Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Specific Families and Genera => Rhododendron and other Ericaceae => Topic started by: David Shaw on December 09, 2013, 10:59:44 PM
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This has just popped up on the BBC; Jamie Taggart has not been seen since 2nd November on a botanising trip to Vietnam.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-25311480 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-25311480)
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This is very shocking news that we just got here. The BBC report seems the same as an STV one from slightly earlier this evening http://news.stv.tv/west-central/252376-jamie-taggart-missing-on-plant-hunting-trip-in-vietnam/ (http://news.stv.tv/west-central/252376-jamie-taggart-missing-on-plant-hunting-trip-in-vietnam/)
Jamie Taggart, of the Linn Botanic Garden and Nursery, near Helensburgh on the West Coast of Scotland, a very enthusiastic plantsman and particularly interested in Rhododendrons, is a popular SRGC member who was due to talk to the Friends of the Cruickshank Botanic Garden in Aberdeen this week. It is reported that Jamie has gone missing some weeks ago on a plant expedition to Vietnam.
How awful this must be for his family. We can only hope for a safe outcome for this sad tale.
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Terrible news. I've never met Jamie but have been in regular contact with him as an advertiser.
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It doesn't sound good but there is always hope. I remember meeting him years ago at the the Glasgow show at Milngavie. We went round to Linn gardens a week later and I bought a Cinnabarinum Rhod. from him. It was a layered cutting which I hope will finally flower this year.
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Here is a link to the local Argyll news site which gives a little bit more background than the BBC or the national papers:
http://forargyll.com/2013/12/update-on-efforts-to-trace-jamie-taggart/ (http://forargyll.com/2013/12/update-on-efforts-to-trace-jamie-taggart/)
Jamie was often at the Glasgow Show, and we can only hope that the well-organised searches currently under way produce results.
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This is terrible news we hope that the search will bring better news, I have known Jamie for about 20 years when he first came to the Glasgow show a great plant enthusiast, cheers Ian the Christie kind.
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Thank you for posting that link, Richard, it is most useful. I just hope that the searches produce a result for the family.
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Searches are being arranged for Jamie - earlier we learned that Ian Sinclair was the contact for this but now we are able to tell you that donations to a search fund can be send to the Friends of the Linn - via Rie Bellamy.
Vietnamese guides are being used to search for Jamie..... . If anyone wants to make a donation, however small, below are the details of how to do so -
Mrs Rie Bellamy
Treasurer
Friends of the Linn
Portkil House,
Kilcreggan,
HELENSBURGH,
G84 0LF
Any donation you feel able to make will be much appreciated : you are asked to put "for Jamie" on the back of the cheque.
http://thelochsidepress.com/2013/12/14/funding-appeal-in-search-for-jamie-taggart/ (http://thelochsidepress.com/2013/12/14/funding-appeal-in-search-for-jamie-taggart/)
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Thanks for that Maggi, donation on it's way.
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I have put a link to the BBC report on facebook - it might reach more people that way.
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From the Glasgow Herald 15th December :
"An initial five-day search of the area involving 10 people failed to find any trace of him and had to be suspended due to poor weather and an injury to one of the searchers, who suffered a broken ankle. Police have also carried out a search of villages in the area.
Phil Hoolihan, of Ethos Travel in Sapa, a British ex-pat who is helping co-ordinate the search, is today expected to meet national park authorities to obtain permission to search the area more extensively, covering a distance of more than two days from where Taggart was dropped off.
The plan is to search three routes that he may have taken - from Tram Ton to Cong Troi (Heaven Gate), Lai Chau and Khoang Village, which will take four to five days.
An appeal has been launched to raise money to cover the costs of the search, which are estimated at between £1600 to £2000.
New pictures have also been released that show Taggart in Vietnam during his last trip there in 2011.
The gardens run by Taggart were founded by his 82-year-old father Dr Jim Taggart, one of the most prominent botanists in Scotland.
Ian Sinclair, who has known Jamie Taggart for 25 years and spoke to him the night before he left Scotland, said the priority would be searching gullies and gorges.
He added it was hoped the search party would involve 20 to 25 local men, forest rangers and volunteers.
"We are basically doing our utmost to bring Jamie back," he said. "There are an awful lot of folk who care for him, his father and their garden."
The "missing" posters, which are being distributed in the local area this weekend, show a picture of Taggart, stating his full name, James Henry Ker Taggart, and that he checked into the Ngoc Anh Guest House in Sapa town on October 30.
It adds: "He left the guest house on the morning of 31 October 2013 via a motorcycle taxi and proceeded to Tram Ton area of the Sapa mountain range.
"James was last seen proceeding in a westerly direction into the mountains. James is a botanist and specialises in the discovery of new species of mountain plants."
It is believed Taggart may have been looking to study and photograph plants at greater altitude than he had explored before.
His passport and rucksack were left behind at the guesthouse.
The area is not considered dangerous for travellers and it is thought local people would have sheltered the botanist had they found him in distress.
But concerns are growing for his welfare, with the dense temperate rainforest described as difficult terrain and "torrential" rainy conditions over the past few days."
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From the Daily Record website 23rd December :
THE search for a botanist missing in Vietnam is expected to resume tomorrow after being abandoned due to heavy snow. (http://thelochsidepress.com/2013/12/15/snow-hampers-search-for-jamie-taggart/ (http://thelochsidepress.com/2013/12/15/snow-hampers-search-for-jamie-taggart/) )
Local police and the British embassy in Hanoi were informed of his disappearance and searches of the area have been carried out.
Friend and fellow botanist Ian Sinclair, who has been liaising with the search parties, said they had been hampered by horrendous weather.
"The snow is continuing to melt, but there is a massive amount of snow damage to the forest such as collapsed trees," he said.
"The weather has been horrendous, with snow down to Sapa. This is extremely unusual as Sapa is upper tropical rainforest.
"A large group from the national park will be doing an intensive search once the snow melts."
A search due to begin tomorrow will concentrate on four trails inside the forest of Lai Chau and Lao Cai, he said.
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A contribution from the SRGC to the search fund was made on 18th December.
We can only wish the searchers well in their task.
http://thelochsidepress.com/tag/jamie-taggart/ (http://thelochsidepress.com/tag/jamie-taggart/) includes news of a little girl giving her savings to the search fund.
Jamie Taggart 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCRXmSeV60M#ws)
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Interesting links. It is a long time since I left The Linn to the care of my little brother. Interesting too to see the pictures of trees I planted and ponds I dug while he was still at school in England, how he developed the structure of the garden our father and grandmother, then I, laid out. I have not been near the place for about 15 years now....
The last tree our grandmother bought was a Ginko which I see is in his inventory of the garden.
I gather it was our sister Janet who raised the alarm as she keeps in touch with Jaimie, (correct spelling of his childhood name). Apparently she did not hear from him as expected, then urged our father to contact the authorities.
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Very sad news indeed.
i purchased some very rare plants from various genera from jaimie a few months back.
sadly it seems some may have been taking advantage of his fathers kind nature whilst jaimie is absent.
luckily the taggart family are back there.It would be a terrible loss if some of these plants that jaimie worked so hard to collect and produce left the linn.
on a lighter note ...never give up on a paris.i bought a rhizome a 5 years ago and it only emerged this year!!
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I met a woman who is from N.Vietnam in few years ago, the person is...... it is not a joking that trip for plants in remote area, especially lonely.
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There is as yet no news of Jamie though searches continue. Here is the latest report from "The Lochside Press" :
http://thelochsidepress.com/tag/jamie-taggart/ (http://thelochsidepress.com/tag/jamie-taggart/)
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Thanks for keeping us posted Maggi, greatly appreciated.
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I agree with you David, thanks Maggi
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Still no news of Jamie Taggart - his father is appealing for better support from Ministers and the Foreign Office - see more here : http://thelochsidepress.com/2014/04/13/fathers-plea-for-ministers-to-be-pressured-over-mystery-disappearance-of-jamie-taggart-in-vietnam/ (http://thelochsidepress.com/2014/04/13/fathers-plea-for-ministers-to-be-pressured-over-mystery-disappearance-of-jamie-taggart-in-vietnam/)
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Latest report from the Lochside Press (http://thelochsidepress.com/tag/jamie-taggart/):
First Minister calls for action in search for Jamie Taggart
By The Lochside Press on July 6, 2014
"Scotland’s First Minister has registered his concern over the case of Jamie Taggart, the botanist who has been missing in Vietnam since November.
Alex Salmond has confirmed to Jamie’s cousin Jane White that after a request from the family the Scottish Government has registered its interest in the case with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
And he has also contacted Foreign Secretary William Hague, highlighting the issue and asking whether the UK authorities can do anything more to help the search.
Jamie (42), of Linn Gardens in Cove, disappeared more than nine months ago while on a plant-hunting expedition in the Hoang Lien National Park in northern Vietnam, but his family did not know anything was wrong until four weeks afterwards, when he failed to return home.
His father Dr Jim Taggart has attacked the FCO response as ‘embarrassing’ and his mother Jill has been in touch with Minister of State Hugo Swire about the role of the British Embassy in Hanoi.
Mr Salmond’s letter states: “I do hope that this offers some reassurance to Mr Taggart’s family that this case is taken extremely seriously. We will continue to monitor the case and liaise with the Foreign and Commonweath Office.
“My thoughts are with Mr Taggart’s family at this time and I hope that news will be forthcoming.”
The community in Cove and Kilcreggan has raised thousands of pounds to help the search for Jamie, with a substantial donation also being made by actor Hugh Grant (http://thelochsidepress.com/2014/02/18/hugh-grant-boosts-search-for-jamie-taggart/), whose family used to live at the Linn.
A succession of search teams have combed the mountainous area near Sapa where the volunteer firefighter went missing, but no trace of him has been found.
The FCO say they have have been providing consular assistance to James’ family since being made aware of his disappearance on November 29 and have provided them with all information supplied by the Vietnamese authorities."
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No news on the search for Jamie Taggart.
Updates on the search can be found on this Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/Jamietaggartsearch (https://www.facebook.com/Jamietaggartsearch)
Included is this copy of a letter from Philip Hammond, MP. from 17th July
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I was at the SRGC council meeting today and it was mentioned that it is now almost one year since Jamie went missing, he is in our thoughts, cheers Ian the Christie kind.
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Sadly there is still no success in the search for Jamie -
"Still no sign of Jamie after mother’s search in Vietnam "
http://thelochsidepress.com/2015/03/25/still-no-sign-of-jamie-after-mothers-search-in-vietnam/ (http://thelochsidepress.com/2015/03/25/still-no-sign-of-jamie-after-mothers-search-in-vietnam/)
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Sad news... :(
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Very sad, but the family really need closure now.
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There is quite a moving piece in today's Herald newspaper Magazine. It is also online on their website here:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/13892622.Missing_Scots_botanist_Jamie_Taggart_s_father_on_his_heartache/ (http://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/13892622.Missing_Scots_botanist_Jamie_Taggart_s_father_on_his_heartache/)
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A touching piece, Richard- thank you for the link.
..... the article mentioned above also introduces a book :" Another Green World: Linn Botanic Gardens" "A new book and exhibition on Linn, put together by the English abstract artist Alison Turnbull and award-winning writer Philip Hoare, has sparked interest in the garden and its future." - which is out now, published by Art/Books, in association with Cove Park, priced £18.99. An exhibition to accompany the book runs at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh until January 2016.
(Linn Botanic Garden operates seasonal opening hours. Phone 01436 842242 for details)
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For those of you who knew him it looks like they found poor Jamie.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14151798.Body_found_in_two_year_search_for_missing_botanist_Jamie_Taggart_in_Vietnam/?ref=twtrec (http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14151798.Body_found_in_two_year_search_for_missing_botanist_Jamie_Taggart_in_Vietnam/?ref=twtrec)
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How sad - better for the family to know, I suppose.
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I think so too :( RIP Jamie
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It is indeed sad, but good for everyone to have the final confirmation at last.
Botanising is often a very serious and dangerous business, as has been clearly demonstrated many times over the last few hundred years.
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News piece from BBC, with some comment from Dr Taggart, Jamie's Father
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-35123672 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-35123672)
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I am so sorry to hear this sad news. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
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James Taggart gone but not forgotten.
James (as we knew him, though SRGC folks called him Jamie) went to Auchincruive College just outside Ayr from 1991 to 1994 studying Higher National Diploma in Horticulture. James was always very keen on plants and interested in his surroundings trying to find out the names of the different trees and shrubs on campus. His interest in plants was how the different genera are related to each other - unfortunately Auchincruive did not focus a lot of time on plant identification to the degree James would have liked.
James was a good friend at college sharing with me the same interest in plants. Coming from a famous Scottish garden, Linn Gardens it was very clear that he got his passion for plants from his father. We went on a number of trips with other friends throughout Scotland and he came over to Northern Ireland at holiday times from college always wanting to see plants and the geology of the area. He loved going to see the Giants Causeway on the North East coast of Northern Ireland. For a while James dated a girl from Northern Ireland who was in our year and who had attended Greenmount college, Antrim with me the year before Auchincruive so we were all very good friends and helped each other out with projects and plant idents. James kept in touch via email after leaving college as I went off to work in New Zealand after college for 6 months before returning home to my own nursery. He always had great vision and plans for Linn gardens. When he took over the running of the gardens in 1997 I put him in touch with some local botanists and plant collectors to increase the plant variety at Linn Gardens.
I am so pleased to have known James.
Ian W Scroggy
Bali Hai Nursery, Northern Ireland.
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OBITUARY for JAMIE TAGGART which will appear in the SRGC Year Book
In early November 2013, Jamie Taggart of the Linn Botanic Gardens in Cove, Argyll went missing on a plant-finding trip to the mountains of northern Vietnam. He had returned alone to an area where he had been two years previously, hoping to explore at a higher altitude. In spite of searches his whereabouts remained unknown until very recently when a body with his personal items nearby was found. It is believed he may have fallen, a tragic end to the life of a dedicated plantsman. Jamie took over the running of the garden from his father in 1997, having trained at Benmore Botanic Garden, Auchencruive and Glenarn, then on the botany degree course at Glasgow University. He introduced a greater generic and species diversity to the gardens, already home to many rare and unusual rhododendrons; fern cultivation was one of his interests and he developed a large scree area for southern hemisphere plants, all of which thrived in the mild climate and sheltered conditions of the garden. Before Phytophthora, the Glasgow show was much enhanced by his wonderful displays of rhododendrons.
Jamie’s death is an irreplaceable loss to his family and friends.
Anne Chambers
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So sad to read the news finally that Jamie Taggart died in Vietnam. I kept hoping but I guess this was the only outcome after so long. Condolences to the family.