think it remains sensible to stay out of Wales! Hopefully, the next review in early January will return things to normal, unless, of course, we all end up in Tier 3! Tom Logan And finally…On the basis of the old adage that humour is the best medicine, and in keeping with the Festive Season (and this is before I open any Christmas crackers!) Santa’s sleigh was hit by a truck and several deer died. What was left? The remaindeer! Why are Santa’s deer always wet? Because they are reindeer! How do you know Santa has been in your garden shed? You have 3 more hoes! What happened to the guy who stole an advent calendar? He got 25 days! What did Adam say to his wife on the day before Christmas? It’s Christmas, Eve What do you call a broke Santa? Saint Nickel-less Your Committee send their best wishes to all our Members and their families for the Festive Season and hope that everyone stays safe, well and happy. We truly hope that next year will be much better for us all. We have not heard that any Member has died of or lost a loved one to this dreadful virus - long may this continue! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. FROM THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY It has been a very strange year due to the impact of the Coronavirus so there haven't been any Club walks since March, but the good news is that things are slowly returning to 'normal' and group walking is restarting as volunteers come forward to organise and lead a walk. It was disappointing to have to cancel the social events that had been planned, and the AGM has also been postponed. This is the time of year when I would normally be very busy dealing with Membership Renewals, but the club has decided not to charge a Membership Subscription this year. However, I would ask that any member who has moved house or changed their phone number or email address in the last twelve months, to please provide me with their updated details so that I can keep our records up to date. I hope to see many of you, either out on walks, or at one of the social events when they are re-arranged. Thank You Lesley Davis Affiliation to the Ramblers We are affiliated to the Ramblers Association, as a Group, in addition to many Members holding their own individual memberships. Our support is given in recognition of the work done by the Ramblers in maintaining and retaining footpaths, for us all to enjoy. The sorts of problems, which can be encountered on walks, are overgrown paths, broken stile, blockages from using access land and the like. It is therefore encouraging to know that Local highway authorities (County Councils or Unitary Authorities) are responsible for resolving path and access problems - the Ramblers works to ensure that authorities resolve any issues. We, as walkers, can help by:- 1. Reporting the problem to the County Council or Unitary Authority responsible for the area. 2. Completing the form supplied by the Ramblers (pdf file avaiable online) which would be sent onto a local Ramblers volunteer to investigate further - which may include reporting the problem to the correct council department. By giving your contact details, in completing the form, you will be kept up to date with the progress of your report. Editor Contributions for the Jnauary 2021 Newsletter must be with the Editor by the 1st December 2020 |
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