Caravanner of the Year on BBC this April!

So, caravanning confirmed as a pastime for middle aged/elderly white couples. A missed opportunity. What about ethnic minorities, solo caravanners, LGBT caravanners (of which my husband and I are one), young family caravanners etc? If we are serious about extending the CC membership we need to move into the 21st Century.

Even the most cursory look arround a caravan site, would show that most caravaners are White and middle aged, I think that you missed out middle class btw.  And these are exactly categories I fit into.  

If I didn't fit that profile and identified with another group, far from feel excluded, I would feel I had dodged a bullet, because it is hard to believe that any group would be, portrayed in anything other than in cliched sterotypes.  

So, caravanning confirmed as a pastime for middle aged/elderly white couples. A missed opportunity. What about ethnic minorities, solo caravanners, LGBT caravanners (of which my husband and I are one), young family caravanners etc? If we are serious about
extending the CC membership we need to move into the 21st Century.

Did you enter?

So, caravanning confirmed as a pastime for middle aged/elderly white couples. A missed opportunity. What about ethnic minorities, solo caravanners, LGBT caravanners (of which my husband and I are one), young family caravanners etc? If we are serious about
extending the CC membership we need to move into the 21st Century.

LGBT?

OK, I've just found out.

We are surely all people and have no need to identify ourselves by race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other grouping.

Indeed we are all people but the point I was making is that the CC club should appeal to ALL people and not just the stereotype shown in COTY. 

Plenty of people have commented that the Club is ignoring this thread, despite nearly 100 pages of almost universal agreement that serious harm has been done to the Club by running the Caravanner of the Year Competition on BBC TV.  There have been lots of calls for both Chairman and CEO to resign; a pretty big fuss is being made and, surprise surprise, the Club doesn’t seem to be listening.  The Caravan Club is supposed to be owned and operated for the benefit of its members so why aren’t the Club’s hierarchy listening?

Club Together is clearly regarded by Club Management as a safe place to allow Members to let off steam but nothing of any other significance.  No one outside the Club reads it (nowhere has the national media taken any interest in this Members’ Revolution) so it can be simply ignored.  All the Club Management have done this time, and all they have ever done in the past, is release an anodyne statement which gives no indication at all that they will listen or learn, let alone change anything unless it suits them.   Their statement saying “we think it was OK” amounts to rejection and denial.  There is no evidence at all that the Club’s management hierarchy have any intention at all of listening to the Members on this issue.

The Caravan Club might be a member-controlled club on paper but in practice, these days, it is controlled entirely by its establishment and the members simply don’t have any real voice or clout at all.  Even if all those who have expressed strong views on this thread turned up at the next AGM to demand a vote of no confidence, it simply wouldn’t happen.  Members cannot propose a motion at the AGM unless the Club Council, part of the Club’s establishment, has approved the motion in advance.

To propose any motion to an AGM you need to get together quite a large number of other Members to support you before your motion can go forward at all.  And you aren’t allowed to use Club Together to exchange personal information, so you can’t use that to form up your rebel group.  There is no facility to gather any sort of revolutionary movement together.  Forcing the Club’s establishment to accept change against its wishes might not be impossible but it is a mammoth task and will requires some pretty clever and sustained political activity.  There might be other ways of forcing the Chairman or CEO out, such as open rebellion to get the attention of the press, but I wouldn’t count on it succeeding.

So let steam off on here if you wish, that seems to be allowed – unless of course it ever starts to look like you are achieving anything, in which case your postings might quietly disappear.  I wonder if this posting of mine will survive for long?

As it happens I doubt if much harm has been done by the Club’s participation in this TV programme, except perhaps temporarily to Chairman Grenville’s hitherto unshakeable self-confidence.  Long before Jeremy Clarkson had a go at ridiculing us, the general public had already learned to hate us for cluttering up the roads so why kid yourself that you could ever persuade them otherwise.  And do we really want to recruit more people to our hobby in this over-crowded Country?  Let them think we’re all eccentric fools, I don’t mind at all.

Write your comments here...  Use a Facebook closed group. We would then control what happened and what was said. However, in reality, even if possible, it is not feasible nor practical to get rid of "the establishment" en mass. There would be a great vacuum (of a physical presence rather than the apparent mental vacuum) which would require filling. And let's face it, we need the club to continue to function. I would like to think that those responsible for this fiasco have learnt a serious lesson.....possibly at our expense, but will be thinking long and hard before they consider such actions in future. Furthermore, they may take time to read these posts (??) in which case they may form a better understanding of how most of us feel.

I live in hope!!

Write your comments here...I think you are kidding yourself that Club Management will read this sort of thread for any purpose other than clipping the wings of those who, as they would regard it, "break the Guidelines", to mitigate its impact.  In my experience they use a wide interpretation of the written Guidelines whenever it suits them.

The idea of having a forum or facebook page which is outside the control of the Club's establlishment might be a useful thing but it would be bound to attract an awful lot of garbage postings and impose a big burden of moderation on someone - and realsitically who is going to volunteer to do all that work?

I'm not sure this thread, or this forum as a whole, shows any concerted or common feelings of discontent.  Is there even a commen perception of the sort of caravanning which should reflect what CC is about?

I enjoyed the second episode - mainly because the contestants all came across as decent and likeable people - and good luck to them if they have ways of enjoying their caravan or motorhome which aren't the same as mine.  Caravanning is about the freedom to enjoy your way of doing things isn't it?

Chairman Granville's controlling personality didn't come across quite so much this second time but he's still not coming across as my cup of tea as a companion caravanner.  Too much of a politician on a mission. 

Moderator edit: Personal insults removed from this post.

Well I reserved judgement until I had watched both programs and my conclusion is, please dont make any more and if I were someone who was intrested in buying a caravan and joining our great passtime, this would have put me off for life. As for our chairman all I can say that is he blind, to try and go down a slope and up a slope on uneven ground in movement is beyond belief. I do hope the club wont be paying for his repairs, but well done the producers for showing how not to do it  

I have sadly read every post MM and no, I do not recollect an 'insulting' post by you, ..... well not as insulting as some

Must be a lot of 'yellow' cards being handed out

Must be

  I think you need an apology MM unless the CC can give you a proper explanation .

i can not belive what i was watching if that is the best i would love to see the worst.!!!

I think the idea of a Caravanner of the Year is a good idea if executed correctly. Not to include  games, dining, fairy lights racing up inclines etc but, to include hitching up, loading, correct weight distribution, towing , reversing ( with or without
a motor mover ) erection of awnings, correct positioning on pitches, levelling etc. I also think Motorhomes should have a separate section with Camper Vans. Caravans of a similar type to compete against each other. This would give two separated sections .
So a Motorhomer of the Year also.

 

But wouldn't that be incredibly boring and of no interest to anyone but a caravan fanatic (or nerd if I'm being honest)? Rather like obscure caravan programmes on obscure TV channels

As a slightly non-involved observer, no.

Firstly reversing a caravan is an essential technique and to see it practiced well is quite entertaining.  5 minutes spent on a caravan site watching people do it well can be quite pleasureable compared to ten minutes on the beeb watching a parody of it.

How to prepare, what to prepare for, how to get the balance right, safety checks, where to go, the sheer variety of places to stop at, the amazing variety of caravans and motorhomes, ...

all of that would have been fscinating to me when I was first starting out with two young children and a tent.

Perhaps a glimpse of the social life, the satisfaction of getting their safely, being away from it all, exploring places, cooking with limited facilities...

There is a huge, huge wealth of subject matter that if addressed properly some would find fascinating, certainly would challenge the sterotype of the caravanner and possibly would earn a lot of good will.

Instead we saw a carry-on parody that only confirmed stereotypes.

Just my tuppence, 

Just finished watching the second episode. Not impressed. Hopefully there will not be a third !

Did I spy our hitherto illustrious Chairman riding in the back of a motorhome on the public highway not secured by a seatbelt? They were very careful with camera angles, but I think this one slipped through the net.

I am in agreement with some other comments. We try to keep to 'A' roads as much as possible and avoid narrow lanes. We do this out of consideration for other road users and our safety. Not allowing the use of A roads may prevent others passing and
certainly leads to slower travel resulting in frustrated drivers behind.

Are we doing something wrong?  We never make lists or plan a detailed route. 

Write your comments here...We have a list for hitching up and checking the security of the caravan locker doors etc. We are fairly new to the caravan world and l feel that we need to do this. Maybe when we are as experianced as you we can do away with the
checklist.

 ....mission. 

Moderator edit: Personal insults removed from this post.

 

I guess that gives me a clue. 

 

Plenty of people have commented that the Club is ignoring this thread, despite nearly 100 pages of almost universal agreement that serious harm has been done to the Club by running the Caravanner of the Year Competition on BBC TV.  There have been lots of
calls for both Chairman and CEO to resign; a pretty big fuss is being made and, surprise surprise, the Club doesn’t seem to be listening.  The Caravan Club is supposed to be owned and operated for the benefit of its members so why aren’t the Club’s hierarchy
listening?

Club Together is clearly regarded by Club Management as a safe place to allow Members to let off steam but nothing of any other significance.  No one outside the Club reads it (nowhere has the national media taken any interest in this Members’ Revolution)
so it can be simply ignored.  All the Club Management have done this time, and all they have ever done in the past, is release an anodyne statement which gives no indication at all that they will listen or learn, let alone change anything unless it suits them. 
 Their statement saying “we think it was OK” amounts to rejection and denial.  There is no evidence at all that the Club’s management hierarchy have any intention at all of listening to the Members on this issue.

The Caravan Club might be a member-controlled club on paper but in practice, these days, it is controlled entirely by its establishment and the members simply don’t have any real voice or clout at all.  Even if all those who have expressed strong views on
this thread turned up at the next AGM to demand a vote of no confidence, it simply wouldn’t happen.  Members cannot propose a motion at the AGM unless the Club Council, part of the Club’s establishment, has approved the motion in advance.

To propose any motion to an AGM you need to get together quite a large number of other Members to support you before your motion can go forward at all.  And you aren’t allowed to use Club Together to exchange personal information, so you can’t use that to
form up your rebel group.  There is no facility to gather any sort of revolutionary movement together.  Forcing the Club’s establishment to accept change against its wishes might not be impossible but it is a mammoth task and will requires some pretty clever
and sustained political activity.  There might be other ways of forcing the Chairman or CEO out, such as open rebellion to get the attention of the press, but I wouldn’t count on it succeeding.

So let steam off on here if you wish, that seems to be allowed – unless of course it ever starts to look like you are achieving anything, in which case your postings might quietly disappear.  I wonder if this posting of mine will survive for long?

As it happens I doubt if much harm has been done by the Club’s participation in this TV programme, except perhaps temporarily to Chairman Grenville’s hitherto unshakeable self-confidence.  Long before Jeremy Clarkson had a go at ridiculing us, the general
public had already learned to hate us for cluttering up the roads so why kid yourself that you could ever persuade them otherwise.  And do we really want to recruit more people to our hobby in this over-crowded Country?  Let them think we’re all eccentric
fools, I don’t mind at all.

Write your comments here...  Use a Facebook closed group. We would then control what happened and what was said. However, in reality, even if possible, it is not feasible nor practical to get rid of "the establishment" en mass. There would be a great vacuum
(of a physical presence rather than the apparent mental vacuum) which would require filling. And let's face it, we need the club to continue to function. I would like to think that those responsible for this fiasco have learnt a serious lesson.....possibly
at our expense, but will be thinking long and hard before they consider such actions in future. Furthermore, they may take time to read these posts (??) in which case they may form a better understanding of how most of us feel.

I live in hope!!

Write your comments here...I think you are kidding yourself that Club Management will read this sort of thread for any purpose other than clipping the wings of those who, as they would regard it, "break the Guidelines", to mitigate its impact.  In my experience
they use a wide interpretation of the written Guidelines whenever it suits them.

The idea of having a forum or facebook page which is outside the control of the Club's establlishment might be a useful thing but it would be bound to attract an awful lot of garbage postings and impose a big burden of moderation on someone - and realsitically
who is going to volunteer to do all that work?

I'm not sure this thread, or this forum as a whole, shows any concerted or common feelings of discontent.  Is there even a commen perception of the sort of caravanning which should reflect what CC is about?

I enjoyed the second episode - mainly because the contestants all came across as decent and likeable people - and good luck to them if they have ways of enjoying their caravan or motorhome which aren't the same as mine.  Caravanning is about the freedom
to enjoy your way of doing things isn't it?

Chairman Granville's controlling personality didn't come across quite so much this second time but he's still not coming across as my cup of tea as a companion caravanner.  Too much of a politician on a mission. 

Moderator edit: Personal insults removed from this post.

 

Write your comments here...

I gave up contributing to this forum some time ago and my first post coming back again got 14 likes.

My second post, quoted above, was moderated by removing the final sentence, which I intended to amuse, that's all.  It had no significance for the idea I was trying to get across.  However commenting on a moderating decision is not allowed, so I won't.

I won't be contributing to this forum again for a very long time, for the same reason I left last time, which you can read about here if you wish:

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/community/discussions/the-social-room/general-chat/Farewell-to-CT/rt/914046/