WT: "The NT is by far Britain's biggest membership charitable organisation. And I'm guessing most of us want the same thing- the preservation of Britain's great historic buildings, "
No. The best way to have done that was NOT to have taxed the rich and the aristocracy into extinction in the first place. Taxation of the owners into poverty then nationalisation of their assets by a "charity" is not the best way to preserve Britians great historic buildings.
It was because of the first of these policies that we have already lost numerous great houses.
I just joined the NT, with their £15 25-and-unders scheme - excellent, commercial nous to get the wife and kids to go, not much money from us, but footfall, money through the tea rooms, and more income when I turn 26 next year.
But I certainly do not want them engaging in ghastly trendy Channel4-style eco-waffle.
Perhaps a petition with a threat to resign membership if they don't keep their nose out would be the way to go?
Please - some decorum! Terrorism is wearing thin. Yes Reading Borough Council can still use it to raise money through parking tickets (http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/2012/2012890/
wardens_on_night_patrol_to_stop_terror_attacks) but in general it's only useful for despots to drag us back to the middle ages with draconian laws etc. What about the 'middle management', tossers and **** stains who never quite made it big in parliament? How are they to assert any baseless 'authority'? For god's sake won't someone think about the c**ts!!!
APL - an interesting point.
State confiscation is clearly wrong, but I wonder if those guys would have been able to maintain their great mansions anyway.
Once the bird shit lost its commercial edge, the Gibbs family might have been in the... ahh... shit anyway.
The decline in agricultural incomes post 1870 was a disaster for the great landed families, and there was a finite supply of Dollar Princesses to make up the shortfall.
Interesting question.
mike- I've already sent in my protest.
I hope you and others have done the same.
Wat,
The term for what the NT is doing is called "Diworsification".
Oh dear, the consequences of the NT's action could be worse than simply wasting our money and generating unnecessary hot air.
Wat, you and I could soon be banned from going Heathrow, or even on the Picadilly line, because we are National Trust members.
I joined with the hope of perhaps strolling round a few houses and landscaped gardens, and if feeling particularly edgy, perhaps eat a cream tea or two, but it now appears that I may soon be proscribed as some kind of climate terrorist :-(
If only people would stick to their brief, this wouldn't have happened.
"If only people would stick to their brief, this wouldn't have happened."
They will. It's a commercial organisation and it won't be long before they start to see the membership leaving in droves. They would normally not see any effect until renewals fail to be renewed but they might possibly start to see 'resignations'.
Welcome to the real world NT.
For our part we (non-members) have stopped going to the local Wimpole Hall for lunch, second-hand books and home grown food because of the parking charges introduced a few months ago.
We could avoid the parking charges if we joined the NT but are we going to do that now?
No way! Joining the NT in the present climate and with it's present environmental approach could be a short route to detention without trial!
Commenting by HaloScan
