YHAgroup.org.uk

Sadly, Kemsing youth hostel is closing soon. the good news is that COPSE have booked the whole hostel for the last night, Saturday 30th September, that it will be open and are arranging a funeral and some fun to ensure that this majestic lady of the North Downs is laid to rest in style and to celebrate the good times that she has made possible. All are welcome to attend.

The wake will begin at 4:30 pm with a procession of the coffin through the streets of Kemsing to the youth hostel. Mourners should assemble beside St Edith’s Well, High Street, Kemsing - GR 550870 (see map below). No flowers please. There will be a short service in the youth hostel followed by obituaries, eating, drinking amd a packed agenda of merry making. Real ale will be on tap and the late night firework display will compliment the cremation.

Contact COPSE’s John Annett on 020 8688 5051 for bookings and further information.

YHA’s 2006 Strategy Document includes the decision that:

We will undertake a fundamental review of our governance structure, to make it fit for a major charity in the 21st century. The review will have the twin objectives of delivering an effective and efficient board structure and enabling the wider membership to engage more fully with YHA’s work

The first stage in this review is to determine “what needs fixing”, and for that they need the views of local group members (and other stakeholders). So please read through the consultation document (pdf file, 85KB) and then print out and fill in the questionnaire (pdf file, 49KB) before sending it to Matlock. It needs to arrive there by the end of October.

Of course, if you wish to comment or discuss it in the forum, that’s what this site is for! (Thanks to John Annett of COPSE for bringing these documents to my attention.)

The plight of rural youth hostels threatened with closure was highlighted in a report on the Radio 4 PM programme tonight. They reported from Wooler, where a local charity - the Glendale Gateway Trust has purchased the hostel with help from the Northern Rock Foundation. The hostel will be run under the YHA enterprise scheme. According to the programme, “four hostels have been bought by local groups, or in one case a council, with the aim of keeping them open and there are hopes of striking similar deals at a further seven sites”.

John Mann, head of the Parliamentary youth hostel group, voiced concerns that, while smaller hostels might be rescued in this way, larger ones such as Stainforth and Keld would still be lost from the network.

St Albans have done it. Stockport have done it. Even educated fleas have done it. Actually, I’m not sure about the last one, but the other two have both submitted “Guest Articles” to appear on this site. Has your group published anything that might interest the rest of us? It doesn’t have to be funny - any article connected with hostelling would be equally welcome. Just use the Contact page to get in touch. Of course, if you want to write something especially for this site, that would be welcome too…

Have you ever stepped off a Lakeland path in order to avoid a muddy patch? If so, you’re adding to the problem of footpath erosion that’s blighting footpaths all over the Lake District National Park.

But help is at hand! Over at Fix the Fells they’re collecting the millions of pounds required to repair and maintain the well used network of footpaths across the District. Go there now and make a donation!

Good news from our friends in the North about two hostels which appeared on the closure list in January. Continue reading…

At the last committee meeting it was suggested that the group should have a helpline to assist people, in particular new members, who wish to find out details of the group activities. After the usual interminable discussion, we agreed to give this a trial run and tonight we would like to give you all a free demonstration of this new service.

Continue reading…

It’s official, the new style YHA Group site is open for business. I hope you find it easy to use and to find what you want (unless you’re a spammer, in which case I hope you find it more difficult to bombard the forum with rubbish!). Do wander around and tell me what you think.

However, this site is missing one important component, Continue reading…

At the YHA Annual General Meeting held on Sunday 10th September 2006 Local Groups have survived. Last March a communication was sent to all groups indicating that fundamental changes were needed to be made, including removing ‘YHA’ or ‘Youth Hostelling’ from the group name. This was based on the recommendations of the Group Task Group. This requirement was not accepted by the General Meeting. There is an obligation by the Board of Trustees not to get rid of Local Groups contrary to any rumours presently circulating. The best news is that no action must be taken to change your group name should your organisation have ‘YHA’ or ‘Youth Hostelling’ in its title.

Continue reading…

This is an introductory guide to the art of Faffing, written with members of a Youth Hostel group in mind. In it, I tell you what faffing is, when and where to faff, and how to do it in such a way as to cause maximum aggravation and inconvenience to others. Continue reading…