WEDNESDAY CLUB: It was a sheer coincidence that St Valentine's Day happened on a Wednesday, but it seemed a good reason for the Wednesday Club to arrange a St V's tea party, to mark the occasion and 51 members sat down to enjoy it. The tea was excellent having been prepared by Marguerite Bell and her helpers, need more be said. But - even the lovely-grub was surpassed - if that's the right word by the efforts of a strolling players in the shape of Freda Jelfs, with her electronic piano and songs and otherwise, by Daphne and Clive Beadle and Tom Pring 'resting' from the Meon Singers for an hour or so. Chairman Sarah Lancaster opening the proceedings, welcomed the members to the party, but introduced a serious note, in asking those present to consider the fact membership of the club was falling in numbers and suggested that all present should encourage all their friends and neighbours to join. Lets face it, we have a very good programme secretary in Marie Phillipson, who regularly manages to find some excellent speaker through the year and arranges some splendid trips plus lunches on several occasions. There was a raffle to bring things to a close and all that remained to do was a vote of thanks to everyone involved. This was delivered with panache by Neville Date.

GARDENING CLUB: Jean Andrews had researched the life of Charles Marics, the Warwickshire Plant Hunter, by travelling in his footsteps from this country to Japan, China and India. Charles, the youngest of five boys was born in 1851 and learned his Latin at the Hampton Lucy school. He worked at Charlecote, then set up a landscape gardening business before Beech Nurseries in Surrey offered him a position as plant collector in Japan and China. Charles went first to Hong Kong searching for a scented lilac and liking the daphne quenqua, shipped back 60 plants before journeying on to Yokohama. He travelled through Japan with a packhorse, collecting seeds and specimens to despatch home including varieties of azalea, hydranga, magnolia, bamboo and the silver conifer he found up a mountain at the top of the South Island. He then visited the Yangtzee area of China finding the Chinese wych hazel, viburnum Mariesii and the obconica primula and after a further two years in Japan returned to England and married his wife Martha whom he had met before his travels. Jean made the same journey to Yokohama, she retraced the route followed by Charles and found many of his plants at the original sites. She then went to Hong Kong and on to India where Charles, accompanied by his wife, worded for nine years as garden superintendent for the Mararajah at Gwailor Fort, 150 miles south of Delhi. He developed a great interest in the wild life and continued collecting and sending seeds to Kew until his death in 1902, aged 52. He was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour for his services to plants. Gwen Bell thanked Jean Andrews for all her research and travel shared with us by her illustrated talk. The table top competition was won by Ann Powell. T Jeffries speaks on herbs next Monday.