Ooooo - Naughty Plant Show People - LJN Blog Posts

Plans went a bit awry today... originally, we had intended to motor up to Newby Hall for a large scale plant sale. Okay, seems a bit late in the season, but... have Volvo estate, have gardening husband (with map) and have some spare cash.... besides, there was a good chance of calling into Cascade Garden Centre for lunch (tip - Cascade Garden Centre near Ripon has the very best cafe in the North... and at Christmas, has the very best selection of ornaments... I also like a chance to go look at the big fish - they have koi). Anyway, Fereday was up early and in route master mode, was checking out all the variables and supplies.... weather (possible chance of short, ferocious downpours accompanied by thunder - which, in the event, never materialised - typical Met Office), proximity of Newby Hall to Cascade (in order to calculate what time we had to leave to make lunch service), stock of pop-up crates for plants, tissues, bottles of water, etc.Finally, he checks the website for the plant sale - and here plans took a turn... £10.20 each to get in... TO SPEND MORE MONEY! Shocking... for that, we could get at least four stunners from Dove Cottage Perennials, which is just round the corner... so add on the diesel costs and that's at least another four plants from Dove's. Are outrageous entrance fees some kind of a test for the unwary consumer? "We'll only let you in to buy stuff if you pay first?" FOR WHAT? To walk past a trestle table? Do I get my hand stamped with indelible ink which I have to remove a layer of skin to get off?? Do I get a free glass of champagne (for that price, vintage and from a recognised house... none of that champagnoise junque)??? Do I get a nubile young gardening apprentice blokie to push me between merchants' stalls in a velvet lined wheelbarrow provided by Fortnum & Mason????Needless to say, the car didn't go any further than the centre of Halifax today. Fereday and I had lunch in a little cafe for UNDER £20.40.... then I bought a curtain pole for the curtains Fereday will be putting up over our beautiful Victorian stained glass accented, but drafty, front door for UNDER £20.40.... then I bought a new work top in M&S for WELL UNDER £20.40 (in fact, I could have bought 4 work tops for under £20.40 thanks... M&S has a sale on at the moment)... then I came home and had a lovely afternoon doing some homework while Fereday mucked out the rabbit hutches in the ~~petting zoo~~ lounge FOR NOTHING AT ALL AND CERTAINLY NO WHERE NEAR £20.40!!!!!Right, rant over....I hope everyone trading at the plant sale had a good and profitable day, and that everyone who paid to go in found they got good value for money.....Karma balanced, I'm off!

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Comments

Nick Steele September 2, 2008 at 7:18pm

I'm guessing that the £10.20 is Newby Hall's normal admission charge, and that the plant fair is an "additional" attraction, rather than a stand alone event....still rather a daft way of doing it tho, because I would think lots of people who would happily pay a few quid to get into a fair would, like you, not want to pay £10.20 ! Whenever we do shows attached to grand venues like this they're usually sited outside the grounds so that the plant fair is accessible separately from the big house/gardens. To restore your faith, there's a plant fair at Chatsworth this Sunday, held on stable hill adjacent to the house, admission free! 34 specialist nurseries, including us !