The generalised laws of nature and human nature proposed during the Twentieth Century (Sod's Law, Parkinson's Law, and so on) had a late addition. Bomber's Law.  The name is misleading.  It's from a crime novel by George V. Higgins and The Bomber is an American Police Chief.  He's discovered the law through his wide experience of human frailty.

If a group of people has embarked on an audacious course of action, and ignoring apparent risks has persisted towards catastrophe, and is then questioned tirelessly, all sorts of justifications and rationalisations will be advanced.  If the question 'why?' is repeated until they reach breaking point they almost always groan out the same confession:

"We did it for the money."

Not excluding information technology, the fastest-growing employment opportunities in North Wales are in the field of grant procurement.  This promises to absorb all surplus labour.  We live in a grant-obsessed culture, hungry for EU, Westminster and Cardiff monies distributed through many agencies and supplemented by Lottery Fund handouts and the Planning Gain windfalls formerly known as bribery.  "North Wales Missing Out On New Grants," a typical recent front-page headline read.  We are not alone and share this mind-set with the Cargo Cults of Melanesia.

Some questions suggest themselves.  Can we devise schemes which are not grant-dependent but are productive of Public Good. amenities, that is, with the characteristics of non-excludability and non-rivalry and without charge at the point of use?  (Street lighting is a typical urban example and open access land in areas of outstanding natural beauty is a rural equivalent.)  Can we propose any such schemes requiring, say, only the monies we might have had to find for grant matching, or less than that, or nothing at all?  (Could we extend the amenities our environment offers for love instead of for money?  This is a difficult concept to grasp but it becomes easier to understand when an economic spin-off is likely to follow.)

In fact, many projects demand only the GK Consortium's Influence as negotiator or mediator.  Here are three examples. All that is required is that an appropriate Partner is invited to take action Immediately in the Consortium's name.  With the first success, it might then be said that the Initiative was under way.

1. The original Strategy recommended the development of canoeing at Betws-y-Coed and the Re-Appraisal Report suggests Llanrwst as a canoeing centre.  This is startling, since for more than forty years many groups have attempted to secure access to the river.  These attempts have been resisted by the two angling associations rather than by the riparian owners. The Consortium ought at least to attempt to negotiate for out-of season use for both canoes and inflatable rafts.  (Is there some technical reason for the absence of Welsh Water from the Partnership?)
   Briefly, the Conwy gives a short but exciting descent from just above Beaver Pool bridge to the Betws-y-Coed footbridge. This is only suitable for experienced canoeists and for experienced or supervised rafting parties.  A enjoyable four-mile descent to Llanrwst follows.  Finally, there is a spacious and magnificent run between Llanrwst's Gower Bridge and Conwy, taken in either direction, in part or in full, dependent on tides.  A navigation right exists on this section (Trefriw had an appointed Harbour Mistress in the 1970s) but there are insufficient launch points to permit use at most stages of tide.
   If the Consortium could negotiate an agreement the canoeing world would be impressed and delighted and would take full advantage of the river.  But a far bigger bonus to the Gateway settlements could come from the promotion of commercial rafting trips which would draw visitors, including family parties, from far and wide.  Tides permitting, the Betws to Conwy run must be one of the best of the easier river excursions in England and Wales.  It would be necessary to ensure that commercial ventures and instructional bodies did not find some means of assuming control of access rights.

2. The Re-Appraisal Report makes welcome recommendations for low-level footpath development and also refers to Long Distance paths which might be used "to circumnavigate the Snowdon massif".  From the context it looks as if the Green Key area is meant, rather than Snowdon itself, a recombination of valley paths with part of the North Wales Coastal Path perhaps.  An off-road circuit of Snowdon, however, would be an interesting development.  It is almost complete already and for the benefit of unaccompanied younger walkers it offers a choice of four nicely-spaced youth hostels and some campsites. It could be taken in four easy days or less -- it would lie entirely inside the road route of the Snowdon Marathon -- and could be promoted as 'The Ring of Snowdon' or some such title. a mini-version of the highly esteemed Tour of Mt Blanc. Again, the Consortium itself ought to act as negotiator.

3. Without doubt, the most Important matter the Consortium should be watching at present is the progress of the CRoW consultations.  It happens, by chance, that June 2002 saw the issue of the draft maps for Meirionnydd and the publication of the first-ever rock-climbers's guide-book to the whole of that area (including about a thousand routes not previously described).  The boundary in each case adjoins that of the Green Key area but extends southward over the rest of the Park.  Though the access rights do not come into force in full until 2005, the attention of many walkers and climbers will be drawn southward and Snowdonia ought to respond. 
   The maps for Northern Snowdonia are scheduled for February 2003 and the CCW, a Partner in the Consortium, is charged with this task.  Generally this area has fewer serious access problems than Meirionnydd but some still remain and the Consortium ought to use its influence as mediator if any difficulties arise.

These suggestions relate to the use of the environment and not to its conservation, which gets no detailed treatment in the original Strategy.  A very large number of similar possibilities exist.  Taken together, and with the Consortium's full backing, they would amount to a low key Green Key, enhancing the opportunities the district offers and bringing an economic return at hardly any cost,

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