Covid-19

As you already know, because of the Covid-19 crisis, all Gay Outdoor Club activities have been suspended until the end of April. I now have to tell you that with no end to the crisis in sight, the board has decided to suspend our activities until further notice. AOG 2020 has been cancelled, and Chris Loy is currently making arrangements for us to return to Stirling in 2022. We are very grateful to Chris and his team for their willingness to take this on for a second time.

I now want to reassure you all that we are determined that our members will be properly compensated for the period during which the club is unable to operate. As a result of the careful stewardship of successive treasurers, the club’s finances are strong. Accordingly, the board has agreed that all existing memberships and magazine subscriptions that are renewed from 13th April 2020 to 12th April 2021 inclusive will be charged at 50 percent of the normal rate. A further adjustment may be made if the club is unable to operate for more than six months.

This means that renewal of standard online membership will temporarily cost £8.50 and renewal of membership with magazine will temporarily cost £18.50. The reduction in the cost of renewing membership with magazine reflects the fact that we are currently unable to issue magazines as our printer is closed, however we will resume sending them out as soon as possible when our printer re-opens.

May I also assure you that the board is not sitting on its hands waiting for the crisis to be over. During this period of inactivity, we will be implementing a number of changes to the layout of the website in order to make it more readable, and to make it easier for group coordinators and others to post events and reports. We will also be introducing an improved booking system, which will provide far better information to event organisers. In addition, we will be holding discussions with group coordinators, looking at how we might increase the range of activities that we are able to offer to our members.

My overall message is clear and positive. The club is in a strong position, so please stick with us! As soon as this crisis is over, we will be back up and running, and better than ever!

Best wishes,

Peter Blackburn, Chairman

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