Bexrose Bulletin
MARCH 2007
Published by the Bexleyheath & District Rose Society.
Patron:- Dr. David G. Hessayon MBE.
President:- Mr. W. Skinner
Vice President:- Mr. J. Elliott
Chairman:- Mr. A. Nunn
Vice Chairman:- Mr. B. Rainsbury
Hon. Secretary:- Mrs. J.Newton
Hon Treasurer:- Mrs. Z.Neale
Show Secretary:- Mr. A. Neale
Membership Secretary:- Mrs. M. Cornell
Miss V. Rochester
Other Committee members:- Mr. R. Jones, Mr. R. Pulling, Mrs. D. Carr, Mrs. D. Lemon, Mrs. J. Dyer.
Web Site:- www.bexrose.org.uk
Webmaster Email:- postmaster@bexrose.org.uk
Next Meeting Tuesday 27th March 2007
We meet once again at St. John Fisher Hall, Thanet Rd, Bexley where the hall will be open from 7-15pm for setting up. The meeting will start at 8pm until 10pm with a break at 9pm for refreshments and the raffle and of course a chance to chat to other members. This month is our Spring Show and as usual
Dr. John Hughes will be coming to judge your entries so I hope that you will all try and put something on the bench. Linda Hubbard from Bexley Civic Society will be coming to speak to us on the Red House. Those of you who know Linda know that she is a mine of information on all aspects of William Morris and the house. We should have a very good evening.
Dates for your Diary
March 13th & 14th London Flower Show RHS Halls Westminster. Entry members free. £5, 1st day £3 2nd day for non members.
March 17th & 18th London Orchid Show. RHS Halls, Entry fee for members & non members.
April 3rd & 4th London Flower Show RHS Halls Westminster. Entry as above.
April 20th to 22nd RHS Spring Show Cardiff.
April 24th & 25th Daffodil competition Wisley.
May 10th to 13th Malvern Spring Show.
May 22nd to 26th Chelsea Flower Show.
June 13th to 17th BBC Gardeners World Live NEC Birmingham.
June 16th Bexrose Summer Rose Show.
July 3rd to 8th Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
July 18th to 22nd Tatton Park Show.
August 21st to 23rd Wisley Flower Show.
September 11th & 12th London Flower Show. RHS Halls Westminster.
September 29th & 30th Malvern Autumn Show.
October 9th & 10th Great Autumn Show Harrogate.
November 9th & 10th RHS London Flower Show.
The Rose Growers Calendar by kind permission of Don Charlton.
March
1. Complete any pruning, tidying and ground firming.
2. Apply the first application of rose fertiliser, hoe in and if the ground is dry water in.
3. Apply a good thickness of much to the rose beds.
4. Buy and plant potted roses preferably for the last time this season.
Monthly Meeting dates and lectures for 2007
March 27th Spring Show Judge Dr. John Hughes Speaker Linda Hubbard on "The Red House"
April 24th BERT POWELL LECTURE. Speaker Bill Bossom on Roses.
May 22nd Speaker Dusty Miller on Vegetables.
June 26th Speaker Mrs. J. Talboys on "Perennial plants for continuous colour".
July 24th Speaker Howard Cox on Butterflies.
August 28th Speaker David Cheston on Waddesdon
September 25th Speaker Dr John Hughes on "Wild plants of Chilie".
October 23rd Speaker Mrs. Irene Palmer on "A day with Darwin". The house & garden at Down.
November 27th Speaker Russell Bowes on "Dig for Victory" The land army girls.
We were sorry to learn that Pat Powell had a fall in her garden fracturing her leg in 3 places and also fracturing her wrist. I am sure members will join with the Committee in wishing her a speedy recovery.
She is now at home but cannot move from her chair or bed without help. She has asked me to thank everyone for their cards and good wishes.
We also heard from member Les Croucher that past member Bob Mann had had a fall and broken his hip. We send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
We were sorry to hear that Margaret Cole has been in hospital for the past month and there seems no likelihood of her returning home at present. We all send her our best wishes and hope she will be well again soon.
Pot Grown Rose. Lemon Couture
We will be selling our chosen pot grown rose at the March meeting. This rose is for members to prune (if needed), feed and bring on to bloom and enter in the Pot Grown Rose Class in the Summer Show. This years rose is as usual a Patio Rose and is called "Lemon Couture". The cost will be the same as last year £4. We hope that the rose will be more successful than last years batch when only 2 roses made it to the show bench. Those of you who live in flats with a balcony can have a go at this class. The rose doesn't have to be a mass of bloom at the time of showing. The judges can tell if it has had plenty of flowers even if it has finished it's first flush. They will also judge on the shape of the bush and the condition of the leaves.
Bexrose Open Garden 43A Faygate Crescent, Bexleyheath, Sunday 25th March 1 - 4 pm.
Come and view Dave and Ann's Spring garden (We hope Spring is not over by then !). In particular, come and see the border designed by Sue Hartfree with plants for difficult situations. £1 entrance fee, Refreshments available and Tombola, all proceeds going to the Society's charity "The Woodland Farm Trust".
ACCESS By Car Turn into Broomfield road from Gravel Hill. Faygate Crescent is first right opposite the electricity substation. But please park alongside the Green in Broomfield Road, and walk into Faygate Crescent. Turn right into the cul-de-sac in Faygate Crescent, then continue walking straight on down the drive between houses No 43 & 45.
DISABLED Drive the walking route above and drop off at 43A Limited parking on site so driver please return to park in Broomfield Road.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT Use bus 132, 229, 492, to Gravel Hill, and alight at bus stops adjacent to Broomfield Road. Walk towards Latham Road, but turn left into "secret" lane situated between houses 72 & 66 Gravel Hill. Walk down lane until it opens out into a wider area and a house on the left. Opposite the driveway of the house is another "secret" a camouflaged metal gate hidden in the 15 foot high Hawthorn /Ivy Hedge. Enter gate and turn left, and please walk the full length of the Garden to report to the "Official" entrance and pay your £1 entrance fee. ( If you make it first time without getting lost you deserve a cup of tea) ED.
Rose to Celebrate 100 years of Scouting.
We know many members have either worked for the Scouting movement or have had children go through the movement. Our Chairman Alec Nunn has advised us that a rose has been dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the movement. This is a Red rose named " One Promise" If any members would like to order the rose it can be obtained through Thompson and Morgan Tel : 0870 942 2020 quoting code PP25. Rose "One Promise" bare rooted costs £9-99p each, quote stock number 80726.
Scouting Rose offer continued.
You can also order Rose "One Promise” 2 bare rooted bushes and get 1 free at a cost of £19-98p quoting stock number 80727. If paying by cheque sent it to Thompson & Morgan, PO Box 99 Sudbury,
Suffolk CO10 6SN.
Car owners beware!!!
Be aware of a new car-jacking scam. You walk across the car park, unlock your car and get inside. Then you lock all your doors, start your engine and shift or put into reverse. You look into the rear-view mirror to back out of your space and notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of your rear window. So, you put the gear to neutral, unlock your doors and jump out of your car to remove the paper that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car that is when the car-jackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off!!! They will practically mow you down as they speed off. Your engine was running and therefore, depending on your insurance policy you could well not be covered. If you are a woman you would certainly have left your purse/handbag inside the car containing credit cards, money, mobile phone, drivers licence, probably your home address and worst of all your door keys!!! Not only have they stolen you car but they would have time to ransack your home before you can get there. WHAT TO DO. Just drive away and remove the paper later. Then tell all your friends what has happened so that they are aware of the problem. THIS SCAM IS NOW BEING USED IN LONDON AND MANCHESTER AND IS MAKING IT'S WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BE AWARE
Secretary's Report on the February meeting
This month was our AGM and about 80 members were present. Chairman Alec Nunn welcomed everyone and thanked members and the Committee for their help and support during the previous year. The Secretary and Treasurer gave their reports which were proposed and seconded by members without comment. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer were all re-elected and the rest of the Committee was re-elected on bloc. Our Vice Chairman stood down but no one was willing to take on this job so at present the post is vacant. There were also two vacant places on the Committee that need to be filled. We can always co-opt someone onto the Committee if they feel they would like to try their hand at it at a later date. The Treasurer gave her report advising that the Society still has a healthy bank balance although we had spent about £300 on a new sound system last year and also Vanessa Rochester has used a large part of the Society's funds at present to pay the large deposits demanded by the hotels that we will be staying at during our holidays this year. £6,000 of that sum has been recuperated in members deposits although not yet banked. Ben Rainsbury was presented with the cup for the highest points for the monthly Rose table show, experienced class and Rosemary Madden won the cup for the novices although she was not present to accept her award. The AGM part of the meeting closed just before 9pm. Our Secretary gave a slide show in the second half of the evening on our various holidays of last year.
SECRETARY'S REPORT ON 2006
Welcome to the 2007 AGM.
The Society had another successful year under the new Chairmanship of Alec Nunn. I would like to thank Alec for the work he has put in , the ideas he has come up with, the improvements he has made and the general enthusiasm with which he carries out his duties. Last year I mentioned that membership was running at about 450. In 2006 it was considerably less at about 335. This we feel was due to many older members not renewing their membership as they found it difficult to get to Bexley for meetings, particularly in the winter months. Many of the 4 year memberships taken out when we were at Roberts Hall have now run out. We still have a steady audience for monthly meetings of around 100 which quite often astonishes speakers. We would still like some younger members though.
Many members who cannot make the meetings now often tell me how much they enjoy reading the Bulletin as it keeps them up to date with Society events. Don't forget that we are now on the web where you can catch up on old issues of the Bulletin, some special articles and holiday news together with photos. Every year I make a plea for articles, anecdotes, poems or recipes written by members but none seem to be forthcoming. It is a hard task trying to fill 4 pages every month. Ann and Dave Reynolds still keep us amused with their holiday poems which are much appreciated.
Once again we had a year of interesting speakers. Bob Ogley on Kent, Jim Buttress on Britain in Bloom, Mr. Negus gave us an enthusiastic lecture on Roses Galore and Carol Chernapanov enlightened us on the workings of the Woodlands Farm Trust, our chosen charity, to name but a few. Trying to book lecturers is still a hard task, many are now old and won't travel far from home, whilst the younger ones want rather larger fees than we can afford each month. Members may be interested to know that Anne Foster of Potato fame has been deleted from the Kent lecturers list. Did she jump or was she pushed!!
The Summer Show was down on entries last year and the pot plant classes looked very depleted. Ray Martin swept the board, winning almost every cup available and Edie Purnell won best overall Floral Art Exhibit. Public attendance was sparse despite our efforts to advertise in local shops, garden centres and on Radio Kent. We really must sell more Advance Entry Tickets and attract more passing public. Our efforts to attract school children to grow plants in containers and then enter them in a class at the show hit a snag when the Headmaster of Eastcote School proved very difficult to deal with. Hook Lane School were also interested but unfortunately we have lost our contact there now so we are not making much progress on this front. We really would like to see more members putting at least one rose in a class. Roy Harris is living proof of how successful this can be as he walked off with two first prizes.
In contrast the Rose Table Show each month has been good with quite a few members trying their hand at the show bench. Once again Ben Rainsbury was the winner of the Experienced Class with Rosemary Madden winning the Novice Class. Well done to everyone who took part. Floral Art at the Summer Show was short on entries and some months the table show struggled until I decided on a vase of flowers and foliage and this livened everyone up. It would be nice if more people had a go at this class, don't forget that all the money collected in the pots goes to the Farm.
Day trips and holidays were a success once again. We had a day trip to the Garden Show at Detling which was a gardeners delight with hundreds of stalls selling a wide variety of plants at reasonable prices. Our Christmas trip to see the lights, a cruise down the river to Greenwich and a fish and chip supper was a delight although I thought the meal was not a good as last year. Our Spring trip was to Cheshire and we spent a hot and steamy time in the Loire in July. Our thanks must go to my French friend Gerrard Manddon who booked all our trips from his home in Provence, a very varied and interesting itinerary and we were very grateful for the helpful suggestions he made. The Autumn trip to Devon was most enjoyable with fond memories for several members. All hotels this year were excellent and we returned to the Ripon Spa Hotel for our Christmas trip to York and of course really good food.
Once again I must thank my fellow Committee members for their work throughout the year in helping the meetings and all the events we put on to run smoothly. We must not forget the ladies who help out in the kitchen under Vanessa's guidance, they do a great job at meetings and particularly the January Buffet and Summer Show. Thanks also to Pat for allowing the Committee to meet at her house each month. We are very grateful to Jacki Harradine for all the hours she spends trying to find us good hotels at reasonable prices for our holidays and thanks to Vanessa for all the hard work she puts in organising the trips. We are sorry that we will not be using Bob our driver this year but we send him our thanks for all the help he has given and contributed to the success of our holidays.
Finally I hope that you all enjoyed being a member of the Society last year. Any complaints to Alec. Your Committee have enjoyed serving you and hope that this year will prove as successful.