As well as a Book Group meeting, Bury St Edmunds group members were busy this week attending two other very different meetings:
One group attended the Day Conference ‘A Celebration of Food’ organised by the Beccles group, where “there were excellent speakers: a scientist from the Quadram Institute in Norwich talking about their research into the gut microbiome; an Ely tour guide talking about food in the 17c, and at the end of the afternoon we were entertained by a lady magician and member of the Magic Circle. The workshops were: A Taste of India (Bollywood dance), Poetry and Food, Why We Need Bees, and Wine Tasting.“
It was very much enjoyed, including the Bollywood dance workshop as you can see!
A second group met in a garden, and Ute reported:
“The sun was shining for this lovely, relaxing afternoon in Jan’s beautiful garden, exuberant with colourful flowers. A fitting background for our topic of ‘Women Gardeners’! We talked about some of the women who made their mark in the wide field of horticulture, starting with Lady Dorothy Nevill, who, in the Victorian era, grew an astounding range of tropical plants (helped by 34 gardeners). Taki Handa brought Japanese garden design to Britain in the early 20th century, and Lady Tollemache transformed the gardens at Helmingham Hall, well known to many of us. Current gardening personalities Arit Anderson, Christine Walkden and Pippa Greenwood were discussed, and much appreciated for their amazing knowledge and contributions to Britain’s favourite pastime! Sharing of plants and seeds completed a wonderful and interesting afternoon.“