Very wise words, Fred.
As far as Whitlingham is concerned hopefully my last words will be these! First of all, over the years, it has become increasingly thought that BA policy has been set and driven by Officers rather than by Authority members, this has lead to resentment & a loss of trust. Does that apply to Whitlingham, probably not but it might. If the Trust wanted to go one way & the BA another over the issue of agenda, personal or otherwise, then I do believe that the Authority members should, even just as a matter of common courtesy, have been kept informed of developments, that is presuming that they weren't. I have asked the question, I remain curious as to the the detail. However I am reliably informed that Authority Members were not generally aware of what was going on regarding the management agreement. I do question that. My view is that the Authority should set policy, the duty of the Officers is then to the members and thus to stakeholders. It does concern me that the Whitlingham Trust and the Authority have not been able to move forward together, for whatever reason. Granted that the final decision is that of the Trust but nevertheless I do question what finally triggered the parting of their ways. Mountain out of a molehill, maybe but I still have my concerns and suspicions.