www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Anyone else going?

I'll be there

Cheers,

- Pete

Me too, but I'll be there at the start and only briefly unfortunately. Hoping to catch up with s few of you before I have to leave though

Nice to catch up with some of you today I am glad I didn't have to dash off early as originally planned

Indeed - I had a great time (as usual) catching up with many old friends and especially other UKBers - Susie, Mark Colvin, Colin Knight, Dave Miller (millerd), Phil Ozzo (Philzoid) and Seth and Sami Gibson (Gibster and Sami).

EDIT: And Andy Brown and John Bogle (FiSHIEE), as I was leaving!

Cheers,

- Pete

Had hoped to find a UKB stand so that I could get a few calendars. Really delighted to get a copy of the new Butterflies of Surrey Revisited so that I can admire my own dots on the maps. Makes those boring evenings entering up my sightings seem worthwhile and proves that the county recorder does more than bin the returns

Hi John,

If it helps, we'll have a stand at the Hants AGM, Sussex AGM and national AGM (in Swindon). Just too many events to support this year!

Cheers,

- Pete

Pete Eeles wrote:Indeed - I had a great time (as usual) catching up with many old friends and especially other UKBers - Susie, Mark Colvin, Colin Knight, Dave Miller (millerd), Phil Ozzo (Philzoid) and Seth and Sami Gibson (Gibster and Sami).

... and me! Nice to meet up again

The show was very crowded in the morning and, perhaps, with slightly fewer stands but it was good to see a lot of young people taking an interest. I was glad to find that I wasn't the only person in UK not to have made a trip to see Long-tailed Blue. What would be nice is for it to become a regular migrant again.

Mike

Apols Mike! Mixed up my millerd with my MikoOxon

Cheers,

- Pete

I was told that millerd was there too although I didn't see him myself.

Having been advised that I need to post more frequently on UKB I guess I oughht to start straight away!

We began by bumping into Susie in the downstairs hall, and I swear she looks younger and taller every time we meet! Then upstairs we met Pete et al where we were asked what our next BC Challenge would be (no rest for the wicked, eh?) and rounded off by having a good old natter with Philzoid and his lovely young ladies outside by the snack wagon.

It was very crowded, the corridors between stalls often very narrow and constricted, and some bugger grabbed a book I wanted to purchase mere seconds after I saw it! Other than that it was as enjoyable as ever and filled with the usual assortment of weirdos, nutjobs and eccentrics. I felt right at home!

Looking forward to the Winter Social next. Who knows, we may even get out butterflying next season!

Cheers,

Gibster.

It was great to see you and Sami too. Sami is as gorgeous as ever and the cropped look suits you I AM tall. Lol. I just look shorter when around tall people

I do hope you are able to post more, I miss your contribution to the forum. Several people who were regular contributors have fallen away and its such a shame although I appreciate there are busy lives to live and other interests to pursue. You don't have to walk to the far end of the country to have something interesting to say.

The exhibition alway reminds me of people I used to see there. I am still hoping Piers will come back to the forum one day, he was such a splendid contributor.

Roll on the social! I am looking to catching up with everyone


Edited for typos

Susie wrote:I was told that millerd was there too although I didn't see him myself.

Perhaps I should clear up the mystery!

As it happens, I wasn't there - unfortunately I had other things I needed to do, which was a shame as it's only a few miles from me. Now all I need to do is track down my impersonator...

Dave

My first trip to this event and boy was it crowded at the start. Good to catch up with Pete briefly towards the end. Bit difficuly to see more than 6 inches in front of your face in the crowds earlier in the day!

Saw one other Hants BC member pass me by as we drifted allong with the flow.

Lots of dead stuff and a lot of people buying it. Interesting to look at but didn't realise people were still doing that kind of thing. A lot of it looked to be not very old that's for sure!

Hi All
I visited the AES with a mate of mine who hadn't been before and he was nonplussed by the wide variety of creatures, insect and otherwise! As usual it was packed to start with but after a couple of hours it thinned to a more comfortable density. Did spy one or two of you across the crowded arena but only got a chance to have a quick chat with Mark Colvin.
Bought a couple of enclosures to rear on some brown hairstreak eggs that I rescued from Noar Hill a couple of weeks ago - the North  lane has unfortunately been significantly flailed along both sides - shortly after I counted some forty plus eggs.  I managed to rescue ten from the debris and hopefully I will able to return some adults? Interestingly I managed to buy some good quality potted Blackthorn from a company called Best4hedging - ordered on a Sunday arrived on Tuesday. Highly recommended -  good quality plants and great service.  
As everyone has noted there is a very eclectic mix of characters but I too find it disappointing that there would still seem to be a significant collecting fraternity, and I know Pete has taken issue with one directly more recently. I recognized two people at the exhibition - both stall holders -  who I have seen on reserves this year. On both occasions I was suspicious of their motives - I now have  a pretty good idea what they were up to. This year there were even two people with nets up their jumpers on one of the quieter rides at Fermyn.
On the brighter side I came away with two books for my burgeoning library,  including Butterflies of Surrey which looks a great read. I also got a damaged, but very useable, copy of Butterflies of North America by Scott {weighing in at 4lb} for £8 - I nearly paid £40 for it previously - great result!
Looking forward to the more relaxed atmosphere of the winter social.
Kind Regards
Mark

A date for the diary for anyone interested in going this year - Saturday 4 October 2014.