These were read and agreed as a true record.
Tony reported that the group was now in its 31st year. He thanked members of the committee for their work over the past year. Although not coming out on the group walks, Tony reported that he had not been idle, having completed 62 Munros this year. He will continue to oversee the group’s website. He stated that he wished to make firmer arrangements for Cumbria LDWA’s involvement in the baggage checkpoint at Dufton on the Hadrian Hundred, during the course of the meeting.
Louise reported that 2017-2018 had been another successful year for the group. In terms of membership, she reported that Kate Turner and family and Trish Dunant had joined as new members. The core of ‘regulars’ remains at c 15. There are 112 names on the Primary Members list from the national website. She reported on having attended the Local Groups week end in Hawes in November 2017 and expressed disappointment at not being able to attend the national AGM in Lincoln, due to illness. One of the themes from the Local Groups week end was the benefit of social media for groups and to this end, Louise has set up a Facebook page for Cumbria LDWA. This requires further development and will be reported on at the 2019 AGM. She thanked those members who assisted with the catering at Mardale Magic and thanked the committee members for their hard work over the past year. She added that the group has an additional challenge for 2019, assisting with baggage at the Hadrian Hundred and emphasised that, as a small group it was important for everyone to offer assistance with both events and walk leading.
Andy gave an overview of the past year’s group social walks. July’s (Majestic Matterdale) had to be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions but will be repeated in April 2019. He gave details of leaders, location and attendance; the group has walked 160.5 miles in total, with an average attendance of 8.8 and average mileage of 17 miles per walk. Finding walk leaders can still be difficult; however, we have walks planned for each month until May 2019.
Jim reported a balance of £1766.19; an increase of £114.69 from last year’s balance of £1651.50 and gave a breakdown of Mardale Magic expenses.
He reported that there are still 15 Helm Wind badges remaining; none were sold this year. A letter of thanks was received from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) for the donation of £50.00 in 2017.
Jim suggested that we donate to the GNAAS again this year and all were in favour. It was agreed to increase the donation to £75.00 this year to the GNAAS from group funds.
He will continue to keep the Group equipment in storage and will make an inventory of items, as some items could be used at Dufton during the Hadrian Hundred. Extra lights will be required outside the Youth Hostel.
Jim Crockett stood down as treasurer and Helen Beatham agreed to take on the role.
Proposed by Trish Dunant and seconded by Dave Evans. All were elected unanimously.
Jim will pass the treasurers files to Helen. Helen will obtain the necessary form from the bank for a change of signatory.
Neil reported that 50 had entered the event and 43 were at the start. All 43 competitors completed the route. The event made almost £165.00. The weather had been much better this year and there had been some positive feedback from participants. Neil is prepared to continue as event co-ordinator for Mardale Magic and suggested a date of Saturday 21st September for the 2019 event. There will be no EOD.
Offer a 26 mile option, by adding an extra loop to the existing route, as this is likely to attract more runners who are seeking events of marathon distance. It would still be possible to retain the original route for those not wishing to do a 26 mile course. Lengthy discussion took place regarding the practicalities of adding an extra loop. Neil to investigate the possibility of extending the existing route.
It was suggested that a recce of the Youth Hostel and procedures is undertaken in the spring of 2019. Tony will arrange a date for this.
Andy reported that no badges have been sold. He received one enquiry this year about the walk.
Pat thanked Louise for work on catering for Mardale Magic.
The next AGM will take place on Sunday 20th October 2019 at the Oddfellows Arms, Caldbeck.
Another successful year for Cumbria LDWA, with a full programme of walks and the second staging of Mardale Magic. As a group, we remain small but perfectly formed, with a core of about 15 active members. There are 112 names on the list of Cumbria ‘Primary Members’ however the majority of these are not involved in the group aspect of LDWA. This year we have welcomed the Turner family and Trish to our ranks and we look forward to Trish’s war memorials walk next month. The walks this year have again offered plenty of variety and we already have the first four months of 2019 covered. As we are a small group, the importance of everyone being involved in offering walks and helping at events, cannot be understated. Unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of a larger membership, which many of the groups closer to urban centres enjoy.
On the subject of fellow LDWA groups; last November, hard on the heels of the 2017 AGM, I attended the annual Local Groups week end, arranged by Julie Cribb, Local Groups Secretary. The event was based at Hawes Youth Hostel. It was an excellent week end, involving evening discussion sessions, a walk on the Saturday and meeting on Sunday morning. Participants had travelled from all over the country and it was really interesting to find out about other LDWA groups. One of the themes that came out of the discussions was the value of social media, both for attracting new members and as a method of communication within the group. Obviously the latter is more beneficial for larger groups. I left the gathering inspired by people’s enthusiasm about the benefits of social media and decided to set up a Facebook page for the group. My first tentative steps have been small, as the page does not yet have a wide circulation. I usually post photographs and a mini report of walks and also advertise forthcoming walks. A colleague at work is proficient in the sphere of social media and I’m going to take advice from her regarding widening the reach of the page. To date, this is a work in progress; further developments will be reported at the 2019 AGM!
Another of the sessions offered during the week end covered catering for challenge events, so I picked up some useful tips there. Following the success of the Local Groups week end, I was keen to attend the national LDWA AGM in Lincoln, which again, involved walks, workshops and the meeting itself. I booked my place and was looking forward to getting involved but was struck down with Norovirus, which prevented me from going. It was disappointing but I will look out for the 2019 event.
Back to 2018 and Mardale Magic. Neil will report more fully on the successful second staging and we will have an opportunity to reflect on the future of the event; however I would like to thank everybody who helped with obtaining supplies and with the catering on the day, particularly Pat, Helen and Janet. As always, the kitchen camaraderie was excellent and kept us going.
2019 will see an additional challenge for the group in the form of the Hadrian 100, when Cumbria LDWA members will be providing assistance with competitors’ baggage at the breakfast stop in Dufton. You already have a foretaste of what this will entail. For some of us, this will be the first experience of a Hundred and will present a good opportunity to work with other LDWA groups. This topic will be covered later in the meeting.
Finally, thanks are due to committee members, Tony, Neil, Andy and Jim for their work over the past year to make the group a success. Arranging a challenge event and the related finances, co-ordinating walk leaders and keeping the website up to date all require time and effort. Jim will stand down as treasurer at this meeting and, as a result we are seeking a replacement; any offers will be gratefully received!
No badge sales for Helm Wind Challenge Walk this year .
A £50 payment was made to Great North Air Ambulance.
A thank you letter was received.
After taking this expenditure into account, our bank balance has increased by £114.69 on last year.