In his article for H&E Naturist (May 2007), Mark Nisbet not only expressed his own aspirations for British naturism, but that of many naturists who would like to see a vibrant organisation in this country pushing for the wider acceptance of nude recreation. Yet he did not put those hopes onto the shoulders of British Naturism (BN), choosing Naturists UK instead. Has H&E Naturist’s former editor given up on BN?He would not be the first of course, the declining membership – no matter whose figures you believe – tells you that others are coming to the same conclusion and not renewing.
“We know from the 2004 survey that one of the reasons why members let their membership lapsed is BN’s inactivity as a campaigner,” said John Paine, the former Research and Liaison Officer.Change is inevitable; nothing stays the same forever and to give them their due, the EC is trying to carve a path for BN that sees it organizing events like the Alton Towers weekends and Nudefest 2007 with a nude visit to The Eden Project. The purpose of events such as these is to raise BN’s profile, but is it working?
On a recent visit to a naturist beach on the south coast, John Paine asked some naturists there if they had heard of BN and many of them said: “No”. Of those that had heard of British Naturism, most of them didn’t want anything to do with organised naturism. Obviously this survey was far from scientific but it is telling nevertheless.BNchange believes that if British Naturism is to survive long enough to celebrate its 50th birthday, let alone its Centenary, it needs a wind of change to blow through it, to make it relevant to as many naturists possible.“
Not surprisingly,” said Duncan Heenan. “Our most urgent task is to ensure the financial security of British Naturism. We know that BN ran up a deficit of over £82,000 in the last two published years, but members are kept in the dark over finances so we can only guess what the current position is. In the meantime, it has increased subscriptions for a couple under 65 from £30 in 2005 to the £38 it is now (prices from British Naturism [the magazine]), or nearly 27 per cent in just two years. ”
Is this the way to encourage people to renew their lapsed membership? We think not.We also think that the idea that BN can be some kind of super-club will lead British Naturism into a blind alley and despite what anyone else might say, BNchange is not against the clubs. “The harsh reality is,” said Duncan Heenan. “With land prices the way they are, owners cannot afford not to let the land go under utilised, but the reward to be gained from a few people parking their mobile homes with the odd summer barbeque thrown in is not profitable for them. And of course, buying land is just out of the question. I like sun clubs, but I don’t see them as the mainstream future of naturism, and certainly not as a route to the wider acceptance of naturism. It’s a pity, but one has to face reality. ”
BNchange believes that clubs do have a future, but they need to find a new purpose – gone are the days when a club can survive by providing a social service – and together, using the talents within the BNchange group, we will find it.Above all, however, it is the membership that should be dictating the direction that BN is going, not the whim of officers, who are elected to represent them after all. Elected by a minority of the membership that is.
Many more members don’t bother and it is hard to imagine that they don’t care how and on what their subscription money is spent. BNchange wants to change all that; to make British Naturism truly democratic and transparent; to make it accountable to the membership; to show you where and how your money is spent.If you haven’t already voted, vote for BNchange. That is Duncan Heenan, Treasurer; John Paine, President; Reg Barlow, Vice chairman, and; Stuart Troughton, International Officer.
