Page 24 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2024/25

Fiona’s roundup
FIONA SHENFIELD FNVS, NVS GENERAL SECRETARY
Ian Mackenzie, NVS National Treasurer
A new face with a big responsibility having been approved as your new treasurer at the National A.G.M. A task that I am looking forward to with great enthusiasm and hopefully in some small way I can help the society continue its great success and continue the great work being carried out from one end
of the country to the other end, north, south, east west and I must not forget Ireland.
Firstly, I must take this opportunity to thank Jean Forrester who has been NVS Treasurer for many years and has served the society very well and we all owe Jean a great debt of gratitude and Jean has had a long-lasting impact which will remain for a very long time. I have no doubt we all wish her well and she enjoys her time away from treasurer responsibilities, I have no doubt in the days and weeks ahead I will be contacting Jean for advice as I step into the breach and continue her good work.
Just a little about myself, I live in a cottage in the small village of Steeple Bumpstead in Essex with my wife Gloria, where we have lived for the past forty plus years. We have a largeish garden which includes a vegetable plot which we created some 25 years back and we are constantly changing and updating. In time you may see some of it as I post photos
and comments on the NVS Facebook page. Please join the Facebook Group called “The National Vegetable Society’s Members Site”, it is a great way to get advice and share experiences as well as keeping up to date with the society.
I have no intention of writing a long article about the Treasurers role and responsibilities, just quite simply I will carry out the treasurer’s tasks in the hope that the society continues to move forwards and continues to be recognised as the society dedicated to advancing the culture, study and improvement of vegetables
and offering help and advice in a fast and changing world.
On matters related to my role as treasurer I am here to help, just contact me (contact details on page 3), and finally again my thanks, and over the months and years ahead I look forward to meeting as many members as possible as we simply continue the work of the society.
Ian or Mack it is up to you.
Is your data up to date?
It is important for our database
to be kept up to date, so we ask that you think about every time something changes and if you have let us know?
Individuals – if your name, address, phone number or email address changes, you can either update this via your user account within the website or you can contact your membership Secretary (see page 5 for contact details).
D.A.s and branch officers - If, after an AGM, an officer stands down and/or a new officer is appointed, please ensure that you contact the general Secretary so that the system can be updated and the Directory maintained in a timely manner.
Please also ensure, that for any new officers who are required to be added to the Directory, that you confirm what personal data they find acceptable to share. e.g. Name, email address and phone number with the public directories whereas the “members only” Directory additionally displays your address (& photo if you have added one).
Winter Zoom Talks for 2024/2025
We are delighted to share our exciting lineup of speakers and topics for our Winter Zoom Talks 2024/2025.
• November 6th – 7.30pm –
John Soulsby on Growing Exhibition Pot Leeks
• November 20th – 7.30pm – David Thornton on Pests and Diseases
• December 3rd – 7.30pm – Laura Tully on Cultivating Health & Wellbeing this Winter
• December 17th – 7.30pm – 2024 Year in Review
• January 7th – 7.30pm – Owain Roberts on Growing Exhibition Potatoes
• January 21st – 7.30pm – Sandra Hall – Tunnel Growing
• February 4th – 7.30pm – Mark Perry – Growing Exhibition Stump Carrots
• February 18th – 7.30pm – Jim Pearson
- Broad Beans
• March 4th – 7.30pm – Raymond
Higgins – Growing for Glory
• March 18th – 7.30pm – Simon Smith –
Growing Tomatoes and Cucumbers Sincere thanks to our speakers for
volunteering their time and sharing their methods for growing including tips and hints for success. A big thank you also to our members who attended the first few talks, we hope you enjoyed the evening and gained some tips to help you in your garden for 2025. If you would like to join us for some of the remaining talks, please go
to the events page on our website to book tickets (which are free).
For any member who was unable to attend, the good news is we are recording the talks, and they will be available to view on our website library as a member only benefit.
We are very encouraged to see member attendance increasing year on year. We now look forward to planning a new Zoom Talks series for winter 2025/2026. If any member is interested in giving a talk, please get in touch with Raymond Higgins – Contact details on Page 3.
If you missed the first four talks above there have been recorded and are available to view on the NVS website.
24 Simply Vegetables