Husband Pieter Speaks at MGA Conference, Bournemouth - England

On Thursday, October 14 of 1976, husband Pieter lectured at the Mushroom Growers Association's Conference at the Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth in South England, a resort area and World Heritage Site.

 Husband Pieter to the left with Saviour Gauci from Malta (center).

They were at the Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth click it

Pieter's lecture has been published in The Mushroom Journal May 1977 now being uploaded by the ISMS

Pieter received this card from Saviour Gauci, via his Dutch Rotary friend Loek Nelissen and his wife, who met him while on vacation in Malta...

That was already several years after the MGA Conference, but it shows that people know Pieter J.C. Vedder the world over! This was after Pieter got his prestigious Sinden Award but more about that later...
Translated from Dutch:
Congratulations with 'The Award!" Terrific! Well earned!
Since you were not at Rotary, herewith proof that we met your friend in Malta.

How sociable it was we will tell you. Greetings, Loek
*

This photo of the C.C.O. Staff is taken by Saviour Gauci in1982 after a course for the M.G.A. Growers at the Practical Training College for Mushroom Growing.
 From Left to right: Principal and Founder Pieter Vedder, Antoon Van As, Peter Rechsteiner, Jan Smits and Roel Seubring.

We both hope that Saviour Gauci's mushroom business is doing well in Malta!

Related links:
Husband Pieter visiting Mushrooms in the Cave - Bradford-on-Avon in England | previous post by me
Visiting A.G. Linfield Mushroom Compost Facility in England  | previous post by me
Husband Pieter met with Darlington Spawn Makers and Fred Atkins in England | previous post by me
SO Happy for Having Met Another WRITING Mushroom Wife in the U.K. | previous post by me
Husband Pieter's Fond Relationship with Mushroom Growers in  the U.K. | previous post by me

Husband Pieter visiting Mushrooms in the Cave - Bradford-on-Avon in England

For husband Pieter it sure was not the first time to visit a mushroom farm inside the caves, as he would be doing in South-West England.
Pieter did sleep and stay at the home of the manager. Originally in this area were flax growers.

Mushroom Growing 1963 click on link for short 2:41 min. video

Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire.
Once the stone that built Bath was found in this mine, now it is used for growing mushrooms.
Various shots of women wearing miner's helmets. The women walk in the entrance to the mine carrying buckets, lead by team leader Dolly Laywood. Inside, the women pick the mushrooms growing in stacks of trays and place them in baskets. C/U of mushrooms. M/S of cave roof. C/U of candle stick attached to the cave wall.
These Marl Caves consisted of soft stone, that was sawn out for building cities!

Bradford-on-Avon Museum shows MUSHROOM CULTIVATION just click it.
Photos with the beds on the ground must be from before WWII era as they were growing already inside wooden trays by the time husband Pieter visited them.

BBC NEWS 4 April 2011 Bradford on Avon mushroom farm cave tenants sought click link
A 'rare opportunity' to rent space for 'unusual uses'...
No more commercial mushroom growing!

 Saturday September 29th 2018
Police find £1 million cannabis cave in hidden tunnels below picturesque village at disused quarry just click on link

So that was quite a change from quarry to commercial mushroom growing and into cannabis...

WHO would have guessed this at the time that husband Pieter visited?!

Thanks for reading along about husband Pieter's history in mushroom cultivation.

Related links:
Visiting A.G. Linfield Mushroom Compost Facility in England | previous post by me
Husband Pieter met with Darlington Spawn Makers and Fred Atkins in the U.K. | previous post by me
SO Happy for Having Met Another WRITING Mushroom Wife in the U.K. | previous post by me

Husband Pieter's Fond Relationship with Mushroom Growers in  the U.K. | previous post about Pieter's very first visit to a Mushroom Farm in England

Spring 2019 is Slowly Arriving

Just want to show you some blossom photos before we continue with more mushroom related history.

We had some rainy days and that is not best for Camellias, as they easily brown.
Here are four Pink Perfection beauties together inside a creamware cachepot on February 21.

On our kitchen bay window sill and as you can see, outside the grass is still brown!

An oval Wedgwood Cream Color on Cream Color bowl filled with White Camellias.

On a rainy day, February 19, I filled this silver plated vase with some fragrant Ehrlicheer Narcissus.
My hands reflect inside the glossy silver.
This vase is half a century old, a sweet gift from my sister Diny on my birthday!
Memories carried across the ocean...
Had to place this vase on the living room window sill for some light as it was a gloom day!
Longing for being able to use our balcony again but that takes some time.

This is our second Japanese Magnolia tree on Mom's 5th Birthday in heaven, February 12.

Closer view.
This is actually half of a tree as a big tree fell into it years ago and damaged half of it.
But it has grown back remarkably well over the years and we treasure its blossoms as they can be seen from the bay window in the kitchen and from the veranda.

This is the other tree that is looking a lot fuller. On the opposite side it will become fuller now since last year we had a big limb from the neighboring oak tree sawn off so the light can now reach the Magnolia tree.

A heavenly view from the kitchen bay window.

Look at all the leaves on the roof near the gutter... from heavy rain and wind!

This is five days later, most of the petals are knocked down from heavy rain...

Here you see that the tree had been growing more to the left, towards the light and on the right sight it will gradually fill in and become more rounded. That usually takes five years, Mother Nature takes its time for healing.

Hope you also are slowly enjoying spring flowers and of course the southern hemisphere still enjoys end of summer blossoms. 

Thanks for your visit and comments!