Arrivals and departures
Unfortunately, for personal reasons, Sally Whitney decided to stand down as Clubs Officer and the position now stands vacant. We thank Sally for her contribution during her short time in post. This is a role created following the consultation carried out in 2020 concerning the relationship between BN and its member clubs, and one of its principal functions is to facilitate better communication. We very much hope somebody will come forward to take on this role soon.
On the credit side, we were pleased to welcome Robin Dearle to the team. Robin will be assisting with financial matters and although he will not formally adopt the title of financial director, he will occupy a very important position.
We were pleased to see that all the roles that fall due for election this year have attracted nominations.
British Naturism: Sunfolk
As the Sunfolk site readied itself to mark its 90th year as a Naturist venue, early in the new year we received the good news that planning permission for our proposed developments was granted. This means that we now need to move ahead with the practicalities, including the funding of this project. Developing this plan has been an important topic for the management team, over the last few months.
Meanwhile, the British Naturism: Sunfolk website has been re-launched – if you haven’t visited it recently it will be well worth a look.
British Heart Foundation
We were extremely pleased to be able to sign a new agreement with this major national UK charity, building on the partnership of the last two years. They are extremely keen to be working with us. We are now listed on the BHF’s website as a corporate partner.
Opinion polls
The EC has decided to commission a well-known polling organisation to ask some questions about Naturism. The last such polls took place in 2001 and 2011, but with Covid still a major obstacle to normal life in 2021 it did not seem prudent to launch such a poll that year. This year, with things gradually getting back to normal, seems to be a more suitable time. We hope that such a poll will enable us to understand trends in relation to the practice of Naturism and public attitudes towards it.
Regional structures reform
The working group dealing with regional structures made recommendations which have now been adopted by the EC and which will be discussed at the AGM
in October. We hope these will strengthen regions overall by freeing them of unnecessary bureaucracy and encouraging more volunteers to come forward at regional and local level.
Edwin Kilby