TOPIC:

I'm concerned that John A is concerned about transparency. The Document downloads tab at the top of this page gives our members access to the minutes of every Board meeting since we bought The Bell. Unless Facebook has some better record (CCTV footage perhaps? Secret voice recordings?) I think it's unlikely that it has more information than this forum on the management of the Cooperative. What it may have, I suppose, is criticism of the management, but since I can get my regular fix of that without straying too far from this site I don't normally go hunting it on Facebook. Still, I like to think I'm open to new experiences and I have actually got a Facebook account somewhere. I'll dust it off and go for a little paddle in the sewers of social media. If I find anything new and interesting I'll report back.

I think John's absolutely right that most of this discussion should actually have been in the members' area of the forum, but if we move it there now we'll only feed the appetites of the transparency conspiracy theorists. For better or worse, let's slug it out in public!

Having spent a happy evening re-reading all the board meeting minutes for the past year or so I have to say you are quite right John, there is loads of transparency there, and no-one could fault the (high) standard of minute-reporting we are lucky to have available to us.

Having been used to such regular meticulous reporting I suppose I was rather taken aback to read about the seemingly fundamental issues reported by Patrick, who (along with others of course) has played a pivotal role in getting us where we are. Because my only sources of Bell management information are this forum and the published meeting minutes it struck me as odd that there didn't seem to have been much of a serious reply to the concerns he aired. However, I'm fairly happy to accept that there are certain management goings-on that shareholders don't necessarily need to know about, and maybe this is one of them.

One question - is there an update on the ETA for the half year treasurer's report, which was mentioned in the September meeting notes?

We obviously have wildly different ideas about the pursuit of happiness John, but if re-reading a year's worth of Board meeting minutes brings you joy then I'm glad! Many thanks for your kind comment about the standard of the minutes.
The problem with writing minutes, as I'm sure you know, is deciding what is important enough to be committed to the historical record and what is just the small change of daily life. The Board won't insult our members' intelligence by pretending that life at The Bell is an endless round of smiley faces and group hugs. As in any family, on occasion voices are raised, doors are slammed and feelings are hurt. Part of the Board's job is to promote reconciliation and restore harmony, and so long as we are successful in doing so it doesn't seem appropriate to share the detail of each temporary upset with the wider world. I appreciate that postings like Patrick's are disturbing to those members who, like yourself, can't just drop in to see how things are going, but I challenge the perception that they are about fundamental issues.
I'm glad that you're now fairly happy about things, but I'd very much prefer that you were entirely happy. Would it help if I gave you a call to discuss your residual concerns? (I ought to initiate the call so that I can be sure I'm speaking to the real John Anderson!). If so, let me know a good date and time for you, either here or by emailing me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
As regards the half-year treasurer's report, I'll get an update from her at this-evening's Board meeting and let you know.
(Update after the Board meeting). Sue has drafted the report and circulated it for Board approval. If we get our fingers out you could see it before Christmas. If not, then by the end of the year.

If we are going to have minor differences of opinion in public, why don't we go back to the old days of The Bell and make it an entertaining and lucrative spectacle at the same time? Would the place be able to stretch to three guineas prize money?

(And by the way - we're still waiting the return of those sticks and bottles from last time. You can't trust anyone these days).

Obviously as a non Member I cannot access minutes - although JR's suggestion of webcam and video/audio records sounds like a really good way to go! (Would also take pressure off him as Secretary) - and cannot therefore see how e.g. the (alleged) threatening behaviour by a Board member, the assessment of the evidence and the necessary procedures following on were recorded.

These are crucial issues, IMHO.

These are all very good points, but the most crucial issue is how you feel so confident about commenting on alleged events which were supposed to have taken place at Board meetings, not written down in the minutes for all the Members to see. What are we to deduce from this? You could initiate a much more pressingly urgent conspiracy theory from everyone else if you carry on down this road, if you haven't already.

If you really do - as you say - care about The Bell, why do you not shift your impotent gripes over to the Member's section of this forum? Oh, I forgot - you are not a member, because you never bought into The Bell in the first place.