The Chief Faartal has a special birthday this week and of course we wish her Many Happy Returns of the Day.
There being no fixed retirement age for Chief Faartals, we assume she will continue to occupy her elevated position for many years to come. More power to her old boots.
There is obviously something going on which needs serious attention. I shall reply in full regarding the Constitutional Crisis posting but would point out that ‘The Diamond Lady’, is not, and cannot be Chief Faartal. You will recall the discussion 2 years ago when it was alleged that there was sexism within the membership as the Constitution only referred to the male gender. My reply at that time was as follows:
‘When drafting the Constitution, the consensus of opinion was that only the male gender could truly be considered for the post of Chief Faartal. Women may show signs of grumpiness but this is more spasmodic and can usually be put down to ‘a bad hair day’ or other chemical imbalance. Men however have raised grumpiness to a true art form which has no other contributing factor than our discontent with the world and nearly everyone in it.
We are not aiming to receive the EU kite mark for tolerance and understanding and indeed we do have an excess of female to male members on most walks – which may to some extent be the underlying cause of grumpiness in the first place. We therefore see ‘grumpiness’ as a way of restoring the natural balance.’
To my knowledge this situation has not altered. The main change is that the former Chief Faartal has upped sticks and moved to Matlock and therefore effectively resigned. AS the most senior ‘male’ left within the fraternity, I naturally assumed responsibility and raised the matter at the AGM which was held on Whinstone Lee Torr on Monday,18th January. A full report can be seen as a comment on the appropriate posting.
The only point I would add is that I now have to sleep with a pensioner and that having her organise my social life as well as any ‘domestic arrangements’ is expecting a bit too much of any man.