The Cornwall Branch was formed in 1970 at the inaugural meeting at Helston School. We are a small but friendly branch and welcome new members and visitors from other parts of the country. We have an Annual Show each year in May at the Mills’ Hall, Carharrack, TR16 5QW.
Some meetings this year will be held at the Murdoch Room, Redruth Community Centre at Foundry Row, Redruth, TR15 1AN, but most are held in members gardens as open days.
Programme of events 2024
Please note that details of each venue are listed within the description of the event itself.
We have a lovely lot of events lined up for you for 2024, from our annual dinner to open afternoons, our annual branch show and meetings at Redruth Community Centre. Dates for the latter part of the year are not quite finalised yet, but the following spring and early summer dates can go in your diaries. The dates and times for meetings from October onwards will all be confirmed in our next newsletter, due at the beginning of May.
Open Afternoons: As before, in order to help our open afternoon hosts to cater for the numbers attending events at their homes, we are asking everyone to please let me know if you will be joining us. Please either email me jacquitreasure@yahoo.co.uk, or phone me on 07511255116, or on 01637 831821 (please leave a message if there is no answer) so that I can confirm final numbers to the host. I will then pass on the addresses and directions for the events to you.
There is no need to book for the meetings held at Redruth Community Centre. For future reference regarding parking at the community hall, which was a bit of a squeeze at our first meeting there, the New Cut Car park is very close and is free parking after 4.00pm. If you are coming from the Tesco area, just drive past the community hall and take the next left. New Cut car park is just a little way up the hill and has loads of spaces.
Our first event will be our annual dinner. Last year, we held this at the Coach and Horses at Kenneggy Downs, and it was very much enjoyed by all who attended, so we are returning there in early March. Obviously, bookings will be essential for this particular event, and we will need your choices in by 23rd February. Please email me at jacquitreasure@yahoo.co.uk with your menu choices. The menu is on the page 5. Please also let me know if you have any specific dietary requirements.
Members Open Days this year are:-
8th March (Friday) 7.00pm Annual Dinner, Coach and Horses, Kenneggy Downs, Roseudgeon, Penzance, TR20 9AW (on the A394 between Helston and Penzance). Please book with either Ian or myself – our details can be found on the ‘Who’s Who’ page of this newsletter.
7th April (Sunday) 2.00pm Alan’s Open Afternoon. Alan has a great range of mature cacti and succulents, as well as a pretty garden. Alan will have some tables at the ready for members to ‘bring and buy’, so a good opportunity to sell and buy plants. Alan lives in Camborne.
May 8th (Wednesday) 7.00pm for a prompt 7.30pm start. Meeting at Redruth Community Centre, 9a Chapel Street, Redruth, TR15 1AN. We will be in full getting-ready-for-the-Show mode and also hope that Melissa will be able to come and give a presentation about her travels in Arizona. Admission, to include refreshments is £4 per person.
May 18th (Saturday) Cornwall Branch Show. Full details will appear in the May newsletter, but a taster is on page 7 of this issue.
June 2nd (Sunday) 2.00pm Wilmot’s Open Afternoon. Wilmot is known for hercollection of Sansevierias, but also has other succulents and cacti. She will also be hosting a plant sale, so please feel free to bring along any plants you wish to sell. Wilmot lives in Redruth.
July 7th (Sunday) 2.00pm Liz’s Open Afternoon. Another chance to enjoy Liz’s beautiful garden, situated on the southern slope of Carn Marth, near Carharrack. Liz has a great collection of succulents, growing both inside and out.
July 21st (Sunday) 2.00pm Ian’s Open Afternoon. Always a great pleasure to view Ian’s garden, and see what new ideas have come to fruition since our last visit. Ian lives at Trevince.
Sept 15th (Sunday) 2.00pm David’s Open Afternoon. David has several greenhouses packed to the eaves with a range of cacti and succulents. David lives in Newquay.
Further events will take place in October. Details to follow.
Clif is always happy for Branch members to come and see his collection. He often has some lovely plants for sale. Please phone him on 07792 146716 to arrange a visit.
If you would like to host an Open Afternoon, please do get in touch. We are now pretty full for 2024, but it’s never too early to start planning our events calendar for 2025!
Exeter Branch Meetings – Our friends in the Exeter Branch hold regular monthly meetings and talks, and I am sure they would welcome any of our members who would like to go along. They have a Facebook page (Exeter Branch, British Cactus and Succulent Society).
Keep an eye on our Facebrook group (BCSS Cornwall Branch). It’s a great way to keep in touch between newsletters and to post photos of your plants.
For more information about the Cornwall Branch please contact:
Ian Facey-Macleod (Branch Secretary) at secretary@cornwall.bcss.org.uk
We also keep in touch via our Facebook group. Please email Jacqui Treasure at facebook@cornwall.bcss.org.uk if you would like to join the group.