EDINBURGH AND THE LOTHIANS SHOW 4th April 2009

[Anthony Darby]

Must look again at the pics to see which witch is which?

[ChrisB]

I think someone from Holland bought a sweatshirt from our SRGC stand at the Hexham show, Ann will maybe know who it was.  Perhaps he's going to a number of shows do you think?

[Maggi Young]

On now to some shots to give a flavour of the sales area..... early in the day with only one or two folks about and also when the crowds were really in full retail therapy mode and some of the plnats on sale.....
 click the pix to enlarge.....

 Ardfearn Jim gets ready
 First Lady gets shy
 Gavin of MacPlants
 salesplants1
 Rob gets going
 whose birthday was it?
 Rob P is the birthday boy
 sales hall Stella
 shopping at Christie's
 shopping at Potterton's

[Maggi Young]

The SRGC's own Club Plant Stall is very important to raise money to support the Show.... lots of busy members worked hard all day to make it a busy as the Trade Stands.....




 click the pix to enlarge the rest......

 club stand 1
 Scott Cook givesa  friendly welcome to the  club plant stall
 show hall behind First Lady Ann Christie
 the crowds thicken
 yet more plants for sale
 Hannah P's choice
 fuzzy aliens on sale
 sales hall Hector,buying from   Beryl and son  Gavin MacNaughton of MacPlants
 plants for sale
 Julia  Corden makes an early buy

[Maggi Young]

Again a mix of quiet and busy times.....

Kevock prepares.
 plants for sale 4
 Ron and Susan McBeath
 sales begin
 sales hall 1
 sales hall 2 crowd
 salesplants1
 salesplants2.
 plants for sale 4
 Ron readies himself for the fray while Rob celebrates turning 50

[ranunculus]

I'm reading and opening as you are posting, Maggi ... keep up the excellent work please!

[Maggi Young]

Out in the Foyer the Club boards had been set up by Anne and Sandy Leven .... photo of those is last!
 Also in the main foyer were the paontings of Eileen Goodall, shown already,  the Club Book sales, Anne Chambers with her beautiful cards, reproduced from her own paintings.... Anne is an RHS gold medal winner, you know.
Glassford Sprunt had plant labels and Journal Binders....
Anne Leven had the range of Club Clobber for sale ( tasteful garments embroidered with the SRGC logo !!)

This all proved a handy meeting point for associated interest groups.... or witches' coven meeets, as some would have it  

 Thanks, Cliff for your encouragement.... I'm slogging away here!!

[Maggi Young]

Those gatherings  I spoke about were  rife, I tell you.....


Meanwhille, back in the show hall, there appeared to be some conversation, or even competition going on......
What are John Mitchell and Ian Y. comparing...... is it their photos..... is it their equipment 



ah, well, whatever the answer, they seem happy enough with the outcome.....



Alan Thomson  and Ian Pryde are straight-faced as they keep up with their duties as Stewards 

[ranunculus]

Maggi, it says on the promotion boards; 'Scotland's friendly garden club'.  Have you been taken over?   

Head down Booker ... behind the battlements!

[Maggi Young]

We've had an offer of Leadership from Sir Fred Goodwin, late of RBS, Cliff, but we thought we could do better without his help!

[ranunculus]

A wise move Maggi ... there is bound to be a lack of interest if he is involved!!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

 

[Maggi Young]

Quite so, Cliff!  Actually, this is a good point to say we  are more than delighted to have Mrs Elizabeth Mills, a charming lady more well known as "Liz" as our next  nominated President.
Many will know Liz from her days as the SRGC Secretary and  we are delighted she has accepted the nomination as our President to follow Ian the Christie kind.........no shortage of friendly and capable help to keep the SRGC to the fore, I think!  

[Maggi Young]

Maggi, it says on the promotion boards; 'Scotland's friendly garden club'.  Have you been taken over?   

There's  a difference between a friendly club and a "friendly society", Cliff, as I learned last week with the troubles at the Dunfermline Building Society     A lucky escape for my nest-egg!


( for those reading outside the UK, a Friendly Society is another name for a Building Society.... which is a financial institution,( but not a bank) run for the benefit of its Members .... many of these are in trouble now, as are Banks here and abroad       Sir Fred Goodwin is the disgraced head of a failed Bank. I hope overseas readers can follow our British humour here?   )

[Maggi Young]

Now, what about the show hall and exhibits...... I'll post pix in blocks .....
 click on them to enlarge the image.....

First the benches filling up as plants are staged....... you'll see some familair forumist faces..... and in poc 4, Cyril Lafong, our dear "Secret Squirrel", grower extraordinaire, with Jim Paterson.
A digression here..... Cyril will be featured soon in an episode of the BBC TV programme, The Beechgrove Garden".... I'll let you know when I find out when exactly. 

Jim Paterson and his wife, Janet, are keen growers from Invergowrie, home of the Taylors and Mr and Mrs Fred Hunt...... they had a fabulous little Arisaema on the bench  which some of us found utterly bewitching, if I may use that expression....
 The Arisaema was a tiny A. omiense.... seen here alone and with another in its class, A. nepenthoides from Anne and Viv Chambers