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Post by Mowhay on Jul 16, 2012 8:08:07 GMT
Glad it all went well RF despite the weather, fingers crossed for September
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 16, 2012 8:09:17 GMT
The brolly is wonderful and in the paper the day was called "The Umbrella Party" especially as one of the camera men said that he should have brought his underwater camera...
The results won't be given until September 14th in Venlo, Holland. It is being done as part of the Floriade - World Horticultural Expo... It's a long time to wait but it has leaked out that we are possibly in the medals....
RF
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Post by Auricula on Jul 16, 2012 8:24:24 GMT
That'd be good  |
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Post by Babyswan on Jul 16, 2012 15:04:17 GMT
What a great day. OK, apart from the weather.
Good account of what happened.
good luck for September...
b.s.
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 16, 2012 15:21:29 GMT
Well I have had a look in a couple of papers and managed to download some of the pics... I will do some more later and hopefully the private ones will start coming in... Some general ones first.. This was the beginning of the official welcoming when the children sang...couldn't find a pic of the kids but there will be one somewhere..  Ist garden     Olaf in the school garden..and some of the kids..   This was showing how thatched roofs are repaired...New Year Fireworks are not allowed in Doetlingen due to their being so many thatched houses.  Looking down at the River Hunte...this area is also protected..   About Youth clubs and summer camps etc...  The village garden  This is the Kremser - covered wagon and tractor instead of horses....  Our photographer photographing one of the press photographers...and vice versa!! That was Gert Batterman who I worked with on the English brochure - he did the Layout , a lovely person.  This is the Beat Box Tweeties...great group, great sound and all disabled....we were all very impressed...  RF |
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Post by Tig on Jul 16, 2012 18:28:39 GMT
I see Olaf the Brave doesn't mind a bit of wet weather The scenery looks marvellous, is that the other translator stood next to you? x Tig |
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 16, 2012 18:42:08 GMT
Nope - he doesn't mind getting wet - I reckon we gardeners just brave it....
Yes that is Anka - she spent 25 years in Australia and then returned to Germany....after a bit of a false start we actually got on very well and said to me that she could never have done the work that I had done....praise indeed...!! Her husband is a hobby beer brewer and boy did that taste good - she also said that he was on tour with David Copperfield for years...!!!
Got a lovely garden to show - not many pics but I am hoping that I will get more..
RF
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Post by Jasmine on Jul 17, 2012 6:15:44 GMT
Great pics RF. Love the sea of all the same brollies. Your transportation looks fun!
The River Hunte looks just perfect for canoeing down, I like that glimpse of boat through the trees.
I also like the yellows and purples in one of the garden pics.
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Post by Geranium on Jul 17, 2012 6:19:57 GMT
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 17, 2012 7:01:26 GMT
The brollies were given for the competition by the regional paper and just for the Jury and the organizers so that anyone could see at a glance who belonged to the main group. We also all had name tags as well.. This garden which I hope I can get better pics of, is a dream....It took him 2 weeks to cut all the box...it is everywhere and then a veg part and pond...wonderful...and it isn't normally open to the public..  The husband is also an artist and his work can be seen all over...      RF |
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Post by Jasmine on Jul 17, 2012 7:31:55 GMT
Love the blowing around deck chair!
What a lot of work the box is but that last pic shows the effort is worth it.
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 17, 2012 7:55:11 GMT
I'm hoping to get some more pics as that gardens is a little paradise... One of our stations was the Info map and garden which is looked after by the Ladies of the village...including this woman... Her impersonation of Hilda Ogden (as David Littlewood from the UK called her) is fantastic. She is a tour guide and her tours are always fully booked...she is incredibly funny and told the Jury "not to make a mess whilst they were here" and "you take your rubbish back with you". Everybody laughed...    RF |
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Post by Auricula on Jul 17, 2012 8:00:31 GMT
The box hedging is excellent |
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Post by Babyswan on Jul 20, 2012 15:38:36 GMT
Yeah,
I DO love the box hedging...impressive.
b.s.
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Post by Missredhead on Jul 20, 2012 19:13:45 GMT
Lovely pic RF.......sure I cant get you to part with that brolly?
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Post by Rosefriend on Jul 20, 2012 19:22:41 GMT
Nope - no way...it's lovely isn't it - I will show it you when you next come..
Sue
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Post by Dutchy on Jul 22, 2012 9:36:22 GMT
Lovely RF and I do hope the "maybe in the medals" turns into an "in the medals" . You did well and the hols is well deserved. And the brolly too ofcourse ;D Although I do hope you will not need it for the rest f the Summer. Cheers D ( on leave now....  ) p.s. you did manage to steer clear of most of the pics again ... ;D |
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Post by Rosefriend on Aug 9, 2012 17:27:49 GMT
Yes I seem to have an inbuilt radar for cameras - however I have just heard that a film is being made of the whole day.....ooooooo dear !!!
Just a quick update here and one that has caused quite a bit of mess.
Obviously we want to go to Venlo for the prize giving and trying to get coaches, hotels etc has been terrible - thank heavens I haven't had to be involved...a nightmare as everything is booked up solid and the prices...well - the same as the Olympics - just for the Floriade in Holland prizes have been pushed up no end.
Anyway we managed to get two journeys - one with an overnight stay (€95) and one day tour (€30). OH and I decided to go for the day tour...then the fun started.
The entrance fee at the Floriade is €25 p.p. - so that makes it €55 for us each. Then all of a sudden the promise that participants of the Entente get in free to the Prize Giving Ceremony (it had been decided that it was be on the Expo apparently) has also been changed and we have to pay €25 as entrance fee for the ceremony...
Well as you can all imagine it has gone down like a ton of bricks...we said that we weren't going and others as well. Whole families were involved with the Entente - they cannot afford €25 p.p. - with 6 people that is 150€ plus all the other costs...whether it be for the day tour or the overnight and we still have to pay for meals etc as well...
All a mess and still not sorted out really...as I have said - a nightmare for the people organizing it!!
RF
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Post by Jasmine on Aug 9, 2012 17:53:30 GMT
That is very naughty RF - hope they sort something out for you all.
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Post by Tig on Aug 9, 2012 18:42:03 GMT
They deserve to have a boycott for the ceremony RF, after all the effort that the various communities will have put into entering - I think that is a dreadful way to treat people. You'd have thought they could get corporate sponsors for such a prestigious event, most big companies could put their 'donations' against tax I'm sure. The oil, gas and electricity companies are making a fortune out of us - they could surely contribute  x Tig |
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Post by Rosefriend on Aug 9, 2012 18:59:22 GMT
I spoke to Olaf and they are desperately trying to get sponsors to help people take part...it is so terribly unfair...people have worked so hard and suddenly the joy has been taken out if it all...why, - because the Floriade in Venlo is so greedy!!
At the same time ...what we do not know is whether EF asked the Expo Floriade to have the Prize Ceremony there or vice versa!!! Either way it is day light robbery !!
I learnt that the brochures (the English and the later German one) plus a few expenses that couldn't be avoided were €12,000 - obviously we have all worked for nothing anyway...
One of the local banks have given us €4250 which is something and the local council are helping a bit as well....even so.......
I agree totally with what you both say - it stinks!!
RF
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Post by Ladygardener on Aug 10, 2012 5:54:55 GMT
Well I think it's a crying shame that the hard work by you volunteers could'nt be acknowledged by giving free entry to the prize giving. It's already going to cost a lot of money as you say, to get there and feed yourselves, even if you don't stay overnight.
I hope something gets sorted out soon.
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Post by Rosefriend on Aug 10, 2012 10:41:44 GMT
If I hadn't promised Olaf to be there "on the night" I would back out and not go...
I have just quickly worked out in my head that if 50 people go from all the 12 countries that is 600 people and at €25 per person that means that the Florade earn €15,000 for a few hours. The conference place is there, the chairs are there - they don't have to do anything really but earn €15,000....I am soooooo annoyed.
I think it is worth a boycott tbh. Lets face it we have to pay €25 to get into the Expo Floriade and the conference hall is on the same place, why do they feel we have to pay again...
I got on very well with the English and Irish judges and I did wonder if it was worth mailing them and complaining politely ...for the future...doubt it would help much though!!
RF
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Post by Mowhay on Aug 10, 2012 11:15:11 GMT
Not sure it would make much difference RF but they may not know that these ridiculous prices are being charged. And you might feel that at least you have said your piece even though it's not their fault
MH
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Post by Barbara on Aug 10, 2012 15:05:53 GMT
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Post by Rosefriend on Aug 13, 2012 9:24:59 GMT
I was just in the middle of our supermarket when my mobile rang and it was about this €25 that we all have to pay for the Expo and the prize giving...OH and I said that we weren't going if we had to pay it...!!
After we got home I rang back and it seems that the municipality are going to pay it for us...
An official and very strong worded letter has been sent to the Entente Florale and it seems that it was their idea to have the Prize giving at the Expo and I doubt they care a monkeys that we have to pay the costs.
Let's face it all the weeks of Judging are totally free for them all... they don't pay one single penny for anything...
So we are all set for the 14th September. We leave from Doetlingen at 8am in one large coach (day and overnighters) and the dayers come back at 2am in a small bus which should get us back for 6/7am next day...phew - long day isn't it!!!!!
We will have to pay for the Expo of course and my plan is to pay €5 Euro extra for us to use the Cable car to go around as my OH can't manage the distance...
Hope I can get some pics anyway...
RF
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Post by Tig on Aug 13, 2012 9:34:03 GMT
It's good that you can both go after all the voluntary hours you put in for the village, it would have been a shame for everyone involved not to be there for the awards ceremony. Fingers crossed that Doetlingen is rewarded appropriately for their beautiful and historic village.
x Tig
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Post by Ladygardener on Aug 13, 2012 10:31:43 GMT
That's a good result but a real shame you all had to fight for it. Using the Cable Car to go around sounds like a right good plan. It'll be a long and tiring day without having to walk everywhere. I do hope you take your camera and will look forward to more pics.
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Post by Jasmine on Aug 21, 2012 4:45:24 GMT
I missed your post RF - thank goodness they sorted that out.
Looking forward to hearing all about it.
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Post by Rosefriend on Aug 21, 2012 6:08:26 GMT
The way things are at the moment, OH and I won't be going To Venlo, Holland.
Final plans came through and things have changed rather...we now get back into Doetlingen at 1.30/2.00am the next day... OH cannot drive in the dark, he literally cannot see these days and on the country lanes without any lighting we would land in a ditch, or worse.
To add to that I have had a look on the web at the Floriade and although it was clear to me that we could take the cable car and we could grab something to eat...just what do we do for the other 5 hours waiting for the Prizegiving to start...that isn't until 7.30pm. We are arriving at around 1.30 so even messing around with getting to the Floriade we have still got to kill around 5 hours..doing what.. We can't walk around the Floriade and we can't walk around Venlo and sitting waiting for 5 hours would probably qualify us for the men in white!!
We shall see - if it is not to be, then so be it... It is a shame but there are too many little problems that would make it a very long, hard day.
RF
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