The National Trust Advisory Forum
I’m
mortified to realise that middle age has finally caught up with me. I know this with all certainty - not because I
actively enjoy listening to Radio 4 rather than just using it to nurse a hang-over. Or indeed because I have started looking up
the ideal habitat for my garden plants on the Royal Horticultural Society
website. No, it’s because I have now joined a COMMITTEE. To this day I am not entirely sure how it
happened. Somebody said “Do you love Cockmarsh and the Cookham Commons? We need volunteers…” and it seems I put my hand up. A while later and I was sat around a dining
room table in Cookham Dean with Ranger Owen from the National Trust and the
rest of the NT Advisory Forum. Turns out in 1932 most of the Cookham Commoners
handed over their land to the NT for safe keeping, but the Advisory Forum was
formed to represent the villagers interests. Since I am remarkably common, I was a natural
fit and thus, I am “representing the community”.
I will admit that I had assumed that joining the NT was a
slippery slope to his and hers matching kagools and a thermos flask - until I
went to Lanhydrock House
in Cornwall, whereupon it became hugely obvious to me that membership is worth
every penny. One thing I did not know
until the meeting though, is that when you join, you can nominate an area that you
want to support. In other words, you can
join for the Cookham Commons and Ranger Owen will get a proportion of your subs
– something he REALLY needs because we
have very little in terms of visitor generated income. Anyway, that’s is
how I came to be discussing in very great detail, the parking issues in the
village and litter. I surprised myself with
the latter because as it turns out, I had a LOT to say. To the degree
that I detected some uncomfortable seat shifting each time I drew a new breath.
I constantly pick up litter. Even the dog picks up litter - and have you
any idea how difficult it is to remove treasure from a dog’s mouth, even if you think it is only
a blackened banana skin or a Walkers crisp packet? Winter Hill is the worst, and if we ever meet,
I will tell you the story about the plucked chicken and the used condom, it's just too graphic for print. Back
to the agenda and apparently, the jury is still out on whether the picnic benches
at The Moor have exacerbated the litter situation or not. And on parking - in time you’ll see sweet chestnut stakes being
put in at The Causeway to stop cars parking on the grass when the car park
is full. However, the news we can all
celebrate is that incidence of “dogging”on Pinkney’s Green is on the decrease. A huge relief to us all.
If I am being completely honest, there were moments when I
struggled to suppress a very inappropriate teenage giggle. And it’s also
true that even at my very great age, I was probably the youngest by about 37
years BUT my view is that if we have an opinion (and I usually do), then we must
be prepared to stand up and actively
participate. The fact that Ranger Owen is in regular contact with the lovely
Steve Backshall, National Treasure in waiting, has absolutely NOTHING to do
with my enthusiasm!
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