SRGC Discussion Weekend 2011- Dumfries 23rd to 25th September

[gervandenbeuken]

Chris see you next year. Yes there will be no stopping me now. Really enjoyed meeting you. At least with the forum we get to keep in contact everyday if we want. When I emailed Ger to place a order he replied by saying is this the Angie that is on the forum nearly everyday. There aren't many days that I miss the the forum. Where else can we make friends so easy and all over the world and speak to them anytime, night or day, great isn't it 

Angie

Angie, it was a pleasure to meet you in Dumfries .
Mariet and I promised each other to join the next discussion weekend in Dumfries again.
It's really a fantastic meeting of one big plants family and to see old and new friends.
Many thanks for all!!

[ChrisB]

So glad you are going to come back Ger.  Was lovely to meet you both.  Hope you enjoyed your trip to Holehird Garden, did you enjoy it?  I'm plucking up the courage now to repot my precious alstromeria....

[angie]

Ger that's great that you are going to be there next year. Will be nice to get some more nice plants and replace the ones that I will kill 
Hopefully some of our members from way down south might come up. Would love to meet more forum members next year.
Everyone put it in your diary.

Angie

[Maggi Young]

Those of you intrigued by the SRGC trip to Eastern Turkey mentioned in the recent Journal  and at the Discussion Weekend can find out more here : http://www.srgc.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7936.0

The charmingly thornless Thornes, Margaret and David, are organising this trip which will be led by Professor Adil Güner, his daughter Başak and son-in-law, Chris Gardner.

The trip will be from 5th to the 19th May 2012.....  you might imagine that strong protestations were raised about this clash with the Aberdeenshire SRGC Show!!     David tells me this has come about because of the "optimum flowering time" in Turkey..... Harrumph! Seems like just an excuse to me.... albeit a very valid one!

[Maggi Young]

Found some time to get my meagre amount of photos sorted.....
in no particular order.....

[Maggi Young]

Forrest Medal from Beryl McNaughton,  Gentian 'The Caley' (bred by Ian McNaughton and named for the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society which is known as "the Caley")

[Maggi Young]

more from the show.......

Benthamiella patagonica and Draba 'JohnSaxton'
Brian-at-work-stewarding
cyclamen-africanum
Peter Maguire -Ron McBeath -Bette Ivey : judges
Jennifer Watson, show secretary -Brian Smethurst
Shelagh Smethurst -at-work: record keeping
 mini garden
Judgesinaction

[Maggi Young]

the next set....


"Sedum shoeiformis"


Sedum debile


Shortia-uniflora-kantonense shown by Audrey Leach

[Maggi Young]

from the show....
The best conifer in the show was from DWE organising Reiver, Ann Sinclair, shown in Section II .

[Maggi Young]

On the Friday, we discovered it was Brian Smethurst's birthday.... Judy Humphreys had been in cahoots with Shelagh and a cake was brought in to dinner!
This was good fuel for Shelagh and Brian's work stewarding for show secretary Jennifer Watson at the show the next day.

Other birhdays celebrated at the weekend were Audrey Leach ( the Shortia in the pix above is Audrey's) and Ken East from Edinburgh. There may have been another I've forgotten.... I do know it was Lionel and Diane Barnwell's anniversary on the Monady after the DWE.

[Maggi Young]

Random photos.....

gathering 2
gatheringfor a talk
Ian the  Christie kind  and Colin Crosbie from Wisley
Carole Bainbridge - SRGC  President "Prezz" Liz Mills -Diane Clement, Midland diarist
Carole B. -IanYoung - Ger van den Beuken
early birds get a seat : Darren Sleep to the left and Helen Donald and Jackie Thomlinson (to the right foreground)
Highlanders : John Owen -David and Carol Shaw  - I somehow managed to miss snapping the three of them in their smart Highland RGC polo shirts. 

[Maggi Young]

Oops, discovered this missing hairpiece and photo of Ron and Bette from the show hall.....

[Maggi Young]

more random shots....

MargaretThorne, wondering if she needs an extra SRGC fleece for the SRGC 2012 Turkey Trip  watched by Harley Milne
Ron McBeath-Ben Wilson -David Mowle -Lionel Clarkson
Rick and the Human Advert ( the BD, aka Ian Young)
Rick Lambert and Diane Clement
Susan McBeath -Ian Christie
Tony Lee (Reiver husband of Registrar Gill) -MargaretThorne -Ju and Mike Bramley

[Maggi Young]

Just a couple left......
Anne Gardner couldn't attend, so her daughter came ... seen here with Susan Sleep ( between Margaret (?) and Susan we can spot Peggy Anderson the SRGC Treasurer and the former Treasurer and constant Treasure, Ann Christie)

 and this is the  most original, personalised  chocolate gift that I was given by the Reivers as a thank you for my talk, which was about the breadth of subjects tackled in the Forum and the value to the future of the SRGC of the strength of the website and forum.

[Richard Green]

And what a talk it was!  All done at high speed - with a constant whirl of projected pictures from the Forum and other places.  The audience were impressed with the statistics, the range of members interests, and their places of origin, and the fact that the Forum is a 24/7 place to talk about plants, and attract new members.  Well done Maggi!

PS The slideshow was punctuated with pictures of large sticky chocolate cakes for some reason which I cannot understand???