Q: BCA legal officer - Linda Wilson? Really?
A: No - she volunteered to be a Gatekeeper - not advisor or officer - and welcomed the suggestion of an advisory panel; Andy Eavis said he knew of three other legally qualified people willing to help. (Thanks to Nick Williams for giving a link to the otherwise not easy to find draft minutes - http://british-caving.org.uk/wiki3/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=about:documents:council_meetings:council_minutes_2017-10-07.pdf It would be a good idea if more people read them before continuing with this topic).
The idea of splitting up the Legal & Insurance role vacated by Bob Mehew's (unfortunate) resignation is still up for discussion, and, I suppose, ratification and/or election at the AGM. As 2xw suggested, the idea of any formal advice being sought from a professional unconnected with caving if thought necessary sounds good to me, but an informal panel of legally qualified caving insiders is also desirable to advise the BCA officials of what they need to consider...
[Incidental moan at out of date websites: the BCA website still lists Bob as responsible for:
1 To ensure that the best possible Insurance Policies are obtained, maintained and updated;
2 Keeping a watch on new/proposed legislation in the outdoor, recreational and access to countryside areas, and taking appropriate actions;
3 Keeping our equity, and other policies and guidance documents under constant review and recommending updating as appropriate
In practice, he didn't look after the insurance side, but he was also Child Protection Officer...and I think he should have been responsible for equality rather than equity...
], and the appearance of this topic should certainly warn BCA that Linda's personal views are not always uncontroversial - just as Graham's aren't - but that doesn't mean that everything they say is controversial (I, for one, miss many of Graham's informative, and often thoughtful, contributions to this forum, while not missing the repetitive, spiteful ones...)
A puzzler for Pitlamp:
Q: Have Linda, Graham (and 'Bottlebank') set up a new forum?
A: No - but they have set up a new soapbox website named something like Underground Blackness