 |
Sundial |
|
|
Sundial |
|
|
a short seasonal welcome. Why do we come to Heritage? To leave the stresses of everyday life behind the front gate, to enjoy the sun, relax and be with friends The winter has now passed and with summer on the way, work has continued on the patio area and is near completion, with the baby pool ready to be installed. I hope you agree that this is a great asset to the club to be enjoyed by all. |
Put
your sun glasses on when entering the club house; spring has sprung with
our newly decorated hall, a thank you to young and old you gave up their
Easter break to do this. Please remember to keep it clean and tidy and
support the cleaning rota.
There is a full social and sports calendar ahead for all to enjoy, so come along, let your hair down and boogie. Spaces are still available for casual camping throughout the season, please contact Iris to find out when and book, using the new form. I hope the summer is long and hot and that everyone enjoys what Heritage has to offer. |
|
|
 |
|
|
Manana lifestyle on the Costa Blanca Lifelong members of Heritage, Stephen and Angela, finally 'up stumps' and move out to Spain. One of the obvious conditions for their new house - its got to be within easy range of a naturist beach or naturist facilities. Many of us now have apartments and houses in Spain - but being close a nudist beach is vital!! Having put our house in Bracknell on the market in early January, and sold it before the end of February, Angela & I took the plunge. Our furniture was already on its way into storage in Ondara, on the Costa Blanca, so it was all steam ahead for our new life in sunny Spain! We set off by car via Dover, across a tranquil Channel to Calais, then on to Barcelona with an overnight stop in Dijon and finally arrived at our destination, "Casa Natura", Jesus Probre, near the coastal town of Javea (Xabia), Costa Blanca, about halfway between Alicante and Valencia; this was to be our home for a few weeks. We were house sitting for our friends Rod & Pauline whilst they were down at Vera Playa - getting away for a short break before the start of their "Season". The weather was absolutely perfect, especially for that time of year. We were very fortunate that we had an Indian Summer in March. Then for Easter the weather turned absolutely horrendous - torrential rain and cold!!! During our time at Casa Natura we spent quite some time searching for where we would like to live, here in Costa Blanca. We wanted to make sure that we bought the right place for the right price in the right location, for us. One has to be realistic, especially when you are already of retirement age, when you take the plunge. Neither of us wanted to be too far north on the Costa Blanca area, much preferring to be around the fruit growing area that we know so- well. So out and about it was, for many trips, as far north as (Playa) Gandia. and as far south as Calpe & Altea. Detached villa with pools, in our price range, were well out in the country - no amenities! Only one of us was a driver, and we were not getting any younger! So the answer had to be in or close to a town - an apartment or town house? But town houses, with up to four floors, have too many stairs! We eventually got the "Right Property for us" through an estate agent in the town of Pego. It is a lovely three bedroom, two bathroom second-floor apartment in a block of six, on the outskirts of Pego town, at a price well within our budget, in fact £8,000 under market value - you have to negotiate! We eventually moved in just 10 weeks after our initial offer, which was just a month after the sale of our Bracknell property was completed! So although we had a fairly stressful and busy time, everything came right in the end! To say that we are content is an understatement - we are very happy here in Pego - in what is purported to be the healthiest area of Europe very little pollution, clean air, lovely warm summers and mild winters - fresh fruit, fish & vegetables, all locally produced - the garden of Costa Blanca! Oranges, Lemons, dates, figs and almonds abound, and we even have our own rice fields and our own fresh water supply from the mountains, drinkable straight from the tap. Our pensions go that much further with the low cost of living out here Water rates and Council Tax are less than half, food shopping is cheaper than in the UK, and eating out is very cheap, about £4 to £8 per person for a three course meal plus wine. We have a magnificent climate out here - currently (early December) - high 20s - low 30s 'C by day and mid teens 'C by night. We have the sea within 10 kms of the town, and, for naturist activities, apart from visiting our friends' villa in Javea, we have the naturist beach at Cumbre Del Sol on the outskirts of Javea - only half an hour by car from Pego. So, from what you have read, you will understand that our Manana Lifestyle here on the Costa Blanca could not be better!! Hasta luego nuestros arnigos - Best wishes to all at Heritage! Stephen and Angela
|
How
to Survive the winter!!! There is no fixed way to be a naturist - but if we all have one thing in common, it is that we are relaxed whatever we wear ( or dont! ) We enjoy being naturist at home as well as at Heritage. I'll tell you about its benefits as well as a few disadvantages. Since we moved into this house during Family Week 2000, we are able to be naturist at home as well as at Heritage. In certain positions in the house we can sunbathe totally nude in the summer. If our left-hand side neighbours are away we can position our umbrella on the patio and neighbours on the other side cannot see us from their window, which overlooks our garden. We also have an area to the side of the garage (a large conifer, courtesy of the previous occupants stands in the way of the opposite house's view), which is an afternoon suntrap throughout the summer. But the point of this article is to explain why we enjoy being nude in the winter as well as in the summer. The benefits mean that when I get up on a weekend when we haven't planned to go out, I won't get dressed. That means going to the garage to the washing machine, freezer or fridge and stepping out from the back door, albeit no distance at all, but on occasions I think that I have probably been discovered by our neighbours (both in their 70s). At this time of year with no foliage in the garden I am certainly very visible. Sometimes I think to check to see if someone is coming down the neighbours' garden path, on other occasions I just do it without thinking. Tony is the same as me. Often he won't get dressed unless he has too. Although I do set limits; if I am naked when the doorbell rings, I will get somebody else to answer it and hide in the kitchen or grab a dressing gown. I am not brave enough to answer it completely naked! In the winter when it is particularly cold, we will turn the heating up, shut all the doors and sit in our lounge, put the gas fire on, make a long gin and tonic and enjoy it in the nude (almost like summer). It is wonderful not being wrapped up in clothes. The girls sometimes sit with us as they see this as being quite natural and have no phobias about nudity, although they themselves may not be nude. They accept the way they have been brought up and have to be careful who they tell about our other lifestyle. None of our neighbours know we are naturist and I think it is quite unlikely that we will tell them. They probably think we are quite strange. Last year without thinking I had been cleaning my bathroom window in the nude and my neighbour came down his garden path shouting 'Good morning Debby!' Perhaps he had seen me nude and was warning me he was in the garden. I didn't answer but quickly jumped away from the window. It was never mentioned. Also I think I have been caught hoovering my dining room in the nude as they have been coming down the garden path. We have French windows and I do not have nets on them. I like to observe my garden in the summer. If I see someone in their garden, I will wait until they have gone before finishing the hoovering. I don't make a point of being deliberately nude when they are around. I get caught when I'm unaware. Tony is the one who wanders inside and out in the nude even in winter, retrieving a bottle of alcohol from the garage, although it does bring a shiver to the body. Not worrying about the neighbours. Myself, I am more restrained and do tend to cover up outside. We have textile friends who have known us for years and accept us for what we are but never join us. They also accept us being naked whilst visiting us. We also have friends over from Heritage who join us as naturists or not as they so choose. When the girls have friends over, we respect their wishes and obviously dress. Briefly to summarise, Tony and I enjoy naturism whether we are at home or at Heritage. We aren't naked 24 hours a day in our house but when the opportunity arises and we are relaxing, the clothes come off. Debby |
|
|
|
|
|
Heritage always likes an excuse for a social. Two years ago it was our own 60th Jubilee - last year it was the Queen's 50th Jubilee. Now its just a 'yee ha' - but who cares. With no shortage of the "feel-good factor" at Heritage, M has made it possible for us to over-indulge. Friday evenings at Heritage were once an occasion to forget a busy week and unwind with good company and good wine, now M has us kicking up our heels with "Quando", shimmying with "Moné Moné'' and making us "Whole again" with Atomic Kitten. The company is as good as ever but we've replaced the wine with copious quantities of water. It all started on 2I June last year and as the weeks went by our numbers grew. At first we thought we'd never get it right, but M assured us that we would and, ever patient, she guided us through the steps. M would confidently announce "You know this one" and with bemused expressions we would hesitantly follow her lead - she was right, of course. M's constant encouragement and belief in us was not the only source of inspiration. As our numbers grew, so too did the group of spectators in the conservatory. Where once the line dancers were mostly ignored, as our repertoire increased in both dances and difficulty, we were soon met by rounds of applause and cheers. Now we were getting somewhere! Although the number of spectators has slowing ebbed away during the colder months and line dancers have come and gone, apart from prearranged periods of respite M remains constant. |
Every
Friday between 8 and 10 p.m. she's ready to lead us through yet another
manoeuvre. From the oldest (I wouldn't be so crass) to the youngest (9
years old), M's patience has encouraged us to put in our best effort.
And it's one helluva laugh - especially Steve doing the Red Hot Salsa! Brighton Sun Club to follow the Heritage lead? Naturist clubs have never been a 'licence to print money', and finding the best organisational form is always difficult. The season in the UK is short but land and buildings have to be maintained throughout the year. Surprisingly, at a club level, the largest UK clubs have memberships about the same size as those of France - and the French clubs have the same problems and issues as in the UK, despite their longer season. Unlike Heritage, which has always been a members' club, Brighton Sun Club is proprietary. In the past they have maintained that this allowed them more flexibility to invest in the club and to spend money on its upkeep. But now they are exploring the benefits of becoming a members' club, so recently visited Heritage to learn our ways. They will have seen that members can finance, plan and execute major schemes such as the new pool area. With over 60 years' history, we also benefit from the security of knowing the club is run entirely by naturists for naturists for ever. So, good luck Brighton, and let's hope your visit was useful. Heritage often gets visits from other clubs and organisations - but we are always happy to assist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legal Briefing and the proposed changes in the law It now seems that naturists have campaigned successfully and some of the comments in the following have been superseded by events. However anything can still happen in the coming months! Unfortunately for us, naturists can fall foul of the law because some activities involving people taking off their clothes are illegal. A new law that should have clarified the situation is being introduced and has now reached a crucial stage. Alarmingly, despite government assurances that naturists would be excluded, this is not clear. So, read on to find out what the proposed law will say and how you can help get it changed by writing to your MP. History To test public opinion, and solicit expert views on how the law should be changed, the government published a green paper called Setting the Boundaries in 2000. It covered a range of sexual offences including indecent exposure. It divided 'exposure' into flashing, streaking and naturism and claimed that most flashing causes great fear to its victims. But it noted that naturists have a right to their lifestyle under the European Convention of Human Rights. To defend naturism, the CCBN funded and published an NOP opinion poll. This found very little alarm and a lot of support for naturism. (90% thought we were, at worst, harmless!) The CCBN lobbied parliament to make sure this was known. In Protecting the Public, the white paper that resulted in 2001, the government said it had no intention of making streaking or naturism illegal as long as the person was not trying to cause alarm or distress. Also, it said the new law would be gender-neutral, not aimed only at men. So, a victory for naturists? Not so quick. The current Bill The Sexual Offences Bill has now been published. Clause 70, which is the only one that refers to 'exposure', says: (1) A person (A) commits an offence if(a) he intentionally exposes his genitals, (b) he knows or intends that someone will see them, and (c) he knows or intends that, or (unless subsection 2 applies) is reckless as to whether, a person who sees them will be caused alarm or distress. (2) This subsection applies where A is in a dwelling and does not know or intend that a child aged under 16 will see his genitals. NEWS NEWS The new wording70 Exposure(1) A person (A) commits an offence if
It's actually quite a clever amendment. Not only does it get rid of the word "reckless" but it also removes the idiotic situation where a couple were more likely to be committing an offence than a naturist on their own! LATE LATE NEWS Will everyone please note that
Clause 70 is not Clause 70 anymore. The clauses have been renumbered,
and what was clause 70 is now Clause 69. The new clause 70 is the old
clause 71 on voyeurism, and a new clause 71
|
That's
it, except for the list of fines and prison terms. So, if you are not in
a dwelling, or if anyone under 16 could see you, you must not expose
yourself if it could cause alarm or distress. The 'victim' doesn't have
to be reasonable in claiming alarm or distress. Indeed, they don't
actually have to see anything, as long as you thought they would. And
your motives for being naked don't come into it.
Clearly, the law is trying to stop flashing aimed deliberately at a victim who might be alarmed by it. But many naturists are worried that it could be interpreted by a court as making it illegal, for instance, to strip off on an unofficial beach, of which there are over 400. Adrian has written to the Home Office and been told that this new law won't replace the public order laws under which nudity in public is, in practice, regulated. Naturists will still have to use common sense in stripping off except at home or a recognised naturist site - can anyone see you and if so would they be likely to be distressed?
By coincidence, the High Hedges (No 2) Bill has also been in the news because it might force naturists to cut down garden hedges. Again, the government claimed that it poses no threat to naturists, but they had to concede in the House of Commons that, in conjunction with Clause 70, it could. I believe the solution is to make it clear that nude sunbathing in, say, one's garden or on an unofficially naturist beach, is not an offence, even if you can be seen from a neighbouring property. Safe at Heritage? It seems we will be safe at Heritage. Studland may be OK because of the signs, and your back garden may be OK if totally screened, unless a child might visit and until you're told to cut your hedge down to size But as long as we have to be hidden we will be seen as furtive and ashamed. Compare this with the Continent where there are free beaches galore, naturist areas in parks and so on. Our German, French and Spanish friends can't understand why we are so secretive. Is it any coincidence that there are far more young naturists in countries where the law doesn't make them hide away? Chris Sundial Editorship Astute readers may have noticed that this Sundial isn't in the normal style. This is because it has been passed, temporarily, to me. And I'm afraid I don't have the same software, so it looks different. And I like pictures, as you will have noticed. Editorship is up for grabs. Do you have a computer with desktop publishing software and have you always fancied publishing? Now's your chance. Please let the management committee know asap. Otherwise you might get stuck with me. And what any editor will need is your contributions. Please don't wait to be asked. Post hand-written articles to the club, or email me Chris
New potential members are met by the membership team and come for an initial three visits, usually on a Sunday [ see our web pages on
membership ] |
