Eighth International Rock Garden Conference, 2011

[Maggi Young]

Cliff, the info pack has not arrived here as yet.... is there any indication given of the menu to assist you in your choice?

[David Nicholson]

Well folks,
Just trying to decide whether to order four bottles of Sancerre Domaine Daulny at £28.80 per bottle or three bottles of Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royal Vintage Champagne at £60 per bottle or perhaps (cheapskate) a couple of jugs of orange juice at £7 per jug for the Gala Dinner?
Does this mean that attendees who don't order by credit card and in advance will not be able to assist the passage of their food with a bitter shandy or a well-earned G & T?
With the cost of the conference being so expensive I was at least hoping for a free (but small) glass of the University white at the gala nosh!   

 

I assume Harrods are doing the catering

[ranunculus]

Cliff, the info pack has not arrived here as yet.... is there any indication given of the menu to assist you in your choice?

No, nothing like that Maggi ... but you CAN order Mineral Water Still or Sparkling at £2.60 per bottle ... that should go with anything? 

[Maggi Young]

Hmmmm... a small comfort, Cliff.

I do recall at Warwick for Alpines 1991 the water was so awful that we had to buy bottled water to brush our teeth.  

The tea was ghastly too... a real shock for all the Scots. If one could get coffee strong enough it killed the taste a bit. There were some who just stuck to whisky- to quench their thirst  and kill 99% of household germs! 

[tonyg]

Well folks,
Just trying to decide whether to order four bottles of Sancerre Domaine Daulny at £28.80 per bottle or three bottles of Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royal Vintage Champagne at £60 per bottle or perhaps (cheapskate) a couple of jugs of orange juice at £7 per jug for the Gala Dinner?
Does this mean that attendees who don't order by credit card and in advance will not be able to assist the passage of their food with a bitter shandy or a well-earned G & T?
With the cost of the conference being so expensive I was at least hoping for a free (but small) glass of the University white at the gala nosh!   
 

I eventually decided to keep my hard earned cash for a trip to the mountains.  Looks like I might be able to afford two weeks with the money I will be saving
.... I guess if you drink enough you might forget how much it cost ... but then again ...

[David Nicholson]

Well folks,
Just trying to decide whether to order four bottles of Sancerre Domaine Daulny at £28.80 per bottle or three bottles of Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royal Vintage Champagne at £60 per bottle or perhaps (cheapskate) a couple of jugs of orange juice at £7 per jug for the Gala Dinner?
Does this mean that attendees who don't order by credit card and in advance will not be able to assist the passage of their food with a bitter shandy or a well-earned G & T?
With the cost of the conference being so expensive I was at least hoping for a free (but small) glass of the University white at the gala nosh!   

 

I assume Harrods are doing the catering

At that kind of price they must be!

http://www.winedrop.co.uk/showdetails.asp?id=863

Anyone know what the "take up" for the Conference has been eg. good. indifferent. bad. ?

[Maggi Young]

Approx. 230  so not as many as would have been hoped for, after the 500 plus in Edinburgh.
There are the 15 student  "assisted places" on top of that.

[Lesley Cox]

Re Forumists who will attend the Conference, (lucky beggars) and recognising each other, I remember in 1981 spending a lot of time on the first day or two looking at men's chests, in order to see who they were. It helped being quite short as it meant I was looking at my eye level, even if not at theirs.

Maybe Forumists could arm themselves with a packet of coloured stick-on stars and "brand" people, once recognised and acknowledged. Different colours for each forumist.

[David Nicholson]

........Maybe Forumists could arm themselves with a packet of coloured stick-on stars.........

If they can affors to buy them after what this lot is costing them

[Giles]

Nottingham must break-up for Easter earlier than us...

[Maggi Young]

Nottingham must break-up for Easter earlier than us...

I think it must -- and of course, attending students have had to get  permission to be there in what is term-time for many.  

[angie]

Well that's disappointing. That's three folks I was really looking forward to meet ( Lesley, David and Tony ) 
Stop thinking about costs just think about being with friends. I don't drink so I will be OK. Hope the food will be good !
Anyway looking forward to meeting other members, please give me a nudge and say hello.

Angie

[tonyg]

Sorry not to be there Angie - I hate to disappoint   Truth be told I can afford to go but I have other commitments in April which make it nigh on impossible for me to be at the conference.  If there was a reasonable day rate I might have come for a day (or two) but the day rate was ... well it made me laugh 

Hopefully I'll make it up to Aberdeen again one day .... for more than one day

[angie]

Tony, yes it's a pity the conference wasn't cheaper. They might have got more people to go and I would have got to meet more forum members 
Hopefully you will get up to Aberdeen sometime soon.
Angie

[Maggi Young]

I hope Folks attending the Conference are giving thought to an entry for the Show on Saturday..... the premier prize will be the chance to win a Forrest and a Farrer medal in one swoop!
The happy chap who achieved this feat in 2001 in Edinburgh was Ian Kidman......


 This photo is by Sandy Leven of Ian Kidman with his magnificent plant of Campanula zoysii and his two medals, neatly framed.  

 The bronze medal with the ribbon is the Forrest Medal and the larger silver medal is the Farrer Medal.

At the moment Ian K is probably busy getting his plants ready for his local show, that at Hexham, this coming Saturday.