Getting Out and About

I have to say I was somewhat uncomfortable dragging my old ass and a van load of trees down to Herons last weekend. I rarely leave home these days and once I get outside my little part of Norfolk & north Suffolk I get the jitters. Being on the M25 sees me break out in hives. Still, in a moment of weakness I promised to support Kevin Willson who pulled us all together for the event. It seemed like a good idea months ago but less so as the day arrived but i’m not one to let a brother down.

Despite my innate fear of large groups it was my job to tough it out and do my utmost to be friendly and sociable. I’m so out of my depth at these kind of things it’s painful. But everyone pulled together and put on a fantastic event that was sold out. The aim was to raise £5k for charity which i’m pleased to say we did. To the best of my knowledge I avoided pissing anyone off and so I guess the weekend was a great success.

I have to thank Peter, Kevin and all the crew at Herons for all their hard work. Also my fellow exhibitors who turned out some beautiful bonsai trees and a fine display. Whilst it may have been small it was exceptional in quality and the best I have seen in the UK. Once I got over myself it turned out to be a very memorable weekend. You’ll find lots more about the event on socials i’m sure. I didn’t take a single photo, i just forgot so here are some I trawled off FB. If any of these are your photos and you would like a credit please post a comment.

Ipswich Bonsai Society Demonstration.

It’s now Wednesday and my head has finally cleared. Bonsai folk are champion drinkers 😉 It’s now time to start getting ready for my next trip, this time just down the road to Ipswich, well within my comfort zone.

This Friday evening I have a demonstration at Ipswich Bonsai Society. I’ll be discussing the process of building bonsai trees, in particular scots pines. The focus will be on the long term work required to build a bonsai tree from raw material. Most folk rely on wire to keep their scots looking good but it’s entirely possible to create a densely ramified and self supporting tree over time providing we understand the process and plan it all out well in advance. So if pines leave you scratching your head in bewilderment might I suggest ya’ll come along and hopefully I can explain. I know this friendly bunch of folk will be thrilled to see new faces.

Graham.