Nation- 1.”a people with a common origin, tradition and language”

2. “a community of people possessing a more or less defined territory and government”

Not a nation Mr Acchie? Think again.

A parcel of rogues…

Not much sign of a move from the central London office either as they are still recruiting staff there:

http://www.ramblers.org.uk/aboutus/Vacancies/

Gibson

My biggest problem, however, with your initial post is that the inclusion of the the accusations regarding the questions not being answered and that the CEO won’t have taken a pay cut are easily rebutted and that diminishes the overall argument. That argument should not be about whether or not the magazine has answered the questions you ask, but whether the Ramblers is relevant to Scotland and Wales.

The news that the Scottish Executive is going to push for independence is more than welcome. The reality is that the issues facing ramblers in Scotland are entirely different to those facing ramblers in England and Wales. Heritage, laws and the very nature of the geography in Scotland are so completely removed from the urbanised and access restricted land south of the border that a unified body is no longer capable of serving both adequately. I think the present row may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Scottish ramblers (and visiting ramblers from elsewhere) in the long term. The time for arguing over minor details like whether or not emails have been answered is long gone - it’s time to say clearly that the Ramblers as an organisation has failed Scotland, has had its day and is no longer relevant. Keep to this issue and you have an almost unarguable case - dilute it with easily discredited accusations and insinuations that even an A Level student could rebuff in 10 minutes diminishes the validity of the rest of the argument.

The argument regarding the Scottish office being referred to as a “regional
office” is an entirely seperate matter, and is political rather than an environmental or conservation issue. Perhaps you’ll get your answer to this with the proposed Independence Referendum, but until then legally Scotland is NOT a seperate nation but a member of The Union so the argument is pure semantics

“The vast majority of people visiting the Ramblers website are not volunteers, or members, or involved in running the Ramblers in any way. Information which is specifically for volunteers is kept in this section of the website. Most Areas and Groups know to look here for information.”

I didn’t.
However, that aside, there are some interesting things in there. It’s suggested the Senior Management Team has been cut from 7 to 4 to save money. Mmm, that includes the former Directors of Wales and Scotland. There is now no representative of either Wales or Scotland on the SMT.
It also suggests that Tom Franklin has taken a voluntary salary cut (temporary), and I apologise unreservedly for suggesting he may not have. However, I wonder if that cut is the same as former Scottish Director Dave Morris whose salary has been almost cut in half (permanent)?
I’m afraid the content in the link you gave me begs more questions than answers, and it would seem that neither Tom or the chair of the Board are willing to answer either letters or emails containing those questions. Indeed, when the news first came out about the cutbacks, following a meeting of the Scottish Executive Committee, Scottish Convener Dennis Canavan put together a well thought out paper with some suggested alternative strategies. It was sent to Franklin and the Chairman of the Board Rodney Whittaker. Dennis, to this day, has not had a response.
Dick Balharry, President of Ramblers Scotland, wrote a series of emails to Franklin. None were answered.
These guys are not just members of the Ramblers, they are democratically elected officials, and yet they were treated as though they did not exist. And you wonder why I’m pointing the finger at Franklin and Whittaker and asking for explanations!
After considerable pressure both gentlemen came north for a meeting in Milnathort but it was clear at that meaning that neither had any inclination that Scotland was a separate nation, with its own laws, its own government, and its own traditions. Indeed, the Scottish office was described as a “regional office.”
Finally, check through the other threads on this website and you’ll see that it’s open for anyone to comment on anything I’ve written, whether in agreement with me or not. I believe in democracy - I’m not so sure about the Ramblers current crop of Trustees and its CEO.

As to the decisions of the management, we have already put it to the Scottish Executive Committee who have agreed to go forward to the Ramblers General Council with a motion seeking independence. I think that’s a big thumbs down to the current Board of Trustees.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the decision to cut the staffing level in Scotland and Wales there is no requirement to jump to one persons demands for what does or doesn’t get included in a magazine - no matter how well known the person’s name, and as a magazine Editor yourself I’m sure you know this! In fact the decisions, and reasons behind them are already displayed on the Ramblers website, so there is no immediate necessity to duplicate the information in a knee jerk reaction to accusatory individuals at the expense of other, unpublished, content.

A full explanation of the finacial situation, and how the decisions were taken is available at http://www.ramblers.org.uk/Volunteer/Financial+situation.htm - where it also clearly states that YES THE CEO HAS TAKEN A VOLUNTARY REUCTION IN PAY. Perhaps as a journalist you should have done this research before casting accusations and insinuations!

The answer is quite simple, if you don’t like the decisions of management then raise it at the General Council and see if you have the support of the membership.

I doubt whether you’ll allow this to remain on your site, being comment that doesn’t coincide with your own, but believe it or not there are other opinions than “The great Cameron McNeish”