I don’t claim to be any sort of expert in our wonderful hobby, however I love to give a helping hand where I can to others.

I’m not a great club member and I don’t particularly like them in their current form, I cannot see the attraction to the younger generation of sitting in a back room of a pub listening to old men prattling on about their stubborn views on the hobby in general.

Now that I’ve got you attention by the previous paragraph, I’ll explain further about my views and try not to be too harsh, but what I said is how I saw the hobby in a nutshell, I still see this as being the case in many clubs across the UK the hobby at the time of writing in 2015, and it’s a crying shame.

I might have been unlucky in my choice of clubs in the past, however, when I came back to the UK in 2012, I started keeping budgies again after a gap of 10 years, I decided to join a local club……… nothing had changed in those 10 years.

I now belong to Ollerton & Bevercotes CBS and am enjoying myself. I have volunteered to revamp their existing website which was, to be frank, quite boring and uninspirational, I have put my stamp on it and I hope it’s OK. Although I’ve realised after I reset it up, I’ve used similar colours to this site …….. ooops !! Perhaps people haven’t realised it yet ?

Back in Norfolk about 15 years ago I joined the West Norfolk Budgerigar Society (WNBS), it was like stepping back in time, people were very nice, but please don’t take offence at what I’m about to say, it’s meant  in the right spirit ……….. I was prevented to modernise the running of the  local club show and other aspects using technology.

The story is, or was, probably the same throughout the hobby –  Many  shows are , or were, run by the more “senior” members of the club and are those people who have organised, and run them for many years, at AGM’s they say ; “this is the last year  me and my wife will be doing this because the paperwork is becoming too much for us”. With this in mind I requested that I help to run the next show with the aid of a data base on my laptop and printer, I would run my new system  next to the paperwork one that was currently in operation  – just in case I had not foreseen some elements required.

I then went to see the people who run the show, all seemed OK and I went away with hoards of paper! Knowing very well that I could condense it down with very little effort in the future. This would be brilliant because the old school would not be burdened with shows again and could help with other stuff needed at show  weekend. I WAS WRONG  ….. I had a phone call to tell me that the old school had been in tears because I had taken it away from them.

By trying to modernise I had exposed the real truth, and that is, or was, that change was not on the cards and nothing was going to change because it would upset the seniors. I went ahead with the new style and was thanked by the younger  element  for bringing the club into the 21st century or there about. By the way, I was about 50 years old myself at that stage.

It failed, I was so annoyed. It was foiled from the start. We run a club show and I ran my system along side it. I would book the birds in on the pc and they would use the old method. I needed a pee, so I asked one of the old school to take over from me – no problem – when I came back there were plenty of new birds that had arrived, but only a few were on my pc. I was fuming, it had deliberately sabotaged – they didn’t realise that I was able to check that certain birds hadn’t been booked in,  that’s how I knew. On the show day, I did a many visuals – so members coming in didn’t have to read in the paperwork who had won this and that – it was printed individually, neatly on A4 and stuck on the entrance before you got into the hall.

It failed. At the next meeting I got moaned at with the “I told you so” attitude.

Along with another new member to the club, we set-up  a monthly news letter and a website …….. but it failed  after about 6 months mainly because of the old school – again.

I’ve included  in this website, some of the little stories that I wrote at the time.

The systems were  foiled by those not wanting it to succeed. I think this is the problem in many clubs. It’s a sad tale of how things were – I was about to find out how they are now.

There must be many clubs out there that are great fun to be at with modern technology to support it – I’d love to visit one ……………… at the same time, how many are typical of what I have described about being out-of-date, I wonder? I know this is a harsh statement as these clubs are run by people who live and die for the hobby and I can appreciate that and thank them for keeping the hobby afloat. I know that the Mid-Essex boys have a very good club, after talking with the guys that transformed the club into what it is becoming, this must be the future for our beleaguered hobby. These guys had the balls to upset some of the older members in order to achieve their goal, but to keep a very long story short, they are getting there  ….. and fast, but they are still looking for other ways to progress their club especially to use technology and any other means of getting the word out to the public and other clubs. 

Come on guys, we can all do this, it just means a bit better thinking outside the nestbox …. I certainly am trying, with the help of others, to bring our local club into the 21st century and drag it out of the 19th !! 

Now here’s the thing – I have been known to be controversial on a particular budgerigar forum, so my website will be no exception, although I’ll go a bit easier on you than I have in that previous life !

By the way, please don’t copy or reproduce any of this stuff unless you have my permission, it’s a bit rude if you do, don’t you think?

 

So, here we go then;

In general, hobbies in the UK and perhaps Worldwide, are on their knees, our beautiful hobby is no exception as we are all well aware. So with that in mind I wonder if you’ll find my take on the world of hobbies, interesting and hopefully thought provoking.

 

Hobbies are run, by and large by members who have their hobby at the forefront of their minds and their blood runs through the veins reflect that fact, and if bled, you’ll see the hobby written out in blood.

However, all of this good-will could actually be the nub of the problem. 

I would hazard a guess that the members installed into council or committee positions within an organisation such as a society or club, have been there for many years and what’s more, they have been in similar positions within their local clubs and societies.

So you have a hobby, let’s say model railways, it’s run by model trains “experts” and they know model trains inside out – but can they see beyond the track in this particular hobby that is decline, even in freefall and nothing that they might put into place, works, and the hobby just limps along and being led by a majority of dinosaurs within a Victorian style machine. Within the hobby there are thousands of members (declining) many of whom have a view on how things could improve, many of these people are labelled as beginners or the like, and of course they couldn’t possibly have the experience or know-how to sit on a council or committee.

As previously stated, the installed councillors or committee members have all, without exception, served on said councils at a lower club level …… so they know the ropes as such.

But actually, do they?

Are they too close to the problem and can’t see that there is a massive problem that needs to be addressed? ……. but when many of the grass roots members can see it.

What is needed, in my opinion, is a break from traditional old ways that no longer hold water and are just plain outdated. Any updating work that might be done on say, websites, are just sticking plasters whereas a new one would serve the members better without a doubt – yep, they are just fire fighting, yes the person/s are very busy and without doubt loyal to the cause, but it’s wasted time and energy, it would be better served working on something else.

Some of these hobbies have accrued many, many tens of thousands of pounds over the years and it just sits there ……. no investment that is obvious to the members. Some moneys might have been put towards a problem within the hobby, but frankly is pissing against the wind and could be a black hole.

I’ve digressed.

Here’s my point – yeah, I know it’s taken a time to get there, but I have to lay out the problem that is in front of club members.

How about – if the current council or committee members were to be replaced, in part, by membership enthusiasts, that possess LIFE SKILLS?

Life Skills !!? – whatever are they? ….. to the uninitiated, these talented people/members sit in the wings of any institution,  frustrated and watching endless, hapless decisions being made by the “experts”, to try and drag the hobby out of the mire and fail miserably.  These members have life skills, they don’t or haven’t sat on club committee’s or councils for various reasons during their working lives ….. but they just love the hobby.

How about – the thought that a good number of the existing installed council are just making up the numbers and have become ineffective because they are unable to see beyond the nestbox?

How about – that these “new” people become elected through due procedure and take a new, fresh look at how things are done, remember, these members have life skills, they may be carpenters, accountants, factory workers, salesmen, even retired, ordinary people that have masses to offer because they see things in a different way. Let’s face it, the existing “machine” has been trying to right the wrongs for many years and failed. A new set of faces might just see things in a way that is fresh and might just change things for the good …. what harm would it do?

How about – if say, the existing council of this model railway society were made up of 10 or 11 people.

How about – if 5 or 6 were to be replaced by members with life skills, some even being so called “beginners” to the hobby  …. it would be essential to retain about half of the committee because they will know the workings and advise the newcomers to procedure ……….. yep, I would want all these things.

How about – if every committee member was required, by the rules, to vote on an issue and would not be allowed to abstain.

How about – if the council/ committee were to be made up of an odd number of people where any voting could have an outcome, rather than a chairman that had the deciding vote.

Impossible isn’t it ? 

I am of the firm belief that websites should be the hub of any club or society. This is where the information is held for all members and others should go for information ….. whatsmore, it should be easy to navigate. Information headers should be meaningful, with sub headings in a similar fashion – look at all companies, they all have a great website. A hobby MUST be served by an upto date, slick website and have an experienced person at the hub of it, keeping up with the latest technologies. 

I could go on and on about my views and ideas but it would become boring, and might even “bore the tit’s off you” …. sorry, for those who don’t know, that was an “in house” joke.

 

 Some might put the argument that I should stand for such a position, but it has been well documented elsewhere and I feel that at my tender age of 67, it’s a job for a much younger machine – but I would help them without a doubt.

 I’ve said enough on this page for the time being …. I’ll leave it at that for now.

Mike