British Naturism, Members’ Organisation

 

Ever since its inception in 1963, the sun club has been the cornerstone of British Naturism but with the introduction of individual membership, the number of BN members who also belong to a club has steadily declined. According to the 2004 survey only 43 in every 100 members belonged to a club, while 58 in every 100 members said they have never joined a club, 11 in every 100 said they hadn’t joined because they are not a club member.

“I think this is an important change,” said Reg Barlow, of the BNchange campaign group. “Especially when you think that many of the affiliated clubs no longer insist that members also join BN, so the decline is set to continue. The really worrying statistic from the survey was the 11 per cent who said they hadn’t joined because they weren’t members of a club. That tells me that a significant proportion of respondents think that BN is too club orientated.” While BNchange recognises the debt owed by British Naturism to the sun clubs, Reg thinks it’s time it ‘cut the apron strings’ and catered not only for the club member but for those who are not in a club for whatever reason and those who simply don’t want to be.

“I was reminded the other day,” said Reg. “That a naturist doesn’t need any special equipment just warm weather, a quiet spot and the willingness to take your clothes off, so why bother with a national organisation? I guess you could frame a similar question about people who prefer to drink cast-conditioned beer, or go bird watching for a hobby. Yet according to the web site the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), it has more than 85,000 members and the RSPB’s, admits to having over one million. At the time of the British Naturism/NOP survey (2000) I recall everyone banding about the figure of one million naturists in the UK and Mick Ayers claimed that more people were joining BN than ever. So where are they?” According to the figures available to BNchange, the membership reached its peak in 2001, when there was 18,631 and it has been on a decline ever since.

Even the engagement of Andrew Welch has failed to stem this decline. The first positive action the commercial manager has done to increase membership numbers was the Alton Towers event last year, and then it was restricted to British Naturism’s members. BNchange believes that this was a golden opportunity missed by BN, to introduce itself to a wider audience unaware of British Naturism’s existence. “I’ve learned from the minutes of the marketing sub-committee last September, that the event was picked up by the radio,” began Reg. “But Pat Thompson had to explain that it was for members’ only. Can you imagine a bigger turn off?” he continued. “British Naturism needs a more outward looking culture; it is still stuck in the 30s and 40s when people were much more reticent to tell their friends and family what they did at the weekend, they had a genuine fear of being ostracised, if not worse. Today, whenever its warm enough, people wear just about enough clothing to make them socially acceptable, and nudity is on display wherever you care to look. If someone has had their interest peaked and they don’t find an organisation that is welcoming; that wants to turn their curiosity about a lifestyle into participation then you’ve lost them forever and no amount of members’ benefits or events like Alton Towers will bring them back.”

We turned next to the magazine British Naturism. In the last issue (BN171), members were invited to think of a new title to prevent confusion between the magazine and the organisation, which trades under the same name. “This is a sensible move,” said Reg. “And one that is long overdue. For as long as I can remember though, some members have wanted it to go monthly and perhaps be available through the local newsagent. While I can see an argument for the first of those ideas (I vaguely remember Rex Watson had that dream too), I don’t see the latter ever happening simply because of where the magazine would end up; on the top shelf, jostling for space against the likes of Mayfair and Penthouse, with the pictures ogled over by adolescent boys.”

Reg agreed that the magazine now looks much better than it did before Andrew Welch put his undoubted communications skills to good use, but he believes it really amounts to “old wine in a new bottle” as the content hasn’t really changed from when he first joined. “It’s an expanded club magazine,” said Reg. “Still largely directed at club members, giving us the news the EC wants us to read. If you look at something like Nude and Natural, from The Naturist Society in America, it has a much wider coverage of news, views and opinion about naturism, as well as the usual travelogue articles for its readers to read. If I had a choice – and obviously I do – I’d prefer to read Nude and Natural, simply because it is more lively, more engaging, more forward looking than our own British Naturism.”

Reg says he has one or two ideas about what British Naturism should do with its magazine, but what he would really like to see is the members’ dictating a new look, “Lets start from a clean sheet,” he said. “And find out what the members actually want, not what the EC thinks they do.” He has similar thoughts about the web site, which he described as “awful” and “very uninformative”. “If that was your first encounter with British Naturism, would you want to join? And who came up with the colour scheme! I wonder how many members actually use it to get information about BN and its activities? Not hits, members. It needs re-working quickly.”

With Derek Brixey deciding not to stand for Vice-chairman again, members have a choice between Ron Twining and BNchange candidate, Reg Barlow. “I have never met Ron in person,” said Reg. “I know him only by reputation and understand that he is a real committee man, having served several times at his sun club, and at regional and national level within BN. I even understand that he served for a single term as a local councillor. So it looks as if Ron is the favourite to win this contest because I’m still a relative unknown.

“However, I don’t think people should be too quick to write me off. Derek Brixey wasn’t a well-known figure in BN circles before he was elected either, and when I asked friends and acquaintances about Ron’s achievements, it was hard for them to name any. So perhaps on that score, he and I are more equal than at first seemed. I’ve been told that, under Ron’s Chairmanship BN’s Southern Region appears to be moribund to many members and that he is too concerned with pointless committee meetings that add no value to naturism. If true, do we really need a vice-chairman like that?

“In my election address I described BN as a ‘house plant that’s pot bound’ and I hope you can see from what I said today, what I mean by it. BN needs some new ideas, a fresh outlook to give British Naturism new vigour. No single person can go on forever. Their creativity bankrupt, their ideas fail to generate the desired effect. If Mick Ayers engagement of Andrew Welch had the expressed aim to reverse the trend in a declining membership, then I think four years is enough time to say it hadn’t worked but the EC, now under the leadership of Richard Daniels, don’t appear to have a new plan.
“I may not have Ron’s experience in committee work, but I think I have demonstrated that I have thought about the problems that BN is encountering and that I have the creativity to tackle them. I know as a Human Resources professional that past performance is no guarantee of future performance and sitting on a committee is not the same as having a goal and achieving it. Maybe its time for the batten to be handed over to the next generation.”