International convention

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jhb
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International convention

Post by jhb »

I went to the BCSS International Convention for e weekend. It's the first 1 I've been to & I have to say I wasn't dissapointed. The lectures were very interesting & certainly makes you think. Some were of more interest to me than others but were excellant all the same.
As we all know cactophiles are extremely nice people & ive met some great & very knowledgeable people. It's going to be interesting to see the possible changes to how the society conducts its business after chatting to Ian Thwaites.
The accommodation was really good & the food was too.
Needless to say I really had to buy plants, just need to find room for them now.
I'd just like to thank all those that organised the event & hope that David Kirkbright gets well soon.
Looking forward to the next :grin:
Jayne H.B.
Growing Mamms, Turbs, Ario`s & a bit of most genera in darkest North Devon. Love Lithops too.Now getting hooked on Haworthia`s & Cono`s.
Terry S.

Re: International convention

Post by Terry S. »

I second those thoughts. Jennifer and I had a wonderful weekend and we send our thanks to all those involved in the organisation of the event. All of the speakers were people that I had never heard performing before and who would have thought that Ricarda could have made a talk about Euphorbia balsamifera so interesting! The highlight for me with my particular interests was Adam's talks on South African succulents and he seems to be an admirable successor to Ernst van Jaarsveld at Kirstenbosch.
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DaveW
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Re: International convention

Post by DaveW »

Agreed, hope David Kirkbright feels better soon.

I was told not quite so many there this year, but there seemed to be more people there than I remembered from four years ago?
Nottingham Branch BCSS. Joined the then NCSS in 1961, Membership number 11944. Cactus only collection.
Torbjorn
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Re: International convention

Post by Torbjorn »

I can also confirm that the Convention weekend was a very worthwhile trip.
Thank You all for intresting lectures, and nice chatts with other participents.
The location, and the organisation was very good.
To be able to talk to all of those knowlegable people is very rewarding. I only wish I had prepared better with questions, pictures, and subjects for coffe-brake diskussions.
All the best,
Torbjörn
Torbjörn
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DaveW
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Re: International convention

Post by DaveW »

Pleased to have met you at the Convention Torbjorn. Nice to meet people whose names you only usually see on the forum, particularly from overseas.
Nottingham Branch BCSS. Joined the then NCSS in 1961, Membership number 11944. Cactus only collection.
dalesmatt
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Re: International convention

Post by dalesmatt »

I really enjoyed the weekend and was equally impressed as above with regard to the organisation and the venue, thank you John Arnold for emailing me as a late book g and persuading me to do the full weekend.

It was good to gain insight into habitats and plants i've not seen or heard of and to be able to chat with others much more expert than myself about succulents. It was also great to be able to share time with the speakers and have discussions about common interests.

I'm sure I'll try to attend again.
Matt
Joined online :) Member number 49972. Bradford Branch.
Interests include South American cacti and spiny Euphorbias
Cactus Kid
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Re: International convention

Post by Cactus Kid »

Shame myself and many other Zone 15 members had to miss this event due to the date clashing with our Zone show at Hyde Hall on the same weekend :sad:

Always a great event which I hope we can attend next time around.
Joined Havering branch 2006, although have been growing on and off since the age of ten!
Have a large balanced collection of both cacti and succulents but enjoy growing cristate, monstrose and generally anything a bit weird!
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Apicra
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Re: International convention

Post by Apicra »

This was our third national convention in the Leicester Uni venue, if I remember correctly. I believe there were 20+ fewer attendees than last time, and that was less than previously. At the first, there were more displays: books, stamps, a photo competition and specialist plant displays from National Collections. But there was still enough people to make this a special event, with attendees from France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden & the USA (at least).

I was impressed that two of the speakers won in the identification quiz posed by the shows committee - they certainly demonstrated their expert knowledge!

Best wishes,
Derek Tribble
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Re: International convention

Post by topsy »

HI All,

Yes, the Convention was excellent, John is to be congratulated.

Carol Clapp was there from Costa Rica, but that's the only country I can add.

Here's to the next one.

Suzanne
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DaveW
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Re: International convention

Post by DaveW »

Yes nice to meet Carol Suzanne, though I think her Convention badge said Pat Clapp? She told me her name is actually Carol Patricia if I remember correctly and she used to be the American Society Newsletter Editor. It was as a result of an article in that I corresponded with her for a time, not at first realising she was from the UK.

She then told me she used to be known as Pat Reed (using her second name) in the UK and I remembered I first saw her under that name at one of our branch meetings in the 1970's I think it was. However she said she changed to using her first name Pat again when she emigrated to the USA and also married Maury Clapp, who died in 2010. There is a picture of them in their USA Branch Newsletter if you scroll down just over halfway:-

https://centralarizonacactus.org/assets ... vember.PDF
Nottingham Branch BCSS. Joined the then NCSS in 1961, Membership number 11944. Cactus only collection.
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