Member’s Report – December meeting
It was a cold and dark night but, with ample space on the car park, it was only a few steps to the door. Once inside, we were greeted by the secretary, as we paid our £2 and collected our raffle tickets and coffees. A warm smell of baking reminded us that, instead of the usual tea and biscuits at the interval we were going to get a hot supper. There was time to have a word with a member we were pleased to see back after illness, and look at the Interest table, set out with plants in flower or doing something unusual, and the Sales table, with spare plants put out, at tempting prices, by other members. We didn’t have time to look at the library and book-stall as we got talking about the slow progress of our seedlings, and then we were all called to take our seats for the start of the meeting.
Tonight was the A.G.M., and the mood was upbeat, with a positive review of the activities during the year. Two mini-shows had been introduced – for cacti and succulents (plants set out before the meetings and judged by members at the interval) and there had been many entries for both. The Cactus-mart, at Warrington, organised by Philip who normally puts on a stall of pots, seed trays and other specialist cactus equipment, at meetings, had been successful – fully booked by plant dealers and well attended by buyers. The summer event to mark the Manchester branch’s Diamond Jubilee was also a sell out and nobody who attended could have been disappointed by the interesting programme of speakers, the fabulous buffet or the array of plant and book stalls. The branch had also been asked to organise the Mesembs group Show and that had similarly been a great success with lots of entries to the competition, and a good programme of entertainment by the speakers, and the Mesembs group members had been so pleased that it had been decided to make this an annual event.
After the review of minutes of last year’s AG.M., and approval of the accounts, which had been set out before us at the start of the meeting, time was taken to thank everyone who contributed to the running of the branch and then it was on to the supper, with a choice of hotpot or baked potatoes with cheese or vegetarian chilli, followed by the best apple pie and cream I’ve ever tasted. The raffle was drawn as we were finishing up and we won another cactus to add to our collection. Other prizes on offer were a bottle of wine, a box of biscuits, some greenhouse tools, a tray of succulents, and some reviving lavender bath stuff for after a long day’s potting.
Afterwards came the entertainment of the evening, necessarily shorter than usual because of the A.G.M. and consisting of a film of the flora and topography of the Canary Islands, which included succulents and breathtaking exotics – something to dream about on a cold December night. After a vote of thanks to the cooks, for the supper, we were sent on our way with an amusing Christmas poem, looking forward to the programme of events for the coming year.
Sylvia Jones