I have no idea how many times the RSGB AGM
has been held in Scotland in my lifetime, but I remember one in Dunoon sometime
last century. I figured that I should pop over to the Athens of the North and
attend the 2007 meeting before I forget what amateur radio is, or even who I
am.
The meeting was held in the shiny new
Hawthornden Lecture Theatre in the Weston Building of the National Galleries of
Scotland. The top brass of the RSGB (well, the General Manager, Peter Kirby
G0TWW; the President, Angus Annan MM1CCR and a sizeable number of admin staff,
Board members and Regional Managers) descended on our Nation's capital wearing
their big red badges. They brought with them the RadCom editor, Giles Read
G1MFG; the new RadCom News and Features Editor, Tracy Treanor (who brought her
camera with her); an RSGB bookstall, and the sun, as you may be able to see
from the above photo. After standing in a queue to register and get my voting
card (and a handshake from the President), it was time for me to make another couple
of additions (that I'll probably never read) to my amateur radio library then
take my (rather comfortable) seat.
The first part of the day consisted of the
business side of the meeting for voting on things like retaining the auditors
for another year and adopting the minutes of last year's AGM. Believe me, it's
a more enjoyable experience than I'm portraying it! This was followed by the
presentation of awards, and I couldn't help thinking about Monty Python:
"David Attenborough can't be here tonight, but he sent his fridge",
or something like that. It seemed to me that hardly anyone turned up to receive
a trophy. OK, one recipient was recovering from an operation and another, in
his 90s, was participating in a shooting contest! Anyway, I'm half expecting
next month's RadCom report on the meeting to be full of photos of the President
posing with a succession of different trophies. Once the formalities had been
dispensed with, it was time for lunch. Unlike some, I decided to avoid the £7
buffet lunch and take a walk outside to eat the sandwiches I brought with me
from home. Anyway, I bet they weren't selling 99s in the National Galleries'
restaurant.
After lunch, it was time for presentations
by some members of the Board. This part of the proceedings was meant to last
just over an hour, but went on for almost two. That's not to say that the time
dragged on. It certainly didn't. There is always a feeling that Radio Amateurs
aren't always the best communicators in the world, and one or two presentations
didn't help de-bunk that theory. However, when Brian Reay G8OSN took to the
podium, it was obvious that something had changed since I last attended an
event like this. Mr. Reay mentioned that he was a teacher, so his lecture on
Amateur Radio education was presented with passion, and by a man who was
articulate, knowledgeable and more than qualified than most to talk on such a
subject. Contrast this with the quiet-spoken Colin Thomas G3PSM. I still can't
remember what he spoke about! This was followed by another excellent
presentation from John Pink G8MM whose portfolio includes events such as the HF
Convention.
One Scottish-based amateur, a YL, brought
up the subject of there being nothing (apparently) for YLs to do at such
rallies. I am not sure if the General Manager was aware that she was licensed,
and wasn't after a programme of alternative events away from the Convention
site, but he kept talking about women becoming bored by visiting the same
places every year, and so pointed out that the 2007 convention will be held in
a different part of the country (St. Neots, which I always thought was in
Cambridgeshire, but appears to be in Bedfordshire), not just at a new venue.
His confusion was not helped, in my opinion, by the fact that this issue was
raised at all. If a woman with an amateur radio licence has no interest in the
engineering or technical aspect of the hobby, or in operating a station, why on
earth did she bother to become licensed in the first place? I'd not avoid
attending such an event because there was "nothing for YLs". I'd not
be there, most likely, because I'd feel like a bit of a fraud at the moment, as
I've not been taking an active part in the hobby for a long time. I also find
that a lot of these events are so far away from Glasgow that the expense
involved, and the amount of extra leave needed to travel from here, is
something I can only justify every 5, 10 or 20 years, or so. I didn't become a
Radio Amateur to speak to other women. I could do that at a knitting circle or
at the bingo, or whatever. OK, that's MY rant over. What about the other
restless natives?
The day concluded with the Open Forum
which, in the past, has been the scene of some unpleasantness, as the usual
self-obsessed, egomaniacal suspects attempt to score points over the Society.
Thankfully, this was a far more civilised affair, even if one elderly GM-based
amateur insisted on shouting at the chair about slow morse transmissions. I
can't agree or disagree with his point, or the Society's reply, as I don't know
the background, but it was an example of lively debate initiated by someone who
cared about the issue raised. Here's a different slant on the open forum:
The voting card shown earlier had space on
the rear for questions from members who didn't want to speak. I'm not sure that
the idea behind this was for people to stir things up after they had, in fact,
left the hall. However, this is what happened. I shall not mention the
gentleman's callsign, as it would unfair to accuse him of being a shit-stirrer
when I can't recall if he actually WAS the person who wrote into RadCom with a
ridiculous point (especially when I can't even remember what he wrote!). He was
complaining about an amateur from the North/NorthEast of Scotland area that
wouldn't stand for election to the board but wanted, instead, to be co-opted,
in spite of the fact that he had no intention of attending any of the board
meetings. I often wonder why these people join such societies then, when they
don't get their own way, throw their toys out of the pram and go around
bad-mouthing the organisation to all and sundry. Of course, they take any
benefits going. I know it seems that all I'm doing is ranting about the meeting
when, in fact, I found it enjoyable and insightful. In fact, I was proud to be
there, and perhaps I should get up off my big, fat backside and attend one a
bit further afield. After all, most of the assembled throng on Saturday
appeared to be non-GM operators.
