Countdown to the BSBI Annual Summer Meeting II

Antennaria dioica - one of the plants
 we hope to see at the ASM
Image courtesy J. Crellin/Floral Images
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/page.php?
taxon=antennaria_dioica,1

The other day, I managed to speak to Jon Shanklin, BSBI's Hon. Field Meetings Secretary, who is organising this year's BSBI Annual Summer Meeting (ASM) in Flintshire and asked him how things were going. Here's what he told me:

"The countdown to the ASM is ticking away relentlessly - has everything been organised?  The bits that can be organised seem to be in order, though I'm sure I've forgotten several things, but there are two big items that cannot be organised - the weather and the participants.

"The weather is now coming into range for the forecasts, and they suggest that we may get some dry days, but there will be some wet ones too, and it will be cooler than of late.

"I've had a chance to practice wet weather recording using waterproof recording cards and these work very well, though checking IDs is a problem - best to take a sample for later study. 

"Where the participants want to go on the recording days and who they will go with is perhaps like herding cats and almost the hardest part of organising the meeting. 

Helianthemum oelandicum - another of the plants
 we hope to see at the ASM
Image courtesy J. Crellin/Floral Images
http://www.floralimages.co.uk/page.php?
taxon=helianthemum_oelandicum,1

"I've created a spreadsheet of possible combinations, but can almost guarantee that it will get completely re-written as soon as the participants begin to arrive.  

"This year the ASM includes the Welsh AGM so there is another reason to come along - a chance to drink a toast to Commander John Topp, who made a bequest so that everyone attending the Welsh AGM has a complimentary drink!

"We also have a special event this year - the giving and receipt of the Presidents' Award, a joint award between the Wild Flower Society and the BSBI. We'll be telling you who is the well-deserved recipient after the event, but if you want to be amongst the first to know, you will have to come along to Flintshire!"