In regional news, we have three new connections in Ogof Agen Allwedd, a report on the iron mines of Anjou, an extension to Big Sink Cave in the Forest of Dean, a new dig in Yorkshire's Marble Steps Pot, student parties, an obituary for Tony Boycott, a tight find in the Peak District and a discovery in County Kerry with extensive formations.
langcliffe said:A "charity" is now more usually a convenient term of legal status which almost any "voluntary sector" group or organization can seek to acquire, if only to gain the uncertain benefits that such a status will confer on the organization and / or its Members. Such a status is often attained at the expense of the long-term erosion of the original principles of the organization and also does not automatically confer the application of common-sense in the use or disbursement of its funds or assets. Such organizations can become corrupted by government, over-politicised and over-professionalised, with the consequent loss in independence of thought and action and a gross dilution in the effectiveness of the original declared purpose.
Indications of this deterioration can be evidenced, for example, by the abnormally high percentages of funds spent (wasted?) on self-administration; by the gradual adoption of salaried employees to carry out the routine tasks formerly undertaken free of charge by volunteers; by giving professionals control over more critical tasks formerly controlled by volunteers or by the acceptance of creeping commercialisation into many areas.
In our opinion, the national-level "representatives" of the British caving and speleological community have gradually fallen foul of some of the above elements and they are most certainly not alone in having done so, with many other more popular British Charities having done so long ago and usually in a more grand style of deterioration.
langcliffe said:In our opinion, the national-level "representatives" of the British caving and speleological community have gradually fallen foul of some of the above elements and they are most certainly not alone in having done so, with many other more popular British Charities having done so long ago and usually in a more grand style of deterioration.
damian said:langcliffe said:In our opinion, the national-level "representatives" of the British caving and speleological community have gradually fallen foul of some of the above elements and they are most certainly not alone in having done so, with many other more popular British Charities having done so long ago and usually in a more grand style of deterioration.
While it is the case that BCA have a few part-time paid roles and spend a small amount on "self administration", I do not recognise much of what is being supposedly lumped on us in the above. It is worth adding that BCA is not a charity.
langcliffe said:. A "charity" is now more usually a convenient term of legal status which almost any "voluntary sector" group or organization can seek to acquire, if only to gain the uncertain benefits that such a status will confer on the organization and / or its Members. Such a status is often attained at the expense of the long-term erosion of the original principles of the organization and also does not automatically confer the application of common-sense in the use or disbursement of its funds or assets. Such organizations can become corrupted by government, over-politicised and over-professionalised, with the consequent loss in independence of thought and action and a gross dilution in the effectiveness of the original declared purpose.
gus horsley said:I've figured it out! There's a place in Slovenia called "Devon".
The Society does not promote "recreational" caving activities as a sport within Devon
Links to other recommended Websites of Speleological and Karstological specialist organizations :
For those who are interested in browsing the World Wide Web for other specialist karst and cave websites, we can recommend the following :- .........................
< SNIP > ..................................
DIVE MEXICO :
A site operated by one of our more enterprising Hungarian Members in Mexico.
This site offers guided Cavern Diving and Cave Diving in the cenotes of the Yucutan Karst Peninsula.
http://www.divemexico.eu