BCSS Calendar of Events 2013 Compiled by John Foster

We have been extremely fortunate to be able to bring Jakub Jilemicky, a Czech Republic speaker, over to the UK to give two talks: the first on 'The Western Cape: Haworthias and Other Succulents' and the second on 'Succulents of the Eastern Cape'. Peter Berresford has also kindly agreed to talk on 'Texas/New Mexico: from the Plains to the Mountains', a brand new presentation.

Succulent plant sales will be provided by Toobees (Bob Potter) and David Neville will have cacti for sale. In addition, books will be available for purchase from Keith Larkin (Keith's Plant Books).

Tickets are priced at £15 each and include tea/coffee/biscuits on arrival, a buffet lunch and afternoon tea. Zone 6 events are well known for the quality of the catering. Tickets are available from David Wilson: 01494 581020 or e-mail Berkhamsted Branch Secretary. Tickets can be sent electronically (include your e-mail address) or by post on receipt of a SAE. Cheques should be made payable to BCSS. Detail of the day's programme is printed on the ticket.

About the speakers

Jakub Jilemicky
Jakub was born in 1980 and lives in Prague, Czech Republic. He works as a HR specialist in the power industry. He likes to share his experiences, photos and enthusiasm for Haworthia, Gasteria and other South African succulents. Apart from Haworthia and Gasteria his favourite plants include Crassula, Aloe and Adromischus. He was fortunate to have the chance to spend nearly a year in South Africa and since then has visited the area regularly. Jakub is well known to Haworthia enthusiasts, having given several talks at the 2011 Haworthia Convention. He proved to be an entertaining and popular international speaker and his photography is excellent. Jakub has published three books about his travels and is planning a fourth one.

Peter Berresford
The cactophiles among us will know Peter Berresford very well. He has travelled widely in North and South America over a number of years. His most recent trips have been to Oklahoma and North Mexico. The talk he is giving to the Convention, 'Texas/New Mexico: From the Plains to the Mountains', is brand new and traverses from the plains of the Big Bend to the Mountains of Texas and New Mexico and features lots of flowering plants. Peter is the Deputy Editor of CactusWorld.

This year there will be as usual 3 talks.

The first speaker, I am pleased to say is Robert Maijer from the Netherlands. Robert is making a special visit for the event and this will be his sole appearance whilst in the UK.

Roberts last visit was 3/4 years ago when he attended the High Wycombe Convention which proved an outstanding visit for him. Therefore I am more than pleased to have enticed him back to our shores for a second helping !

Robert will be giving 2 talks to us, the first being on Peperomia, whilst the 2nd talk is on Tylecodon. He is also bringing with him some sale plants for us to indulge our "wants".

Our next speaker is Trevor Wray, who will need no introduction. Trevor will be giving us a virtually new talk entitled "Life and death in the desert". If he gives this talk with his usual wit, then we will be in for an hilarious time !

We will also have included in our £15 ticket price our usual all-day array of food & drink to cater for any personal need. Our food is always another highlight of this event.

On top of all this, we have another outstanding selection of Nurseries in attendance, namely..................

• Alan Phipps,
• Toobees Exotics
• Cactus Shop [ Ralph Northcott ]
• Geoff Bowman
• Phillip Barker [ pots etc ]
• Tony Irons Cacti
• Robert Maijer
• Phil White
• PlantLife [ Stuart Riley ]

Tickets are only available prior to the event, either from any Zone 9 branch secretary or Tony Irons 17, White Lodge Park, Portishead, Somerset. BS20 7HH.

Cheques for £15 per ticket is payable to BCSS Bristol.

Any questions then please contact Tony Irons on 01275 846239 or 07742 821875.

Petr Pavelka: Petr is well known in UK for his expansive talks on succulents from African countries and Madagascar. For Zone 19 he is going to give a presentation about south west Angola. Due to the continuing violence in Angola it has been a dangerous country to visit but recent developments have allowed him to make a trip there. His talk at the Zone 19 Symposium about this region will be his first presentation of this topic on the British mainland and promises to be extremely attractive.

Tomi Kulhanek: This is Tomi's first visit to Britain but his reputation goes before him. He is known amongst members of the Chileans, has visited South America in search of cacti and has a good command of the English language. His presentation is in two parts: the first and major section is Gymnocalycium from 'the best habitats in Argentina' and the second, shorter section is other cacti from those same habitats.

Ivor Crook: Those of us who live north of the Midlands know Ivor to be an excellent speaker who has given presentations at both branch and Convention level. His talks are thought provoking and challenging. He is offering two shorter talks which open and finish the day. The first will invite some audience participation to set the scene and the second is a personal view of the genus Rebutia with slides of all presently accepted species plus some surprising findings.

Tickets cost £15.00 which includes the impressive buffet and all other refreshments. These can be obtained by contacting Peter Bint, 0161 643 8932 or peter@bint.myzen.co.uk or branch secretaries at Stoke and Macclesfield branches along with full details of the day and venue, the latter being 3 minutes from M60 junction 20.

• Woody Minnich from the USA
• Dr Olwen Grace from Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
• Ernst Van Jaarsveld from Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens South Africa
• Guillermo Rivera from Argentina
• Roger Ferryman UK