The Rossendale Rambler

Editorial, March 2000

Well, here we are again, another edition of the ‘Rambler’. I always feel quite pleased to get the Winter Edition out of the way because it does, with the best will in the world, turn out to be a little dry due to all the stuff about the AGM that has to go in. Nonetheless, the information needs to be disseminated among you so that all the membership are aware of what’s going on, who has been elected and how much money we have in the kitty.

This edition is full of goodies to interest those of you who like to go out walking, and of course those of you who, for one reason or another, are unable to do so and live vicariously through the pages of this newsletter. It is the membership that does not go out walking that outnumbers those that do and I am eternally grateful to those who pay their subs every year just because it is a good idea to be a member of the Ramblers’ Association. And of course it is, because without the RA to fight for our rights of way, they would soon be eroded and possibly even lost. Hopefully this little newsletter goes some way towards providing our ‘silent majority’ out there with a sense of belonging to a local group that is not only active in terms of walking but that cares for all the membership. In order to keep our numbers at a level where we get sufficient funding to keep us a viable group, we need to be constantly on the look-out out to sign up new members. If you know of anyone who would like to become a member because they support the principle of public rights of way, please refer them to Alan Johnson, our membership secretary, who would be only too pleased to send out a ‘New Members’ pack to them. Alan is on 01706 877521.

For those of you who have not had either the chance, the inclination or the technology to visit our web site, you might like to know that almost 800 people have visited it over the last year and that I am getting e-mail from all over the globe from people who have stumbled across it or those ex-pats who type ‘Rossendale’ into the search engine and keep their fingers crossed in the hope of getting news of the old town. Our web address (or URL) is: www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~waidew. Do pay us a visit if you have a mind to - you can always log on at a local library.

May I take this opportunity to wish all walkers and outdoor enthusiasts a very happy new year. Let us hope that the new millennium brings new challenges and the opportunity to continue to meet those we have already set ourselves. 'Freedom to Roam' will mean an extension of those opportunities but if we intend to hold on to the freedom offered, it has to go hand-in-hand with greater responsibility to look after our new wealth.

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Walter Waide
Our e-mail address is: waidew@globalnet.co.uk