By Paul Simons

Reproduced from Volume 7 of the Journal of the Carnivorous Plant Society. First published Spring 1983.

Thanks to our varied careers, much of the Society’s committee has been uprooted to exotic new addresses over the past few months. Paul Temple is now the key man in London, but the Society’s day-to-day business is still being Devon taken [care] of by the Hynes in their highly efficient manner at their new residence in Cheshire. I am temporarily in Manchester, but please send articles, letters, drawings and information to my usual London address (all mail gets forwarded as necessary).

As always, May is probably our busiest time of year, with the demands of making another stunning display of carnivorous plants at the Chelsea Flower Show. All offers of specimens and help will be gratefully received (contact Paul Temple). At the same time, though, we are also involved in an exciting venture at the Natural History Museum (strictly speaking, British Museum: Natural History). Thanks to an article published about us in the Guardian last year, we were approached by the Museum for help in setting up a temporary display of carnivorous plants. Apart from supplying specimens and information, we are also manning an advice desk for the public, alongside the exhibition on Sundays. The display runs from 22nd April to 3rd June, and Sunday volunteers are urgently needed — contact Paul Temple.

Publicity like this can only do us good, and I would be especially interested to hear of ideas for television. With luck, I’m hoping to get the Hynes onto BBCtv Manchester’s ‘Look North West’, since regional programmes like this are always interested in unusual items, particularly if they include something topical (a local flower show, for example).

Our recent new ventures within the Society have also yielded good results. The Christmas cards featuring carnivorous plants sold well, and the response to the questionnaire on whether members should receive commercial literature was encouraging. The newsletter has printed the main results of this survey, but some of the miscellaneous comments are included here on page 8. Ironically, these sorts of comments are exactly what we so desperately need, for the Journal’s letters — please don’t save them just for questionnaires!