I have just returned from the Convention and thought I would jot down some thoughts. The weekend was frantic but I very much enjoyed it.

The accommodation was fine. Certainly the best student accommodation I have ever stayed in. The ensuite bathroom had room to swing a cat in. Now that’s big student accommodation. Food was OK and certainly no chance of being hungry.

At registration we were given a ‘goody’ bag. A special edition BCSS cloth bag we can use in Tesco to ‘save the World’ (and advertise our Society). Included was a box (yes, a dozen of them), of label marker pens. “Wow,” said someone, “there are enough to last a lifetime!”

There were also the ‘Rules, Regs and Programme’ for the convention and plenty enough promotional reading stuff from the fringe societies to last me the 30 seconds it would take me to go to sleep at night.

Goody bag at the BCSS Convention

Delegates arriving at the BCSS Convention

Favourite talks were by Tok Schoeman and Zlatko Janeba. The latter confirmed that the CZ cactus explorers are manic but dedicated to the task of finding rare cacti. Who would search for rare, one inch cacti in the snow? Who would be escorted to the site of the rarely visited Graptopetalum (or Tacitus) bellum by what looked like armed Mexican ‘mafia’?

Tok found a way of presenting the distribution and variation of the Namibian Lithops in a way that was efficient and entertaining. I made a note to look out for Lithops amicorum ‘Freckled Friend’, an attractive cultivar of this newly described species. There is some beautiful desert scenery in Lithops country and delegates will also remember ‘Miss Etosha 2010’. Not an alluring pinup but a female baboon. These mammals are big predators of Lithops in habitat but not as great as ‘Lithops friends’ who clear complete sites for profit when they learn of them.

The Radio 4 ‘Gardener’s Question Time’ panellist Anne Swithinbank dropped by. She has an interest in succulent plants and was looking for some background for a programme. We were able to show Anne a succulent success story; the rare and endangered ‘spiral Aloe’, Aloe polyphylla from Lesotho. This CITES 1 plant is now easily grown from seed and we had large plants available for sale at reasonable cost on the N&MK stall. (We actually had both clockwise and anticlockwise forms.) There were also packets of home pollinated seed for those who want to grow their own.

		Long serving members of N&MK will remember that there was an Anne Swithinbank Appreciation Society within the Northants Branch. So for those members we include a couple of images showing (Far Left) Anne with Suzanne Mace and big DK at the N&MK plant stall stuffed with Aloe polyphylla and (Left) recording some background for a Gardener's Question Time programme. The delegates applauded wildly, (as they should.)

I knew the sales were going to be good. Delegates had free tables and there was a plethora of plants to attract us. Amateurs and professional growers propagate a huge range of plants. I ummed and aahed for a bit over a one inch Whitesloania crassa at £3. Great value, but how long would it survive the austere and chilly wastes of the Wray Cactorum? Nice grafted Sclerocactus and Pediocactus ‘menzelii’ at £2.50 were a bit easier. Yes please! There were also a range of the ‘other cacti’, leafy jungle things from hot places. Interesting to see but not for me.

I think everyone there had a great time. Talks, chat, sales plants and a lifetime supply of marker pens. What else could you ask for from a BCSS Convention?

Out-take from the official photos at the BCSS Convention

Quotes

Tok Schoeman describing the surface of a Namibian Lithops, "It is like the patina on antique furniture".

Rodney Sims spying the sign saying Hardy Succulents ‘Huh, hardly succulents!’

Several delegates admiring a fine flowering Echinopsis John Arnold has just bought. "It has offsets, John… It has offsets? IT HAS OFFSETS?"

The 'Ed' taking the official speakers photo. "I'll take several, please. Someone always manages to blink or something..." (Well, I suppose you have to see the relevant detail from the image. It's on the left. Thanks Jim!)

"Did you get the pictures of Anne Widdecombe? "

Delegate finishing a rather tasty dessert at dinnertime. “That was nice.”

Another delegate, “But it could have been bigger!”

Ed "Hey David, (DJK) have you any fond memories of the Convention?

"Yes, the end of the auction!"

At the Convention auction

Following some Czech journals there were some Henry Shaw cactus Society magazines "It’s written in American"

Wag at the Back, "Going for a thong" (I suppose you have to see that image as well.)

Going for a thong!

Keith Larkin selling books at the Convention

PS: On my way home I dropped in to collect a boot-full of bound old NCSS Journals bought on Ebay. A great weekend. Does anyone want to buy the unbound ones?

Which reminds me Keith Larkin was there, selling books and enjoying the Convention. He's practically one of our branch members and I snapped him in habitat.

Finally

You know I have a collection of cactus themed T shirts? Not the actual shirts but the images. Well this guy with a funny accent said if I put this image into our Northants News piece he would buy me a drink. In San Diego or somewhere.

Finally finally

Read Roland's report with more images from the Convention.

US 2011 cactus Convention


Views at the plant sales. The centre image shows seed raised flowering size Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus macdougalii. On the right Ian is showing us that the best plants are always on the floor.