report of the arthritis care grayshott 6th november meeting

**report of the arthritis care grayshott 6th november meeting**
On a deep carpet of Autumn leaves, more than 40 members gathered for our regular monthly meeting. Chairman Sybil Saunders opened the meeting by telling us about 2 wonderful fund raising efforts produced by members recently. Sybil herself had completed the Grayshott Boundary Walk and raised £220 whilst Eileen Jordan, who helps on our sales table, had been remarkably brave in undertaking a sponsored parachute jump and had raised £303. Our next meeting on Dec 4^th will be our Christmas Luncheon at the earlier time of 12.00 for 12.30, tickets MUST be bought in advance for this from Shirley on 01428 643625. Please also note that there will be NO meeting in January as the first Tuesday is also New Years Day. Now back to this month when our speaker was Joan Tubbs, always a popular visitor, with an illustrated talk on ‘Haute de Alps’. Joan is an excellent photographer with a special interest in plants and landscapes and this time she took us on a trip to the Alpsaround Grenoblein southern Francewhere she led a group of Natural History photographers. Looking at the spectacular views this did not seem an easy trip although there was no actual mountaineering involved but the valleys and lower slopes are still pretty steep. We saw one member of her group who was well into her 80s coping with it. Not only were Joan’s slides spectacular but her memory and knowledge of the plants she had photographed was amazing. Remember that soil is sparse on the mountain side but these little alpine plants flourish in the most unlikely places. Many popular flowers have alpine varieties including a yellow foxglove, poppies, asters, pansies and orchids. As well as the plants there were some freezing streams that had to be crossed by stepping stones and some truly beautiful butterflies including the rare Apollo. Two particularly impressive finds were the rare ‘King Of The Alps’ with its tiny purple flower and the ‘Queen Of The Alps’ which is much, much larger and is a type of sea holly. Joan’s talks always bring to life areas and plants that many of us have never seen which is what makes these afternoons so fascinating. At the end of her slide show she answered members questions and had a beautiful selection of her hand made cards for sale. As usual the meeting ended with a welcome cup of tea, cakes and sandwiches.

On a deep carpet of Autumn leaves, more than 40 members gathered for our regular monthly meeting.

Chairman Sybil Saunders opened the meeting by telling us about 2 wonderful fund raising efforts produced by members recently. Sybil herself had completed the Grayshott Boundary Walk and raised £220 whilst Eileen Jordan, who helps on our sales table, had been remarkably brave in undertaking a sponsored parachute jump and had raised £303.

Our next meeting on Dec 4^th will be our Christmas Luncheon at the earlier time of 12.00 for 12.30, tickets MUST be bought in advance for this from Shirley on 01428 643625.

Please also note that there will be NO meeting in January as the first Tuesday is also New Years Day.

Now back to this month when our speaker was Joan Tubbs, always a popular visitor, with an illustrated talk on ‘Haute de Alps’. Joan is an excellent photographer with a special interest in plants and landscapes and this time she took us on a trip to the Alpsaround Grenoblein southern Francewhere she led a group of Natural History photographers.

Looking at the spectacular views this did not seem an easy trip although there was no actual mountaineering involved but the valleys and lower slopes are still pretty steep. We saw one member of her group who was well into her 80s coping with it. Not only were Joan’s slides spectacular but her memory and knowledge of the plants she had photographed was amazing. Remember that soil is sparse on the mountain side but these little alpine plants flourish in the most unlikely places. Many popular flowers have alpine varieties including a yellow foxglove, poppies, asters, pansies and orchids. As well as the plants there were some freezing streams that had to be crossed by stepping stones and some truly beautiful butterflies including the rare Apollo.

Two particularly impressive finds were the rare ‘King Of The Alps’ with its tiny purple flower and the ‘Queen Of The Alps’ which is much, much larger and is a type of sea holly. Joan’s talks always bring to life areas and plants that many of us have never seen which is what makes these afternoons so fascinating. At the end of her slide show she answered members questions and had a beautiful selection of her hand made cards for sale.

As usual the meeting ended with a welcome cup of tea, cakes and sandwiches.