Brilliant, Chris. And what an excellent quote from Florent: The conversation on the BCSS forum makes me sad. There really are people who are blind! They're not even aware (and still they're supposed to be plant growers!) of how old such plants are. So much for us being "educated". So much ...

Following on from a point made by Al, I have thankfully only seen one nursery in South Africa selling a limited amount of plants which were clearly acquired from the veld. And the vast majority of plants on offer in this instance were nursery-grown. Combine two points made by Chris and Al.....and Bo...

I would definitely support what ChrisR is saying. (However, I have never been to Specks and do not know where their plants originate from. The photos do include wild-collected plants.) Unlike probably everyone else (or almost everyone else) on this forum, the reason we have succulents/cacti in our g...

I wonder if it's this one?

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/70186603/

We got one last year.

Excellent, David. This might only be a description of what's needed and not the actual mechanical detail, but whatever is done needs to be done to the very best of an individual's capability. Stretch yourself. Go beyond those silly self-imposed limitations. (Liz's summary above suggests she probably...

A word of caution about making your own films. Don't. They won't work well and there's the matter of "marketing" so that it's well utilised. A few days ago I was asked to watch a documentary on the life and mission of Harry Belafonte. We met and talked during my second trip to Ethiopia dur...

I've been holding back on this one, so I'm pleased the subject has been raised. I'll add two small suggestions. The National Show is a clear opportunity. If possible, a member with PR experience should come forward to make things happen. Or, at very least, someone who knows how to word a good press ...

Other than the wonderful "pulling power" of the plants themselves, this forum is perhaps the next biggest gateway to bringing more people to branch meetings. It's 2016 and internet use still hasn't reached its peak. This is a good, active forum with a wide range of intelligent and experien...

Tony: As I've said before, I'm purposely not a member - but this doesn't at all mean that I don't contribute and support. One of the best attempts at getting me to join was by the very man who is officially tasked with this task - and he did a good job. When I'm overseas, it's seriously "full o...

How sad when someone feels the need to apologise for formerly speaking truthfully. Here's an extra point to my answer above. If I had been asked a slightly different question, Tony, it might have shown a bit more of why I'm more than qualified to comment. At several points during my life I've been i...