Wow, there were some brilliant and also innovative bonsai displays to see at the show this year by the visiting Bonsai Clubs and Societies. Here are a few images of the overall displays for you to see from Bristol, Ashfield, Phoenix, Tees Valley, Splinter Group, Newbury, Dragon, Warminster, Solent, Surrey Heath and Berkshire Bonsai.

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Paul Bowerbank (Chairman of Swindon Bonsai Club), James Thomas (BBC Wiltshire), Moira Bowerbank

Swindon Bonsai makes BBC Radio Wiltshire

Exciting news, Paul Bowerbank, our Chairman was on BBC Wiltshire today on the James Thomas Break Show talking about our Winter Image Bonsai Show at Swindon tomorrow, Sunday 26th February at the Grange Leisure Centre, Grange Drive, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 4JY.

If you want to listen it is about 2.49 minutes into the programme and lasts for around  3 minutes. So do come along to the show it is open to the public and starts at 10.30am until 4pm and entry is £5. If you have never seen bonsai then this is a great place to come to see them on display and also buy one yourself and start the hobby.

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Erin bonsai pots winter show raffle prize 2017

Thank you once again Vic Harris for donating this fabulous large bonsai pot for our raffle as a prize at our Swindon Winter Image show on the Sunday 26th February 2017Vic and Glyn Harris are Erin Bonsai Pottery and they create hand made bonsai and accent pots of exquisite detail and design and are a must have in any collection. You can view more of their work on their website Erin Bonsai or via their Facebook page.

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It is with great pleasure that I can introduce Mark Kerry to Swindon Bonsai Club. He has been a member of the club now for over a year but had extensive bonsai experience, before joining Swindon. He will be displaying some of his favourite trees that he has worked on at Swindon on the 26th February 2017 at our Winter Image Bonsai Show. Here is a short profile of Mark, about how he got into the hobby and who and what have influenced him, developing the hobby further.

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Lodders donated winter show raffle prize 2017

Thank you again to Gerrit Lodder of Lodder Bonsai bv and Hoka-en Bonsai Studio for their fabulous raffle prize donation for our Swindon Winter Image Show 2017 on Sunday February 26th from 10.30am to 4.00pm at Grange Leisure Centre, Grange Drive, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 4JY.

For your chance to win these great prizes and many more come along to our show and also see some stunning bonsai trees on display and possibly start the very addictive hobby yourself! The raffle tickets are available on the door and throughout the day and the draw will be at 2.30pm after the awards.

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Just heard from Chris Guise, and he has donated 2 Bonsai Nibblers for the Swindon Winter Image Bonsai Show raffle which will be held on Sunday 26th February 2017. The two prizes are one R-mini and one T-mini as per the photos above. So thank you Chris and hope everyone gets their raffle tickets on the day to be in with a chance of winning one of these or many of the other great prizes.

For anyone not familiar with these items check out Bonsai Nibblers website for more details. In summary though Bonsai Nibblers are miniature tools used for carving and shaping wood. They are specifically designed for use on small and medium sized bonsai but can also be used for any kind of general wood carving.

This year our panel of judges includes Steve McKee, who is our senior judge, so if you have any questions about the judging ask him. John Brocklehurst, Andy Jordan, Mark Kerry, Paul Eslinger, and Bill Baker so in total there will be 6 judges. If we find that the result ends in a draw then Reg Bolton will have the deciding vote. Derek May and Kit Bowns will be running the organisation behind the judging and counting up the results before the award ceremony at 2pm.

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Winter show tree raffle prize 2017

The Swindon Winter Image Bonsai Show is being held on Sunday 26th February 2017 at the Grange Leisure Centre, Grange Drive, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN3 4JY from 10.30am.

We hold a raffle every year which includes many donated items from supporters of the show and we are very grateful for this.

In addition we buy some additional prizes for the raffle and this year we have six bonsai trees. These include a Trident maple over rock, a Japanese Apricot, a Chinese Juniper, a Japanese Larch, a Dawn Redwood, a Dwarf Jade Plant and an Ophiopogon accent. Plus three accent pots and two soils to all add to the raffle which now has over 20 prizes.

So for your chance to win one of these and any many more fabulous prizes, don’t forget to buy your raffle tickets on the door or throughout the day at the show. The raffle will be drawn at 2.30pm. Prizes to be claimed at this time, so make sure you are ready, available and have your tickets to hand. Hopefully you will be a winner.

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To celebrate our 40th Anniversary of Swindon and District Bonsai Society we will be running a series of posts focusing on our club members. We have asked them a series of questions and to start us off, this is Dennis Henley who has been doing bonsai as a hobby since 1990.

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