About the

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Information about the Society.

The Manchester Fuchsia Group was founded in 1970 to promote and encourage interest in the cultivation of fuchsias. The name of the society was changed in the middle of the 1980s to the Manchester and District Fuchsia Society. At the AGM in January 2000 the name was changed again and is now the Manchester Fuchsia Society. The present membership is about 75.

We meet monthly at Saint Anne's Church Hall, Trinity Road, Sale, on the third Monday of the month at 7.45pm. Subscriptions, due in January, are currently £4.50 for single membership and £5.50 for joint membership. The average number attending the monthly meetings is approximately 40.

We have speakers at most of our meetings talking on various aspects of fuchsia culture. One meeting a year we have a speaker on another flower species. In the past we have had speakers talking about geraniums, dahlias, carnations, sweet peas, auriculas, bonsai, etc. At the March meeting every member is given a free cutting to grow on and return to the Mini Show, which is very informal. At that meeting we talk about how the plants have been grown and, where possible, offer advice if appropriate.

The main event for August is our Annual Show, which is our shop window to the public where we hope to encourage a few new members into our society.

The experienced growers in the society are always ready to respond to questions about the cultivation of fuchsias.

History of the Society

The Society was formed in 1970 by a group of fuchsia enthusiasts led by the late Harry Leytham. The area from which the founder members came from stretched as far as Preston and the Fylde Coast.

For the full story we need to go back a lot further, in fact to 1957 because that was the year of the first British Fuchsia Society's Northern Show held at The Sale Civic Theatre. During the period 1957 to 1968 the B.F.S. Northern show grew in strength, and from this it became obvious that there was a lot of local interest in the cultivation of fuchsias. Mr. Leythem arranged a number of fuchsia lectures during 1968 and 1969, and the success of these provided the basis for the formation of a local society. To help to get the society off to a good start an advertisement was put in the British Fuchsia Society Annual in 1969. This alerted all fuchsia enthusiasts in the North West to the formation of a local society in the Manchester area.

In January 1970 an inaugural meeting was held to formally launch the Manchester Fuchsia Group. A full committee was formed from the membership of 40 people. By the end of the first year the membership had risen to 80, and the first show was held six months later, only 18 months after the first meeting. The name of the society was changed in the middle of the 1980s to the Manchester and District Fuchsia Society. At the AGM in January 2000 the name was changed again and is now the Manchester Fuchsia Society. The present membership is about 75.

The society has had a number of prominent British Fuchsia Society members. Mr Harry Leythem was the B.F.S. secretary for a number of years and also its president from 1979 to 1981. Mr Norman Hobbs, our society secretary for many years, was the B.F.S. president from 1985 to 1987. Both these members served as B.F.S. committee members.

From 1971 to 1987 the society held its show with the B.F.S. Northern Show as the Manchester Society was the administrators of the Northern Show on behalf of the B.F.S., but we now have our own, well established, show held on the third Saturday in August.

The aim of the society is to encourage anyone interested in the growing of fuchsias to join the society so that we can give them all the help possible to make them proficient in the cultivation of fuchsias and also meet and make friends with people of similar interests.

Programme for 2008

Maps of meeting places

Saint Anne's Church Hall

Venue for monthly meetings (see Programme) and Committee meetings.

Timperley Methodist Church

Annual Show , Saturday 16th August 2008.

Officers of the Society

President Keith Ward

	Chairman:		Barry Taylor		Secretary:		M. Roberts
	Treasurer & Subs. Secretary:		George Northover		Show Manager:		Roger Godfrey

Committee

The committee meets five times a year at the St. Anne's Church Hall.