SRGC Discussion Weekend- 1st -3rd October 2010

[Maggi Young]

Celmisia longifolia
Colchicum szovitsii.... not!
Coprosma trio ... from the back... 'Pacific '  ; 'Fireburst' and 'Karo Red'
Cotyledon orbiculare and Celmisia semi-cordata
Crocus kotschyanus cappadocicus from Margaret and Henry Taylor
Cyclamen hederifolium trio
 other cyclamen.....

[angie]

Nice to hear that everyone had a great time and spent plenty of money, nice also to hear that I am not the only one that comes away with empty wallets, my husbands is always empty    wish I had gone now.
Maybe it was a good job I hadn't gone, stuck in the house for two days with another tummy bug. The dog had to go to the vet as well.

Need to see some more pictures to cheer me up.

Angie

[J.B.Wyllie]

Maggie not your fault but Colchicum szovitsii is a spring flower.I did notice it but did not get round to telling Willie.
Jean

[Maggi Young]

Cyclamen graecum, obtained from the medal winning plant of the late Mrs  Alice Spensley

Cysopteris dickieana.... cute little fern.... I'm guessing from Harvey Shepherd, fern buff of his parish!

Eucomis vandermerwei

 Fish box garden

Winning mini garden from Stan

Salix retusa showing autumn colour

More super colours... from the Smethursts, I think

 show view

[Maggi Young]

 Poor Angela, sorry to hear neither you nor Benson is great.... but I have some bulbs for you from the Connoiseur Collection to cheer you up...... once I get them sorted out from the ones I got for me and Ian's mum and sister!

[Maggi Young]

In the show room...

 Sandy and a little cutie....
 the little cutie.... Crocus mathewi

one for the Galanthophiles.... G. reginae-olgae

Oxalis massoniana

The trophies

Stan with just some of those he won!

[Maggi Young]

I must mention that the wine prices had improved this year.....Jean and Liz had had strong words with the managment and it obviously worked so no excursions to the supermarket where arranged, as far as I know! 

The food was great...... not that that was my most pressing criterion for the success fo the weekend, of course......

[angie]

Love the Eucomis vandermerwei   and the Crocus massoniana
Looks as if there were plenty of lovely plants to see.
Thanks Maggi, that was really nice of you taking them back to me. Like you say something to cheer me up, thanks.
Benson had a wee stroke so I don't want to leave him for a few days. Vet said he should be ok but he was supposed to get a operation on Thursday but he has cancelled till he is better.

Angie

[Roma]

Thanks Maggi for posting pictures of those lovely plants. I feel better now.  Hope you did not think I was being too impatient.  I think the ?brachyanthus is Aeschynanthus, a gesneriad.  I thought they were all tender plants.
Sorry you've been ill Angela. Hope you and Benson are feeling better soon.

[Maggi Young]

The whole weekend was really enjoyable... though the journey there for most of us through absolutely ghastly torrential wind and rain could have  been easier!

We were again warmly welcomed by Elinor and David Milne .... local stalwarts more usually spotted working flat out in the Tearoom at Dunblane events.

Though quite a few chums were prevented from joining us by illness ( or at least needing recuperation)  such as Gerda and Maurice Russell, Joan and Ron Beeston,  Gillian Clarkson (Lionel came along though) and  Roma...  or other pressing engagements it was super to see a lot of new names on the list of attendees (which had kept Glassford busy making up new name badges, in additon to his printing of the programme, notices and slide lists etc!!)  and to meet  some lovely new members coming along for the first time.

I haven't got too many photos but  here we go.....

Arthur Nicholls, Sue Gill and Anne Bush, with in ther background to the right, Hilary Luker, Peter and Berly Bland.

SRGC Hon. Pres. Bette Ivey and Ken East
Dan Robbins, Melvyn Jope and Diane Clement... who was the birthday girl that day!
Our charming visitors from New Zealand... Hilda and Dave Toole
Glassford Sprunt, Peter Semple, Liz Semple, David Millward
Kath Rimmer, Audrey Leach, Catherine Denton and Bette Ivey
Lionel and Diane Barnwell
Lionel Clarkson, surviving without his other half, Gillian to whom we send best wishes.




 

[Maggi Young]

Thanks for the reminder about the Colchicum , Jean, and for your help too, Roma.....Aeschynanthus is much better!

 The talks were all terrific, the bulb exchange went like a rocket and the sales at the stalls of John Amand, Aberconwy , the club palnt stall and the sale of bulbs from Michael Northway's collection ( brought by Ian and Carole Bainbridge) seemed to go well.
I say seemed because I saw lots of bags of plants being carried about  but I spent a lot of time selling the Connoiseur Collection bUlbs that Luit and Vroni van Delft brought over , with the co-operation of Cees Breed , the Connoisseur himself, to be sold in aid of SRGC Website funds.
Luit had already sent me a list of bulbs and I had prepared paper bags with the names,  quantity and brief description , at least the colour, of the bulbs and the suggested price donation for them. On Friday afternoon, John Graham and Brian Burrow helped carry them inside and a busy band of female Forumists set about  packing them inot their bags..... this year we were greatly assisted in this task by having tables laid out for us to work on... last year we were on the floor.... it was much less easy that way!  We made great progress with our task ..... our work gang was Anne Wright, Christine Boulby, Diane Clement, Sue Gill and myself. We had volunteers John and Rosemary Lupton standing by if we needed them but we soon had all packed and ready.

We began our Bulb extravanganza on Saturday morning and soon nearly everyone was clutching  their brown paper bags full of lumpy goodness!
By Sunday there was not much left and soon every last packet was GONE!
Sue, Christine and I were really pleased with our efforts... we set to to count the money.... this amazingly generous donation to the Club had raised £1315 pounds.... or was it £1318 ? I was so excited I can't remember!

Thanks and  Well done to all those of you with lots of bulbs to plant this week!!
I was so grateful to all the helpers for their work and of course, a BIG THANKS to Luit, Vroni and Cees for making this possible. It is a remarkable measure of their appreciation for the work of the SRGC Website and I can tell you all that it is very sincerely appreciated.

[Maggi Young]

Hereare ....

 Luit and Vroni with Shelagh Smethurst..... in the background are David Briggs, Pat Watson, Margaret Briggs and Liz Loch


and the audience at the weekend ready for a talk to begin....... President ( and event registrar) Liz Mills is front left in the white top

[Maggi Young]

Liz Mills and Ann Christie, being serenaded by Brian Smethurst

 Mala Janes, Alan Furness and Ann Brown

Ron McBeath, Knud Lunde and Keith Lever

Two more visitors from the Netherlands... Wim and Hanny de Goede

[Maggi Young]

On Saturday after dinner there was an auction, conducted by Show Secretary Willie Campbell, with a wide selectoion of palnats bulbs and books, kindly donated by the likes of Helen and John Amand who always gives bulbs to be auctioned, Wilf and Dora Holmes who gave books, Bob Maxwell ( who didn't attend the weekend but nevertheless  sent two enormous  clay pots of magnificent  Primula marginata down to the event with us). Wim and Hanny de Goede donated bulbs to the auction, as did Arthur Nicholls and as to the donor of plants such as theMagnolia Sandy bought, I don't konw.... but a lot of folks were very kind and a lot of folks were happy bidders!  Well done to them all!

So many folk worked hard to get everything ticketyboo...... it was nice that Ian (Young) who was a speaker on Friday night, but who also worked all weekend as the sound and projection man was given kind thanks for his work.
Ian Doig kept control of the lights ... and took some pix of the Forumists which we have (rather inexpertly) cobbled together!

Ian Steele , Chip Lima, Sam Sutherland and John Graham helped with the show , tables etc..... goodness knows how many folk I may have missed out who all gave their time and trouble to make the weekend such a delight.... thanks to you all......especially to Jean and Liz!!!

[Maggi Young]

Her's the best  pic of the Forumist and Lurkers: t Funny thing.... there are a couple of dozen or so in the photos but I've just had a rummage through the attendee list and I reckon out of 144 plus folk there, I know that around 70 are either registered Forum members or else admitted "lurkers"! They must be awfully camera shy!

 I've just realised that there are one or two off to the extreme right of the shot who are missing in all the pix, so might as well stick with the main group.....