The Bainton Walk (cont), and a personal reflection on the AGM

Pictures by Simon Bradford; Text by Tony Attwood

I must admit that I rather like our first picture in this collection, taken from the Bainton Walk (and not I hasten to add at the AGM), because it seems to represent (for me if no one else) the wonderful balance that Peterborough Ramblers has between having fun and being serious about maintaining the right to roam, while at the same time, being both reasonable and respectful, organised and yet willing to have a laugh.

Of course these perceptions may be just me (and I should say that the club does allow me to present the pictures that are supplied for this website in whatever form I wish so if you have any complaints they need to come my way, not to the chair).

But what makes the whole thing so interesting for me (even if no one else) is this combination of issues and concerns: the countryside walking, preservation of walks, the interest in our area’s history, and the concerns about the future of the countryside, and our access to it.

And it is interesting that these pictures today combine the consideration of a church (although I am sorry not to be able to report how old the church is) and the countryside.

The fact is that many medieval churches would take about a quarter of a century to build, and

so many who were involved in the drawing up of the plans were then sadly not there to see their design completed, because life expectancy for landowners in medieval England was anything from 25 to 50.  So for many people their entire lifetime in a village was one in which the church was being built.

Knowing that one would be very unlikely to see one’s plans completed is a concept that I am not sure we experience today, and I suspect that most of us supporting the work of Peterborough Ramblers in terms of protecting the existence of footpaths, where they are walked and are part of our countryside tradition, do have a feeling that we are doing this not just for ourselves but for future generations.

All of which helps me slide perhaps not very neatly into the AGM.

This was my second AGM as a committee member, and I’m really pleased that members do take the trouble to come along and hear the reports of the committee.  It’s not compulsory of course, but it makes me feel that running the website and so keeping a visual record of what we do, is worthwhile.   The AGM I am delighted to say, passed without uprisings, revolutions or calls for anyone’s head, (which I was rather relieved about), for although I endlessly say that I will stop writing the nonsense commentaries about walks if asked so to do, no one as yet has so asked.

Anyway the AGM reported that we are flourishing, and revealed that members were as keen as ever to participate not just in our walks but also in the work of Rambers generally.  

But what is perhaps not so widely reported is that after the AGM some of the committee trotted off to a local hostelry for a restorative glass of something and wild tales of sailing across the Southern Ocean.

And I think that is the point I would always want to make (although of course it doesn’t come up on the agenda at the AGM).  What really makes Peterborough Ramblers such a wonderful organisation, in my view, is the friendliness – and that is what I value more than anything.

If you have been, thank you for reading the commentaries and looking at the pictures through the year since the last AGM.   I was asked to carry on in my role as verbage meister and so I’ll continue for as long as the website is wanted and read.

Which simply leaves to say, if you have been, thank you for reading.