Frequently Asked Questions
Club meetsTuesday pub meets
Membership
Fees and finances
Committee
Constitution
Photos
Links on the website
My role in the club
Club meets
Q. Is it possible for me to get a particular walk or hut added to the Meets List?
A. Yes. We are keen to let the members come up with options that they
want. Just let any committee member know and we'll try and fit it into
the Meets List.
Q. How are the club meets decided upon?
A. The Meets List is very much a communal endeavour - there will be a
few trip organisation meetings throughout the year which all Club
members can attend. In between those, contact the Meets Co-Ordinator,
who will take requests into account. Trip organisers tend to book the
accommodation – in the case of huts and bunkhouses, these are usually
run past the rest of the committee before being confirmed.
Q. How is it decided where we will go for club meets?
A. Throughout the year we will try to cover most mountain areas of the
UK, one or two trips abroad, and also include coastal or moorland areas
(e.g. Cornwall, Dartmoor) which although not mountains per se, offer a good choice of walking and climbing activities.
Q. Why are most of the meets over a weekend and not just single day walks?
A. Because we’re a long way from any mountains! This gives members the
chance to make the most of the area we’re going to, although it’s up to
you when you arrive on and leave from trip weekends. There will also be
single day walks added to the Meets List and advertised in the monthly
email newsletter.
Q. What advantages are there to weekend 'meets'?
A. How often have you woken up in the morning and can't be bothered
driving the 3 or 4 hours to the start of the walk? By staying over you
can drive up the night before, chill out and get an early start to the
day. Also how many times have you sat in the pub after coming off the
hill and said to yourself, "I can't be bothered driving home now. I
wish I could sit here all night". Yup, we've all been there!! This way
you can relax, down a few beers and have a good social night out.
Q. How can I ensure I get my name down for one of the meets?
A. Contact the trip organiser (listed on the Meets List) to put your
name down. In most cases this won't be a problem, especially on summer
camping trips. For some trips (e.g. bunkhouses and other accommodation where the Club usually has to pay up in full to reserve places), your place is
only confirmed when you pay the specified deposit. If a trip is full,
it is sometimes possible to camp close by but this should be checked
beforehand so as not to break the hut owners’ rules.
Q. What is the difference between a Club Hut and a bunkhouse?
A. Club Huts are owned or leased by other clubs whereas bunkhouses tend to be privately owned and often attached to pubs/hotels.
Q. How do I pay for a meet that I attend?
A. Obviously doing a day walk costs nothing but if you are on a weekend trip we would ask you to pay a deposit when you sign up (if the Club is required to pay for the accommodation in advance - the individual trip description will make it clear if a deposit is required and how much that is), and the
balance at the very latest when you're on the trip. Please be
pro-active in paying as we're all there to enjoy ourselves... even the
committee!
Q. Who do I pay the money to?
A. In normal circumstances, the trip organiser will sort out the money. Alternatively, you can pay the Treasurer.
Q. What kind of behaviour is expected of the members on club 'meets'?
A. Our main aim is for members to have a laugh and enjoy themselves.
That being said it is important that we behave sensibly in any
accommodation we book. It is more important in a Club Hut as any
misbehaviour or damage caused will reflect on our club's reputation.
In addition, we expect members to take sensible safety precautions in the hills; see the Tips and Info page for a few more helpful details.
Q. Who cleans up after us?
A. It is expected of any members staying in a hut, where possible, to
help in the cleaning and tidying up to return it to the condition we
got it in. This will further enhance our reputation for the future with
the owners.
Tuesday pub meets
Q. Why a Tuesday for the pub meets?
A. Ummm… tradition? It seems to be a good night to get most people
along, doesn’t clash with climbing plans on Mondays/Wednesdays, and
avoids weekends where we’d rather be out in the hills. The odd Friday
night out might be organised to allow people to get together with no
worries about work in the morning!!
Q. What goes on at the pub meets?
A. This gives the chance for members to ask questions, sign up for
upcoming trips, make suggestions for walks etc. There is always a
relaxed atmosphere, especially after the consumption of a few drinks!
Q. I find it hard to get to the Tuesday night meets. How else can I sign up for trips?
A. Trips are advertised on the Club website, and in the monthly
newsletter which is sent out by email. You can email the trip organiser
direct (links provided in the newsletter).
Membership
Q. How do I become a member of the club?
A. Contact the Club Secretary, or just turn up on a Tuesday evening and
introduce yourself! We recommend you come on a weekend trip before
paying for full membership, just to check that NMC is for you.
Q. Have you ever had to refuse someone membership to the club?
A. No. We don’t vote members in; anyone over 18 is eligible to join.
Q. Do you offer family membership?
A. No. Newbury Mountain Club does not allow children (under eighteen)
as members; that is as Individual Members or through family membership.
However, we do allow children of members to attend club trips or events
provided that they are supervised at all times.
On trips away from home involving an overnight stay (huts, bunkhouses,
cottages, hostels and camping), the accommodation must have suitable
sleeping accommodation for children and their families - suitable accommodation means sleeping arrangements that the parent(s) and the trip organiser are both happy with. This effectively rules out some huts and bunkhouses;
unfortunate, but it is in accordance with the BMC Child Protection
Policy.
Q. Why do I have to submit a membership form when joining?
A. This is so we have a note of your details and an emergency contact
in the unfortunate circumstance of it being needed. Also we can pass
the details onto the BMC to make your affiliated membership active.
Q. Why do I have to sign a liability clause in the membership form?
A. Although we are a recognised club, members should know they are
responsible for their own safety. Hillwalking/mountaineering is a
potentially dangerous sport. This liability clause has been included
under the advice of the BMC to ensure members are aware of their
responsibilities and there is no comeback whatsoever for the club.
Q. What if my circumstances change?
A. If you change home address, email, phone number, emergency contact
etc let the Secretary know as soon as possible so we can
keep your details up to date.
Fees and finances
Q. How is the membership fee set?
A. This can be determined by a few things. The amount of our club
affiliation to the BMC and by rising costs of booking club huts etc. We
have managed in the last couple of years to keep this at a constant £20
per member. Subscriptions vary depending on the time of year and your
circumstances:
- New Members joining before 31 July: full annual subscription
- New Members joining after 31 July: a percentage of the annual subscription
- Renewal of Membership at any time during the year: full annual subscription
Q. I had to back out of a trip – why can’t I have my deposit back?
A.
In the majority of cases where we book accommodation, we have to pay for the whole hut or bunkhouse regardless of whether or not we fill it. In the case of some campsites at busy times of the year, we also have to pay up front for a certain number of places. We have to try our best to ensure that the meets
don't run at a loss - for this reason, if a member doesn’t turn up to a
meet when they said they would, and it’s not possible to find somebody
else to take their place, depending on the circumstances we may look to recoup at least part of the
money from them. For more information on deposits and refunds, see Rule 3: Money in the NMC rules document (available from the About Us page).
Q. Is the club a profit making concern?
A. We are run as a non-profit making club. Any extras are kept for the
overall benefit of members – for example, last year we offered a
discount in membership fees for members who rejoined the Club in
January.
Q. How come the club has a few hundred pounds excess sitting in the accounts?
A. To hire huts/bunkhouses etc it is nearly always necessary to pay either a deposit or the full cost of the accommodation in advance. This ensures that there is enough of a float in the account to
cover this. There are also small extra costs to be paid i.e. postage,
webspace, domain name etc.
Q. Who is responsible for signing any cheques in the club’s name?
A. The Treasurer, Webmaster and Secretary are authorised signatories for the club.
Any cheques signed in the club's name must be signed by at least two of
the committee.
Committee
Q. How is the committee voted on?
A. This is done at the AGM where everyone has a vote.
Q. What positions are on the committee?
A. There are 3 official posts (President, Secretary, Treasurer), 1 other specific role (Webmaster) and up to 8 ordinary members.
Q. Who are they and what are their roles?
A. The President is currently Daniel Unwin. He is in the great position
of not having any defined role but is a general overseer and runs the
committee meetings.
Catherine
Conway is the Secretary. She deals with correspondence to/from the BMC,
keeps the club’s papers in order and is the first point of contact for
new members.
Richard Spraggett uses his accountancy skills to run the accounts for
the club. He will liaise mostly with the Secretary & Webmaster to
make sure deposits and bills are paid and accounted for.
Sarah Davies and Andy Miles are the joint Webmasters. As well as
running the website, they maintain the club email account, from which
newsletters and other pieces of info are sent out to club members.
The other committee members are Craig Cook, Marion Foster, Jilly
Homersham, Simon Kirby and Claire White. Their role is to express an
opinion at committee meetings and do all the other bits and pieces of
work required to run the club.
Constitution
Q. How is the constitution decided upon?
A. The constitution has evolved over the years. We believe it best
encapsulates what the club stands for and is set out for the benefit of
members.
Q. Can changes be made to the constitution?
A. Changes can be made by contacting the committee who will review the
request. Any agreed changes will normally come into effect at the AGM.
Photos
Q. How can I submit a photo to the website?
A. Just send it to the Webmasters.
Q. What size should the photos be?
A. To save time and work we ask that you use some photo editing
software like Paint Shop Pro and resize the images to below 500kb.
Q. Why do I need to resize them?
A. Digital photos can be anything up to 5mb in size depending on the
camera. If the pictures were put on the website at this size, it would
grind to a halt when someone visits the Journal or Photo Gallery pages.
By resizing the pictures yourself, it saves Sarah and Andy time by not
having to do it. 500kb is a good size that still keeps the quality when
you click on it to view a larger version.
Q. What photos will be put on the web?
A. We restrict this to organised club trips/socials. As with everything
it takes time and effort to do the website and is done in our own time.
Q. Will all my photos be put on the web?
A. Probably but no guarantees. We may just pick a few of the best ones to keep the page interesting for others.
Links on the website
Q. Where do the links come from?
A. They are just a choice from some of the links that we know of.
Q. Can I recommend a link for the website?
A. Yes. All that we ask is that it's relevant to hillwalking/mountaineering.
Q. Have the club ever been paid for a link to be added?
A. No. We are occasionally asked to add links to the website by
companies but this is only done on merit if it's deemed to be of worth
to members.
My role in the club
Q. What is my role in being a member of the Club?
A. As with life, you only get out what you put in. Newbury Mountain
Club is your club, so the more input you add, the more yourself and
others will benefit from being a member. We, as a committee, actively
seek your involvement if for no other reason than it makes our lives
easier!