It's not all hiking...

For a group of late 40 somethings, walking was the ideal way to spend a Saturday and thus the Barnsley Gentleman's Walking Association or BGWA was born.

Determined Saturday stridings were undertaken up to distances of up to twenty miles. Public transport was used allowing us all to have a decent beer or two afterwards. Much rambling of a light hearted cerebral nature was also undertaken, leading to a build up of memories and, more importantly, development of ritual and mutterings of revolution.

You see the BGWA, like many other organisations, exists to serve its members. At the current time, we have a committee of up to twelve and a membership of one. So you can see he is a well served member, a fact that escapes him every year without fail, as the AGM approaches and he becomes excited at the prospect of elevation to a committee post. The only outcome of such a promotion would be the raising of the only member-in-application to become the new member. You can begin to see the nature of much of the rambling.

However this revolution is contained is study in management of possible unrest. A tactic employed recently and successfully is to adopt a kind of French attitude. Let the membership have their say, let them sound off, and when the member absents himself to the gents, rush through the re - election of officials, quite in order and thus the status quo is confirmed.

We began as a small group. The seeds probably sewn by the walks secretary and the member, which soon became a five and from then on, a number rising to its current level. At the outset, none of us hailed from Barnsley, although one was born just outside. Indeed, several have moved away altogether. Whether we were gentlemen is an issue for discussion and the walking too has dropped away for the last few years but the association, although perhaps now only an annual event for some, is still there.

Now, at the AGM, we make a toast to the King of Tonga, make a reading from Sid James' biography whilst wearing a tallit like shawl in which the book is kept, Del MacKee's belt must be worn by the member-in-application, reference is made to the sanity that finally prevailed at an event know as the Aberration of Bramwith and the treasurer makes a report.

In 2008, it was in rhyme. The Treasurer then counts up the found currency (all picked up coinage over the year) and declares if sufficient funds are available from this bounty to buy the Patron's Pint - a pint of the Patron's choosing which the Patron may share. As his choice this year was a pint of Abbeydale's Last Rites at 11%, he made a doubly wise choice. In , 2010, such it is as the recession bites, only £2.02 was collected. Clearly, people are hanging on to their money, or at least they are picking it up again when they don't.

Some traditions are lost on the way. The Banana Boy ( an honour given to the membership) seems not to produce the plastic banana which was once flourished each time a recognised boundary was crossed when either walking or on public transport. This was in remembrance of the imagined joyous celebrations that most certainly would have accompanied the arrival of the first banana in Bolton-on-Dearne.

Like all such organisations, jargon develops. For example, a full Minervois is the term still used to describe the breakfast some still believe is the ideal and only kick start to a day of BGWA activity at the Minerva cafe, although the eponymous cafe has long since disappeared. Or to have an Elsecar. To elsecar or an elsecration is to lose one's footing on slippery ground.

If there was to be any explanation of why this goes on, then it would occur to many an observer as just being plain silly which is exactly what it is. That the people involved are moving more and more to being retired professional people, who no doubt spent there working lives in meetings within organisations rich in procedures and rules, then this behaviour is pure escapism.

And after all, that's what the BGWA set out to provide.........