News Bulletins

Our news bulletins are released for Spring, Summer and Autumn each year. Some items from the October 2023 bulletin are given below.

Report from Summer Show 2023

On 5 August Nailsea School was filled with the colours, sounds and scents of our traditional summer flower show. Because of the heavy rain showers outside, the School insisted the entrance doors be shut to prevent water ingress, which caused some interesting acrobatics when committee members then had to wave at the door sensors every time to enable visitors to enter!
There were a quarter more exhibits than a year before, and a dozen new exhibitors, but most pleasingly several judges commented on the high standard of exhibits. So congratulations to all.

Edelweiss

We had an Autumn holiday in Switzerland and saw edelweiss everywhere, but not in the wild! Every town and hotel seems to grow it in their planters; unsurprising since it is a national symbol of at least 6 European countries including Switzerland.
I defy you not to burst into song on hearing its name, which means “noble white” in German, but the song would not be such an “earworm” if the plant still had its old name reflecting its use as a remedy for stomach complaints. Captain von Trapp would have sung about “bellyache flower”.
Of course, it is highly protected in Switzerland, and you must not pick or uproot the wild plants. However, it arrived there after the last Ice Age from Siberia, where it is so common it is a weed. That probably explains its IUCN (conservation) status of “least concern”.