DAFFODIL NORTHERN GROUP A.G.M. 5 March 2016
The venue this year was on the east side of the Pennines at Tankersley Village Hall, Pilley. Not one of the best I have had to set up with a lot of apologies from the West side of the border and a lot did not let me know, but it was to be expected with the bad weather. We got through a lot of work, as 2016 is going to be a busy year, starting with Harrogate Spring Show which we think is going to be in the big marquee which will be excellent. Then the late R.H.S Competition at Harlow Carr, for daffodils and tulips.
Then on to the final late late show at Pilley this year, the meeting and lunch gives us time to talk and look back over the season. This will be on Saturday 7th May 2016.
We will also be putting on displays at five venues throughout the season finishing up at our late get together and bulb auction at Pilley on Saturday 24th September 2016.
Back to the early show which was good to say we only had 11 members at the meeting and only 5 exhibitors putting on 40 exhibits with 70 blooms.
Harry Fogg had best exhibit with 3 nice “Medway Gold” with Alan Robinson taking Best Bloom with the reliable “Rapture”. Both winners were presented with their awards by John Freer.
Chris Bone – Secretary
‘Medway Gold’
The full results may be viewed here
I was sorry to have to miss this year’s AGM, the RHS Bulb Committee had its first meeting outside the UK and held it in conjunction with the early show at Breezand in the north of Holland. We also had the snow which had affected the members on the west of the Pennines. It was a complete blizzard on the day of the meeting, next morning it was freezing but all the snow had turned to frozen slush. The new chairman of the Bulb Committee, Jan Pennings, who lots of you will know (he sends bulbs to our bulb auction) was very welcoming and the visit included a tour round one of the largest tulip suppliers, Triflor (a global business and completely mind blowing in scale) and also a visit to Carlos van der Veek who is also very well known by many in the north of the UK. He had a display of new things he was growing, some tulips that were grown for the French Embassy and we also had the pleasure of visiting his now widowed mother and looking at the early growth on his father Karel van der Veek’s beds, which are nearby. Sorry to leave you all in the lurch, last year it was due to shingles, I was there in spirit also. I hope next year I will do better.