Dear CHAPS member,
Since I wrote in the summer we have had several events that were much enjoyed by many of our members. At the beginning of August we had the garden party which I found very enjoyable and hope everyone else had an equally good evening. We then had a very good turnout for the evening visit to Wheatley House later in the month where we had excellent weather to enjoy the colourful borders and beds. The Autumn show at the beginning of September was to our usual high standard with a good range of exhibits. Again we had some new entrants who did well in the classes they entered so hopefully they will feel inspired to enter again in the Spring show.
Our autumn talks programme begins on Thursday the 21st of September with a talk by Barry Newman on the Modern Kitchen Garden. Barry is a well known grower, exhibitor, lecturer and judge. He is Chairman of the Southern Region of the National Vegetable Society (NVS) and serves on its National Executive. As well as being a senior NVS judge, Barry is on the judging panel of the Royal Horticultural Society and South & South East in Bloom. He is also a member of the South of England Agricultural Society’s Horticultural Committee. Barry was formally trained in horticulture at Pershore, York and Bath Botanical Gardens. He lives in Partridge Green in West Sussex.
The October talk on the 19th of October is a change to that shown on the back cover of the schedule. It will be a talk on Insects and Pollination by Andrew Halstead, the RHS Principal Entomologist.
In November we have the AGM on the 16th at Quinnettes followed by a talk on Work and Wildlife in the Local Area by Matthew Cusack of the National Trust.
This year we are preparing the 2018 Schedules and Membership Cards in time for the AGM so all those who renew their membership on the evening will be given their new schedule and membership card. If I could encourage as many people to come to the AGM and pay the £5 subscription (£10 for family membership) it would be a great help to the committee as it will save a lot of shoe leather coming round to collect subscriptions individually!
One item from the new schedule that I would like to bring to your attention now is the day visit. On Wednesday the 25th of April we will be going to Arundel Castle where they are holding a Tulip Festival during April and May – over 32,000 tulips will be flowering during that period. Tickets will cost £25 per person and this includes coach travel to and from Churt and entry to the castle and gardens. It would be very helpful if members wanting to come could book and pay for their tickets as soon as possible. We will be taking bookings at the AGM so if you would like to come please bring the ticket price with you (as well as your membership fee). More information on Arundel Castle, the gardens and the tulip festival (it is in the Garden menu on the website) can be found at http://www.arundelcastle.org/ .
I look forward to seeing you at some or all of the forthcoming events.
Happy gardening!

Maggie Wright, Chairman