I first got into Bonsai about eight years ago entirely by accident – simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Since then it has become my passion. Or is it an obsession? Probably both. Not only has it introduced me to a new art form, but I have also been to new places and, most importantly, met a lot of new people who for the most part are fabulous. Thank you, fabulous people, for opening up this new world. You are all madder’n a box of frogs – perhaps why I fit in so well! Some of my modest collection will make it on to the blog over the course of time, accompanied by assorted explanatory ramblings.

So why do I like bonsai? A mixture of the artistic and creative side of it, the horticultural aspect (I came to bonsai through mainstream horti) and also the people side. As one who is not perhaps the most sociable of people (google Litotes here!) it came as a surprise to me how much I enjoy the company of the bonsai community and the extent to which I feel at home in it. Of course there are some massive egos to be overcome, but by and large they are a genuine bunch of good folk. Not always the most sober of individuals (it’s that Litotes again) but good company all the same. And as I’ve already intimated, a little bit of madness come through. I, for one, will never be able to erase the image of a Scouse fireman dancing about a freezing north of England outbuilding in a green mankini.

Need I say any more.