A successful days trading was had by all of the bonsai traders at the show and there were some great bargains to be had too. It was great to have such a wide selection of bonsai traders selling everything from bonsai trees to pots to tool and bronzes.
Another big thank you to everyone who donated the 34 raffle prizes for the show raffle and it was a great success. Raffle prizes came from Chris Guise of Bonsai Nibbler, Graham Simpson, Gerrit Lodder of Lodder Bonsai, Vic Harris of Erin pots, Terry Adams, Derek May and Andy Pearson of Stone Monkey. As well as Simon Haddon of Suiteki, David Sampson of Fine Japanese Susieki and Swindon Bonsai Club.
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.
Paul Bowerbank (Chairman of Swindon Bonsai Club), James Thomas (BBC Wiltshire), Moira Bowerbank
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.
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 2017. Vic 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.
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.
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.
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.
Dai ichi bonsai, Hermitage near Newbury have extended their opening hours starting Friday 24th through to Monday 27th with some additional special offers on bonsai soils, Chinese and Japanese pots. If you are coming to Swindon Winter Image Show, you are not too far to Dai-ichi bonsai to pop in.