Area Council Minutes, Quarterly Financial Reports etc can all be found in the "Links and Downloads" page of this website.

North East Area of NAFAS 65th Anniversary 6 September 2023

This year is the Area's 65th Anniversary (Blue Sapphire) and we are holding a celebratory lunch at the Pavilions of Harrogate on Wednesday 6 September 2023.
The after-luncheon speaker is Don Witton, a well known speaker on plants and flowers. His title will be ‘Flower Power Plus Plus Plus’
The two course traditional menu is:
Roast beef with homemade Yorkshire pudding, beef-stock gravy and horseradish sauce.
The dessert is Lemon Posset with shortbread biscuits.
The vegetarian option is:
Asparagus Pithivier - puff pastry filled with fresh asparagus, Crème Fraiche and cheese, served with a White Wine and Cream Sauce.
Both main courses are served with chef’s choice of potatoes and seasonal vegetables. 
Tickets costing £40, will be on sale at the next Area Council Meeting in August or contact Joan O'Brien.

The Chairman's Letter July 2023

Dear Members and Friends

I hope you have been able to enjoy the summer as I have. Our weather is always unpredictable with a very hot June and a much cooler and wetter July. Although the weather has been mixed, I have had the opportunity of visiting some wonderful gardens, both in this country and in Spain, whilst on holiday. Our gardens and flowers give so much pleasure to so many people as there is always something new to see. I do wish that some flowers would last a little longer than they do but that is the beauty of them. 
Our trip to Gloucester was a great success with some of our members entering and winning prizes. My congratulations go to all who entered and to those who were awarded prizes. They were well deserved as the standard was very high.
The Education workshop went ahead on the 10th June after being postponed in March, due to bad weather. It was held at New Earswick and my thanks go to both Vanessa and Christine for re-organising the day. The day was really enjoyable with Mark Entwistle running the workshop.  The next education workshop is going to be held on the 23rd of September and will be held at Wigginton Recreational Hall.
A Judges’ Refresher was held on the 17th June. All who took part came away at the end of the day learning something new and feeling enthused by the day - the tutor was Margaret Rumens. The New Competitions’ manual was discussed and we learnt that two plants have been re- named, the first being the Hebe, which has now changed its name to Veronica.  Apparently it used to be this name before being named Hebe. The second is Rosmarinus officinalis, this has been re-named Salvia Rosmarinus.
The National Speakers’ Test is being held on the 3rd August at Stockton on the Forest in York. We are really looking forward to the event where six candidates will be taking their test. We are hoping that it will be well attended and wish the candidates every success on the day.  I hope many of you will be able to come along and support the candidates as the talks will be very interesting and diverse. They could also be of interest to your club members and you may want to book them for one of your meetings in the future.
Our Area lunch is being held on the 6th September which will be the Area’s 65th Anniversary and Ilkley Flower Club has been invited to design the table arrangement and Don Witton, who holds the Heritage National Collection of Euphorbias, will be the Speaker.
Tickets will be on sale at the July council meeting or by contacting Joan O’Brien (Project officer).
After the event there will be a sales table, so I am sure that many members attending the lunch will be going home to plant something in their gardens.
Finally, the Autumn Flower Show at Newby Hall is being held the 15th – 17th September where there will be two floral class to enjoy. There is still time to enter the competition as there are still two places left, so let’s make sure they are fully filled.
I would like to send my best wishes to anyone entering either of the two classes. We will be having the NAFAS stand, where the trading stall and a floral display will be on view. There will also be workshops running for the three days. The Flower Arranger magazines on will also be on sale, so do come along and say Hello and see what we get up to.
Our next council meeting will be held at 1 pm on the 29th July at New Earswick Folk Hall.
 
Remember to use the website and media to promote your club events and find out all the information you need to know about what is going on in the Area.
Don’t forget, that if your club is  holding any celebrations such as Anniversaries or workshops, please share them with other clubs by contacting Peter Mathers at nafas.northeast.web@gmail.com and Lynn Naylor at lynnnaylor50@outlook.com
I am sure both Peter and Lynn will be pleased with any information you have about the events that you are planning and photos after the event has taken place.
I wish you all well and hope you can enjoy the rest of the summer with light nights for the next few weeks.  
Best wishes
 
Sheila
NE Area Chairman  

 
Sheila
NE Area Chairman

The Area Annual General Meeting 2023...

...will be held at Stockton-on-the-Forest Village Hall, York YO32 9UR. The demonstration following the AGM will be by Jo Purdy from Scarborough. Further details will be available at a later date.