WAGS NEWS October 2005

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Chairman's Piece

Looking back to April, I note that I was talking about winter conditions: North winds, sleet and snow and low temperatures. As I write this we are sweltering in temperatures well into the 20s and a thunderstorm is raging. What a difference in a few months! It has nevertheless been a strange season for growing - too much heat and insufficient water. Some things have done well and others not so well and many people have complained that their tomatoes are slow to ripen.

The store continues to work well under Gareth's management, with the help of a few volunteers. We have a number of new members who I hope will continue to support us and maybe become committee members. And where is this volunteer for Assistant Store Manager? I'm sure that someone out there could fulfill this job very well. Come on members, show that you want WAGS to continue to flourish for years to come. We are a very friendly Association and always appreciate member participation.

The Band Concert went well with a change of band and I notice the local press said that we had sent £130 to the Air Ambulance. This is not so. We hope with a contribution from the "charity box" to eventually send more. We will keep you posted.

Iris Novell

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Show Time

Last year I said that the show was one of the best that I could remember. Well now I think this year has pipped it. Our luck with the weather continued as the promised rain held off until a smidgen after 4pm.

The number of entrants was again marginally up on last year - 45 against 41, and again there was a significant increase in the number of exhibits 415 against 347, +68 or 20% up! This means that entrants are growing more produce an entering more classes. Well done all those that entered. Keep it up!

The RHS Judges, Les Waldron and Phil Sullivan, were very complimentary about the standard of exhibits and despite a national decline in Garden Societies, said that our show is still one of the best that they judge. As always they are never satisfied and ask to have more exhibits to judge next year...please!

Elsewhere in this newsletter you will find a full list of all the trophy winners (on the web site - a link to the "Show" pages in the table of contents at the top of this newsletter). All bar one were awarded this year, but there are several classes that only had one entry. The most worrying section is wine. If entries are not up next year the whole section will have to be withdrawn!

The Roke and Benson Brass Band entertained us in their now familiar fashion. We are lucky to have such talented musicians to call on every year.

Many thanks to the committee, the Judges and all the helpers on, before or after the day. The term 'many hands make light work' showed on Friday evening as the halls were made ready for Saturday. Everything was cleared very quickly after the Show. I am particularly grateful to my 'family' who come to do the backroom jobs and then melt away. Tim and his amazing spreadsheet (that saves 2 hours of calculations); Ali and Paul who 'scribe' all the certificates; Dave and Sam who ensure that the certificates are attributed to the right exhibit. Many thanks to 'Bankers' Bill and Muriel, Bill & Joyce on the Tombola, as well as Ivy & George, Ginny and Blondie, Peter and Betty, and all the other 'Stewards' too numerous to mention. You know who you are! Without you all, it just wouldn't happen so smoothly!

Other special mentions go to Barbara Caistor, in her new role as 'Caterer', aided and abetted by several 'helpers' who did sterling work serving tea and cakes as well as feeding the judges and helpers. And Joyce Stickley and her tub of elbow grease again brought a real shine to the Trophy table. We were proud to present a new shield this year in memory of Peter Hallett.

Finally, thanks to the Judges, who come from far and wide, and do a very professional job.

Several pictures of the show halls and exhibits have been posted on the WAGS Web site, including colour versions of the ones in this newsletter. If you are a computer user, why not have a look now? - Note from the Web Site Administrator: this year's photos had not been received at the time of writing, however if they have not been posted by the time you read this - they will be there soon.

Start thinking about what you will enter next year ... NOW!

Bernard Novell

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Trips & Catering

Trips

Our trip to the Longstock Water Gardens was most successful. Beautiful weather, in fact almost too hot, and a wonderful venue. Thank you all for supporting this and the trip to Ball Colegrave which I understand was also a great success. Sadly my last effort to the the Amateur Garden Show had to be cancelled due to lack of support, which was most disappointing, especially as during the past year or so, several people had voiced a wish to go to a show again. Which just goes to show that you can't please all the people all the time. I am now looking forward to taking a back seat and enjoying next year's offerings! Thank you to all those who have supported the trips over the past years and hope that many members will continue to support the further offerings.

Iris Novell

Trip to Longstock

What a contrast to the WAGS last visit to Longstock Water Gardens which I find hard to believe was about ten years ago. Then it was cold, wet and muddy. This time the lakes gleamed in the sun. We ate our picnic under the mature trees, then to the main gardens where the head gardener gave us an introductory talk, confessing he didn't know the names of all the waterlilies, unlike members of the Water Lily Society who had recently visited. There were Koi carp, ducks and lovely bog plants. We felt jealous of the un-nibbled hostas; this was down to a large population of frogs. There was a fairly new herbaceous border and many unusual shrubs.

Some thought the plant nursery was a tad expensive and we said we wouldn't buy anything, but you have to pay for the unusual, and how could we come away without a souvenir of a lovely day.

You could trace Iris's hand in the seamless arrangements which included tea and cakes and it went like clockwork. She even thanked us for coming!

Win Glendenning

Catering

A very big thank you to all who helped at the Band Concert - those who baked cakes and those who helped on the day. The weather was rather unsettled, not like the heat wave we had last year. Nevertheless the tea tent was kept busy and the afternoon was successful. Thanks to your efforts we will be able to make a substantial donation to the Thames Valley Air Ambulance our chosen charity for this year. We have already donated to the defibrillator appeal - our other charity.

Barbara Caister

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From the President's Pen

Though cultivation of plants for food long predates history, the earliest evidence for ornamental gardens is seen in Egyptian tomb paintings of the 1500s BC; they depict lotus ponds surrounded by rows of acacias and palms. The other ancient gardening tradition is of Persia: Darius the Great was said to have had a "paradise garden" and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were renowned as a Wonder of the World. Persian influences extended to post-Alexander's Greece: around 350 BC there were gardens at the Academy of Athens, and Theophrastus, who wrote on botany, was supposed to have inherited a garden from Aristotle. Epicurus also had a garden where he walked and taught, and bequeathed it to Hermarchus of Mytilene. Alciphron also mentions private gardens. The most influential ancient gardens in the western world were the Ptolemy's gardens at Alexandria and the gardening tradition brought to Rome by Lucullus. Wall paintings in Pompeii attest to elaborate development later, and the wealthiest of Romans built enormous gardens, many of whose ruins arre still to be seen, such as at Hadrian's Villa. Byzantium and Moorish Spain kept garden traditions alive after the 4th century. By this time a separate gardening tradition had arisen in China, which was transmitted to Japan, where it developed into aristocratic miniature landscapes centred on ponds and separately into the severe Zen gardens of temples. In Europe, gardening revived in Languedoc and the Ile-de-France in the 13th century, and in the Italian villa gardens of the early Renaissance. French parterres developed at the end of the 16th century and reached high development under Andre le Notre. English landscape gardens opened a new perspective in the 18th century. The 19th century saw a welter of historical revivals and Romantic cottage-inspired gardening.

Twentieth century gardening expanded into city planning. A small list of people who have had an influence on the English Garden.

John Tradescant the elder (ca 1570s - 15/16 April, 1638) was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller, probably born in Suffolk, England. He began his career as head gardener to the Earl of Salisbury at Hatfield House, who initiated Tradescant in travelling by sending him to the Low countries for fruit trees.

Lancelot Brown (1716 - 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape gardener, now remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 200 parks, many of which still endure.

Humphry Repton (1752 - 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth centurey, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the nineteenth century.

Joseph Paxton(1803 - 1865) was an English gardener and architect of The Crystal Palace. Between 1835 and 1839, he organised plant-hunting expeditions, one of which ended in tragedy. Paxton was honoured by being a member of the Kew Commission which was to suggest improvements for Royal Botanical Gardens, and by being considered for the post of Head Gardener at Windsor Castle.

Gertrude Jekyll (1843 - 1932) was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist who created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA. She also contributed to over 1,000 articles to Country Live, The Garden and other magazines.

Vita Sackville-West (March 9, 1892 - June 2, 1962) was an English writer and landscape gardener. She helped plan her own gardens in Sissinghurst, Kent which provide the backdrop to Sissinghurst Castle.

Finally I would like to thank all those members and friends who helped to make our Band Concert such a pleasant success, as a result of your help we will be able to make a generous donation to the Air Ambulance Service.

Peter Atkins

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Shop Talk

At the time of writing, most of the autumn bulbs have been delivered to the store, and will be available for sale after the WAGS show. In addition, both the onion sets and seed potatoes have been ordered and are expected in the store early in the new year. They arrive in 25 kilogramme sacks and are then re-packed into saleable units. to do this, we have a number of volunteers, though additional help will be most welcome. Individual jobs take about 2 hours, with the minimum amount of strenuous work. If you are willing to help please telephone me (see 'phone number in the printed edition of this newsletter).

We will have three varieties of onion sets and two of shallots. The onion sets will be on sale at 25p per ¼ kilogramme and the shallots at £1.10 per kilogramme.

ONION SETS

Stuttgarter
Sturon
Red Braunshweiger

SHALLOTS

Golden Gourmet
Delicato

We will have several varieties of seed potatoes, as follows:

FIRST EARLIES

Arran Pilot	£1.80 per 3kg
Epicure	£1.80 per 3kg
Foremost	£1.80 per 3kg
Home Guard	£1.80 per 3kg
Pentland Javelin	£1.65 per 3kg
Rocket	£1.80 per 3kg
Swift	£1.80 per 3kg

SECOND EARLIES

Estima	£1.80 per 3kg
Wilja	£1.80 per 3kg

MAIN CROP

Cara	£1.80 per 3kg
Desiree	£1.65 per 3kg
King Edward	£1.65 per 3kg
Majestic	£1.80 per 3kg
Maris Piper	£1.65 per 3kg
Pentland Crown	£1.80 per 3kg

SALAD POTATOES

Belle de Fontenay	£1.65 per 2kg
Charlotte	£1.55 per 3kg
Pink Fir Apple	£1.65 per 3kg

If anyone requires smaller quantities to those shown above, we will be happy to oblige within reason.

Finally, we will soon be expecting next year's Dobies catalogue with the first order being sent out early in November. It will include all the orders received prior to this. All the plant and vegetable seeds will be subject to a 35% discount. All other items will receive a 10% discount. Further orders received before the end of November will be subject to the same discounts. Subsequent orders will receive only a 20% discount on seeds and a 10% discount on all other items. All plants will be delivered to individual addresses some time in the spring. All other items will be in the store early in the new year.

Please note that the Store will NOT be open on 10th December for four weeks and will re-open on first Saturday in January 2006 - Saturday 7th January 2006!

Gareth Roberts

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Councillor Betty Atkins MBW

W.A.G.S. are very proud to count Betty as one of our stalwarts. Betty first joined WAGS with her husband Peter in 1977 and soon joined the committee doing any job asked of her. From working in the store, at the counter, in the back room, helping with the stock taking, anything that required doing, even weighing potatos when they came in. In other words anything that required doing Betty did. She did various jobs that required doing on the committee becoming Secretary, eventually becoming Chairman incidentally the first lady Chairman of our society. Betty was soon asked to stand for election for the Town and District Councils, being elected to both.

She was soon making her mark in both Councils becoming Vice Chairman of SODC also Mayor of Wallingford twice. Betty is also very prominent in various other organisations in Wallingford.

Betty was awarded the MBE for Services to the Community in Wallingford in the Queen's latest Birthday Honours list.

Congratulations Betty from all of WAGS members.

The Last Word

A celebration all round this year. We achieved new records for our 30th Autumn Show - more entrants, more exhibits and some colour to the newsletter!

I find it fascinating walking slowly round the halls as the exhibits are being arranged, looking at the differing styles of presentation. This is particularly evident in the vegetable section.

Very few of the names that entered in 1975 are among this year's entries. Well it is 30 years ago I hear you say. But they were young people then and it is gratifying to know that some are still aggravating the soil in 2005.

Firtree school faced some competition this year from some very determined youngsters. Please give the children's classes some thought for next year. We need to give the judges a hard time. More really good entries next year please!

We are still looking for an Assistant Store Manager.

As always, articles, photos, recipes, newspaper cuttings, or experiences would be most welcome. Leave them at the store or email them. They will reach me.

Tim King

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