An eye-catching title for our August meeting! This was a fascinating talk by Kevin Reynolds on how our relationship with garden birds has developed over the years, a very different perspective on something we all take for granted. We might remember singing “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie” as children but been unaware that many years ago our main relationship with birds was eating them and using their plumage for decoration.

Kevin took us on this changing journey through the ages, including the formation of what became the RSPB in the late 19th century by a little-known woman Emily Williamson, to our current understanding of how birds contribute to our ecosystem and bring delight to our gardens.

After his talk Kevin drew our raffle and judged our monthly competition “a display of sensory plants” with the winner Ros, 2nd place Anita and 3rd place Sarah, well done all. Members and guests enjoyed our usual refreshments, shared out free plant divisions donated by Sylvia and took home free magazines. We also gave out schedules for our Produce Show on Saturday 16^th September which is free and open to all amateur gardeners, bakers and flower arrangers, more details on our annual show page.