Lynton and Barnstaple - Operations and Development

Well I can assure you that you may need to do more that than, ask yourself just how much progress has been made in the past ten years compared to the ten years before that? We are going backwards not forwards and as the Chairman himself said, you can ask him any question you like, but you may not get an answer you want.

Why is there so much secrecy about Blackmoor after all the membership of the Trust have a major share in that venture did you know that? and if that goes pear shaped we could not only lose the pub but we could lose the whole dam railway and I bet you didn't know that either.

Don't be surprised that give it a few months and they come asking for another loan to prop the pub up. If we don't, then bang goes the railway and everything with it. That is why some of us are more than just concerned about this mess.

We do this because we care about the railway it might not appear that we do, but we do. Can we save this mess from itself? I hope so I don't want to see 40+ years go down the pan thanks it means to much to me for that to happen.

 

Then for goodness sake get together with those who think like you, and come forward with something constructive that can actually build the railway, not chip away at those who've tried and failed. I'm well aware of the important work that you did with the Thorpe Park carriages, and you deserve full credit for that. But that was 20-odd years ago, and we are now in a different place, and with different challenges. I'm looking for meaningful plans that will take us forward, not chip away at what there is. No one - no one - has yet come up with serious constructive plans for how the railway can get past the opposition nearby. And, for clarity, I absolutely discount the sort of discussion I've seen on here about CP powers, all of which completely ignores the precedents from elsewhere that show just how difficult that is to obtain.

Ultimately, dreadful and sad though it would be, I could live with the thought that what there is now will be all that there is - and certainly prefer that prospect to the whole lot collapsing in a fury of recrimination.

 

Yes it does, as I would like to know just how much of the L&BR story they know already, simple ain't it really, of course there are some people who are not members and don't need to know anything or just don't want to know either, but I can't help them if they don't want to wake up and smell the coffee and see what is going on around here.

 

If I wasn't getting interrupted every five minutes, then I would have replied to you, but the short answer to your question is yes I have submitted an alternative plan to the trust to consider and it has been shared with those that think like me, it will be hard work to do but I think it is the best we can hope for, for now.

 

why do I need to do ‘better than that?

If when you visit Woody Bay you cannot see progress over the last ten years, you are being very short sighted.

You can ask anyone a question and you may not like the answer whoever you ask, and the details about Blackmoor will happen after the property completes.

As for a mess you haven’t explained yourself?

 

Who do you think owns all of this?

 

Owns what

 

I’m sure you are right and the broadcasting of meaningful alternatives would be welcome and more constructive than some of the “j’accuse” stuff on here.

 

The railway itself.

Can I take it that your membership is of the Trust? have you brought any shares in anything while you have been a member?

 

Where are you going with this? Get to the point please

 

Are you saying that you have been a member for ten years and you still don't know which bit of the railway group is responsible for what?

 

Weren't you the one who wanted to open 4 bars in the OSHI?

Then you nicely ask the person are they aware of fact X. Their length of membership and membership number are irrelevant - a new member could be a very well informed person.
No-one can can "wake up and smell the coffee" if you and 'meatman' talk in riddles and somehow expect people to interpret this and somehow make informed decisions for a trustee election.

 

Again, why is anyones share ownership any of your business? I'm sure @Red5 is well aware of the various L&B structures regardless of whether they have purchased shares in the various companies.

For goodness sake Colin, where did he/she say anything remotely like that?

 

Yes and Yes. Get to the point please

 

You're making the L&B sound more and more like one of those cults where however long you have been a member and however much money you have handed over, the final spiritual enlightenment remains just out of reach, attained solely by a handful of illuminati who speak only in riddles.

Tom

 

Right I am sure you all want to know more but I simply can't tell you right now sorry.

 

How would my membership number help you?

 

It is a difficult thing for board members to realise when they have taken an organisation as far as they can through capacity or capability. Very few people have the experience and humility.

It is also very difficult for conscientious board members to step aside when they are not sure that they will be replaced or will not be replaced by better people than themselves. This is hard enough in the business world, but it is much much harder in the voluntary sector.

Resolving the above for the L and B will take a great deal of diplomacy some time and probably some new faces from outside the organisation. Be careful about this transition. It would be easy to create an even worse situation.

 

There are certainly several cults commenting on here

 

This new member struggles with that - and firmly believes that any corporate structure that permits such a question is fundamentally flawed. He also recognises that, regardless of what he thinks "should" be true, dealing with that structure can never be more than an aspect of change.

I'm delighted to see that proposals have been tabled, and look forward to seeing them tabled, hopefully in the next few days and weeks. My fear - and I agree with @21B about the consequences of the cure being worse that the disease - is that there will be half cooked (note, I do not mean "baked") plans in play, and complicating what will also be politically charged choices of personnel. Regardless of your, my, or any one else's views here or elsewhere, the future of the L&B will stand or fall by it's people. Including those who many consider to have failed.