Fighting On All Fronts

Working for everyone - lots of activity and teamwork in our promotional and defensive campaigns.

Progress on Corton Beach

Waveney District Council tried to ban naturism on Suffolk beaches this year but they failed – you can still go nude at Corton. There were also changes in the bylaws, so now it is legal to go nude on any beach in the area.

In April we were told that Waveney District Council had decided to “dedesignate” the beach at Corton but this would not take effect until 1st November 2009, and that the Council would explore potential alternative sites that are suitable for naturists.

BN was able to call on a legal heavy weight. One of the beach users who contacted us is a barrister at a city law firm. David Wolfe sent a formal complaint to Waveney District Council regarding the legal status of the beach. They conceded nearly every point that he made, he also had a letter published in The Times.

Malcolm Boura and Allan Kidney attended a meeting with council officers to discuss the proposed “de-designation” of the Nudist beach at Corton.

Waveney had a bylaw that requires people to be clothed on all beaches except at the beach at Corton so the only section of beach where one can be undressed was due to be “de-designated” and on all other beaches would clothing was required.

A new bylaw for the seashore was agreed and that bylaw has now been confirmed by the Secretary of State. It became effective on 1st June 2009 and revoked 21 other byelaws including the one requiring clothing to be worn on all beaches within Waveney District.

It seems the Council did not realise the significance of revoking the bylaw so now one can be naturist on any beach within Waveney.

At a three-hour meeting with Waveney District Council, BN agreed draft criteria to be used when considering alternative beaches that are suitable for naturists.

In August Waveney announced the consultation for seeking an alternative naturist beach and the press release included statements from British Naturism. The consultation period ended on 25th September 2009. The representations are presently being considered.

Press Involvement

On the BN beach day on 9 August a reporter from the Guardian attended together with a video camera person and they prepared a report on the Corton beach situation which can be viewed on their website. The link to the video report is www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/video/2009/aug/15/naturism-corton-beach.

Several national papers picked up parts of the story and most reported the situation fairly. Several interviews tookplace with Radio Suffolk who again were supportive, no doubt helped by the two BN members who work there and often talk about it, and are referred to, on air.

One story in several national papers over the summer, which we did not start, or try to counter after it was made, was that the beach at Southwold (which is within Waveney District) was being suggested as a suitable naturist site. This may have something to do with the area being used by one Gordon Brown for his holiday and the summer press silly season.

Allan Kidney, Eastern Regional Rep

Nude Art in Trafalgar Square

BN champions the right of people to go nude in a public art show in Trafalgar Square and initial police resistance crumbles.

Anthony Gormley’s art work on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square lasted for 100 days over the summer of 2009 when the plinth was occupied for an hour at a time by a person. The only qualification needed was to apply and be lucky in the draw, so it seemed a great opportunity to promote naturism and we hoped some of those chosen would do so.

We anticipated that the police might try and stop this, act first and find out the law later so in late 2008 we wrote to the Metropolitan Police but did not get an answer. Initially the Metropolitan Police displayed all the usual misapprehensions and the first plinther to get nude was quickly told to cover up. The Metropolitan Police ignored BN’s first two letters but after we put in an official complaint there were no further problems and about a dozen plinthers were nude for all or part of their hour. All are to be congratulated but two in particular stand out, Lady God1va and member Suzanne. The videos of their performances are available online and there are links on our members’ community forum.

The statement from the Metropolitan Police that this very public nudity was not illegal is a big step forward.

It is a useful indication of how far attitudes have changed that so many people could be nude in one of the most public places imaginable, and for it to be so generally accepted.

Belfast Exposure
In the Autumn edition of the BN magazine, we reported on a successful court case in Belfast. There is clearly a need for the police and CPS to understand more about naturism but our letter attempting to open a dialogue has been ignored. We will be pursuing that. The Executive Council has approved a substantial contribution towards the defence costs.

Seaton Carew, Hartlepool
In the North West Three Rivers Club wrote to the Hartlepool Council asking for them to consider designating the beach at the south end of Seaton Carew as a naturist beach. They also wrote to a number of other local authorities. It is looking promising at present although the comments from Natural England left a lot to be desired. More letters to write.

Cefn Sidan, Pembrey
One of the councillors is very anti-naturist and the local police and others are aiding and abetting. SW Regional Rep Judith Stinchcombe has had a meeting with the police and member John Gwalter has represented BN at a “Partners and Communities Together” meeting. It was pointed out that appropriate beach nudity is not an offence but it seems that naturists are only welcome as a community apart.

Equalities Bill
In January we made a representation concerning the Equality Bill. We pointed out that by making some types of discrimination due to prejudice illegal they were making other types of prejudice more acceptable. Accordingly we asked for some protection. Nothing happened for six months and then a journalist came across the submission on a government web site and wrote an article for the Sunday Times. BBC Radio 5 spotted that and asked for an interview. Then 4 or 5 local radio stations. It was all a bit surreal, me giving interviews from a Scout camp site car park whilst a bunch of friends listened in from the cook tent!

Newborough Warren
Every few years a local councillor decides to make a fuss about naturists using this remote beach. She only gets mixed support, and all has gone quiet again, but we will need to keep an eye on it.

SOC on the Sussex Downs
Singles Outdoor Club went for a walk on the Sussex Downs. The number of nude walks is growing and they usually pass off without noticeable comment. This one sparked off a bit of a media storm. Probably one journalist got wind of it, a report appeared and then lots more jumped on the bandwagon. Overall pretty positive and another little step towards normalisation.

Derek Holliday
According to the newspapers Derek Holliday is being prosecuted for “parading” naked on a Scottish beach. We wrote to his defence solicitor with some suggestions but we have heard little more. At least we heard of it before the trial.

Leeds Naturist
A Leeds naturist is being prosecuted for nude sunbathing. The problem is that after the police got it wrong and charged him with displaying an offensive sign, I kid you not. The CPS got it even more wrong and charged him with “Exposure” which requires “intent to cause alarm or distress”. He is a BN member and we are providing advice and support but I can not write more at present.

Police
Two other letters have been sent to the police recently. One concerned statements made to the press which misstated the law on nudity and the other some officers who decided that a few dozen shoppers in Islington were not wearing enough. Neither directly concerns naturists but one of our biggest problems is not what the law says, but what so many people think it says.

Malcolm Boura, Research and Liaison Officer

Setting the record straight…

I think I have always been a naturist at heart. My first real experience of naturism was over thirty years ago on Dyffryn beach when every weekend throughout the season there seemed to be families happily playing together and even a volleyball net kept in the dunes ready for use.

This continued, through marriage and the arrival of three daughters, as a yearly event until about twelve years ago when changes in our family circumstances took us to other parts for our holidays. My wife and I are now divorced, leaving me with all three daughters to look after! It was early in 2006 I decided to return to naturism by joining BN and then Spectrum naturist swim in Birmingham. How I wish I had done it sooner. I have found a fantastic crowd of people, both members of BN and those hopefully on the brink of joining, who seem to shed all prejudices along with their clothes.

So, when I had my arm twisted to join the EC, I decided it was time I did my best to make a contribution. I’ve certainly hit the ground running – there have been plenty of things for me to get my teeth into! There was a positive reception for my letter to the Hartlepool and Peterlee papers about Seaton Carew and I have also commented on many other articles – always signing my posts as representing British Naturism. These others include the Staffordshire naturist B&B, the opening of a route for naked hikers in the Harz mountains in Germany, Corton beach, the Hilary Swank story and a naked man making coffee in his kitchen in America who was spotted by outraged passers-by trespassing on his property and many more. I also wrote to the BBC complaining about their censorship of the naked plinth pictures, but not had a reply. I have checked back on some of the sites and sometimes found replies to my comments; this has occasionally lead to short ‘conversations’. Some of my comments seem to have been removed, even where I know they initially appeared. However, in some cases the article appears to have been updated – and often for the better! < br>
I am a passionate believer in the benefits of naturism, not just physical, but also psychological benefits; the confidence building and companionship that is such an integral part of it. Naturism needs a national organisation, without it our freedom to enjoy our lifestyle would have been eroded in the past and will be in the future, unless we continue to keep ahead of the game and fight to maintain our freedom. I believe it is also important to enjoy that fight and to that end BN as an organiser of events is also essential. The events not only allow us to enjoy ourselves, they also bring us to together as a team and hopefully as a force to be reckoned with!

Brian Taylor, PRO

Campaigning and The Media

We’re always busy with Media attention. I get an average of five approaches a week, with requests for information, people, and locations from radio stations, TV companies and the press.

The link between our Campaigning and Media/PR work has always been strong, but over the last few months the integration has become seamless and it has been difficult to tell the two aspects apart.

Anyone who follows the Media Requests section on the BN Members’ Forum, or reads my regular updates in the magazine will know that our profile is very high – the majority of the media work we do is for the bigger entities, such as national newspapers and radio stations, wide circulation magazines or prominent TV channels. We don’t just wait for approaches either, we also issue press releases with news of our activity, or comments on other matters.

Malcolm Boura is excellent – an articulate, knowledgeable, tireless volunteer whose attitude is not only to deal quickly with what’s happened, but also to look to the future and develop the promotion of other, more cultural/social issues relating to nudity which have got the media and others beating a path to our door to talk about them. Allan Kidney has done sterling work with Waveney District Council; implementing a well-considered strategy that has delivered real results, as well as dealing with most of the Corton related media work himself.

The arrival of Brian Taylor as BN’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) has relieved Malcolm and me of much of the day to day work and he has also added something very useful to us all by adding comments to very many online news stories about nudity and naturism that invite readers to make their thoughts known. Thanks also to the many members who have helped with issues arising local to them.

Recent media work relating to Campaigning includes; an interview I did on BBC Radio Kent and Malcolm being filmed for BBC TV South East news about Botany Bay in Margate; speaking to many Wales based newspapers and radio stations to put the record straight following outrageous opinions given by local councillors in connection with two Welsh beaches Cefn Sidan in the South and Newborough Warren on Anglesey; a piece on page 3 of the Sunday Times following interviews with Malcolm and me about our submission to the Government on the Equalities Bill. It was accompanied by a cartoon, which suggests that they felt it was one of the most worthy stories of the week. This led to further pieces in the Daily Express and on Radio 5 Live; Corton beach where issues were much in the news and between Allan and I we spoke to the Daily Telegraph (two separate features), Anglia TV, the Guardian, BBC Radio Suffolk (on air and their online news pages), and Radio 5 Live; approaches from BBC Radios London, Sheffield and Somerset and the BBC’s online news pages in response to Anthony Gormley’s art installation “One and Other” in Trafalgar Square – featuring members of the public spending an hour each on the 4th Plinth and including a few nude sessions; and the Daily Telegraph, BBC TV Breakfast News and LBC Radio talking to us about a new naturist B&B in Staffordshire ( www.domainfarmbandb.com ) owned by BN members which was the subject of ridiculous and unfounded complaints from neighbours.

Andrew Welch, Commercial Manager