Mumsnet Talk

Bankers playing roulette with everyone's money get millions, mountain rescue teams put their hands in their own pockets. It's all wrong.

BBC latest btw says the mountain rescue teams are making way for police again now as the searching is more suited to them. Not reducing resources just 'different phase'. Let's hope they find April. to them all.

Mountain rescue are indeed unpaid volunteers. Think the same applies to lifeboat crews as well, IIRC? RNLI, I mean, not the coastguard.

RNLI are definitely unpaid volunteers. Earlier in the week the RNLI crews from Borth and Aberdyfi were assisting in the search. Don't know what the current situation is, but these people are all volunteers, and would normally be called out via a pager on an as and when basis, so will have been putting in extra hours to assist with the search.

Very interesting post Nana.

You got me thinking too unfortunately.

and speaking of Nanas my darling earnest 7yr old DGD mentioned this in her beautiful little welsh accent on the phone the other night

'Nana Sudaname, you know that little girl who's gone missing ? Well my cousin < insert Welsh name> he goes to the same school as her '

I thought OMG she is following this now and what will go through her little head when (barring a miracle) inevitably there is the dreadful ending even the most optimistic of us now expect.

With this in mind and before l could think of anything diplomatic/damage limiting to say back to her, she said:

'l hope they find her'

It's a hideous, unspeakably awful situation but there is something very moving about the huge efforts so many people are making. Both skilled and experienced volunteers like mountain rescue and RNLI and just ordinary people like you and I (well, like me, everyone else on this thread may be extraordinary in some way).

Mountain rescue types are very very lovely and brave but also mad as hatters - they actually think it is fun to stay out all night on a freezing hillside in winter for training.

Difference is that RNLI are well funded and have a central, professional fund raising team. There is no central pot for MR teams, each team is entirely self supporting.

DH has been out all week searching - his team is Machynlleth's closest team. They rely on donations and contributions to update kit and equipment (but often buy their own), employers allowing them to have time off work and pay their own fuel and transport expenses.

MaggieMcVitie Please tell your DH how much his efforts are appreciated. He's a hero.

Well, the RNLI teams would also rely on their employers agreeing to them having the time off work, but the funding for their equipment etc would have come from the RNLI itself.

The RNLI, coastguard and mountain rescue all seem to have done a fantastic job working together.

That's it exactly Norman. If the RNLI trasha boat they get a new one delivered the next day. If an SAR team trash their Landy, they have to fund raise for a new one....

edam - yes they are generally, as mad as hatters, as you say. There's also a sort of frustrated militarism about them. BUT.....in these circs. they come up trumps.
I also just wonder about how well the services could respond if cuts to public provision are enacted, so outside police forces, who have been immense it seems, could not respond in the way they have.

trash a not trasha
Trying thanks - it's been an incredible multi team effort.
Edam and Aliona some are, but some (including DH) are quite normal

There's a case here for Mountain Rescue being centrally funded (still by charity) as that could really help them to access the equipment they need.

The good thing for RNLI being entirely funded by charitable donations is that they are not accountable to government decisions on funding.

Yes Edam , the worst of human behaviour always highlights the best too doesnt it.

Reminds me when l lived in Ireland many years ago and a young boy was found murdered on a park and it turned out to be a local youth.
Outside the trial on the steps of the courthouse the father of the victim walked over to the sobbing father of the convicted youth and put his arms around him.

It was the saddest, most heartbreaking, yet most beautiful thing l have ever seen.

When asked about it later he said 'we both lost a son that day'.

God l need a drink now.

Maggie - you are not being objective.. But yes of course, doffed hats to him.

I'd triggered the bit as all of these threads focus on the legalities of April's disappearance.

In work for the past week, this has been the biggest single point of exchange outside of work issues, esp amongst parents.

Aliona

Maggie, indeed, you must be very proud of your husband.

Weird comment below about frustrated military something... the mountain rescue team I spent a day with once didn't strike me like that at all. They were all people who loved the countryside (it happened to be the Peak District). They thought it was marvellous fun, searching moors and hills all night, in the dark, in the freezing cold, working to a scenario where they'd deliberately been sent to the wrong location twice... and then getting the 'casualty' out by stringing them across some rope across the Ladybower Dam IIRC. And the casualty, who wasn't kept toasty warm with lots of exercise, was the wife of the Peak Park chief ranger - so not only wasn't it her job, it wasn't even her voluntary role - she just did it to show willing!

Sounds like a bog standard 'difficult terrain' territorial army exercise to me, edam....

The TA may do something like that, still doesn't mean the mountain rescue people are frustrated wanna-be soldiers. That's just a weird thing to say.

Maggie, do they have a fund raising page or anything? They have done such sterling work over the last week - I would like to make a donation. My heart breaks for April's family and nothing anyone can do or say can take away the pain that they must be in, but it would be nice to help in a practical way.

Oh Porto that's lovely of you

This link should work...

https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/aberdyfisearchandrescueteam

Oops, not sure if it did

If not, this should take you to the website, click on the 'Donations' tab at the top. Thank you SO much, all the team really appreciate the support x

http://www.aberdyfi-sart.org.uk/index.html

Got it now!!

www.aberdyfi-sart.org.uk/index.html

https://mydonate.bt.com/charities/aberdyfisearchandrescueteam

Thank you

Link works fine - thank you! I have posted the details on FB too saying that maybe this is a good cause if someone wants to do something practical in the search for April.

Thank you!

Everyone has been out tonight and let off pink balloons, lanterns for April. The first one was let off by her Mum and Dad from their garden

Hard to believe a week has gone by...

Team will be debriefed on Wednesday, but will remain on standby. They have been overwhelmed by all the messages of support. Feel as if this week has shown us the very worst, but also the very best of human nature.