Dear Garden Club Members,
The following story of my argument with the editor of the Marina magazine is very trivial in comparison with all the dread and disease that is currently taking place globally. However, you may like to read something that is not about corona virus, just for a change!
An appeal was sent out for articles to be published in the Marina magazine so I thought it would be quite a good idea to write a short piece about our garden club, and also mention the WhatsApp garden club that Valerie Benson started.
Here is what I wrote:
Marina da Gama Garden Club
Here in the Marina, we have a garden club. (In fact we have two! More on the second one, shortly.) Marina da Gama Garden Club meets on the first Wednesday of each month, except January, at the San Marina Recreation Clubhouse, at 9:30 am. We usually start with tea/coffee and snacks, followed at 10:00 by a brief meeting to discuss garden club business, and by about 10:15, we are ready for a speaker. The subject matter is generally related to nature in some way, but can vary from waterwise gardening techniques, or how to grow orchids, to how to manage biodiversity in Cape Town, or the similarities and differences between South African and Australian plants. In April, and also in either September or October, we have an outing, instead of a meeting. Our outings have been diverse in focus, ranging from Babylonstoren and Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, to Harmony Flats Nature Reserve and the newly restored Arderne Garden. We are hoping to include a visit to see some botanical art this year.
Membership is R70 per person, or R120 for a couple, and there is a door fee of R20 for members and R30 for visitors. Outings may sometimes require a payment, because some places charge an entry fee, but it is seldom more than R30.
We are a nice and friendly bunch of people, so to gain botanical knowledge in a sociable environment, why not join us? If you would like to join, either turn up at a meeting, or call Jenny on 066 127 5766.
Now, to the more recently formed Marina WhatsApp garden club: This is a group of keen gardening enthusiasts who use the WhatsApp group set up by Valerie Benson to discuss all manner of garden topics. They share interesting ideas they have seen or have found on line, discuss garden problems and how to solve them, and ask or give advice about many gardening matters. They are a lively bunch, full of ideas! To join the WhatsApp group, contact Valerie on 0824756187.
I also wrote one for the Marina Craft & Food Market, and sent both off to the editor.
This is what came back!
Garden Club goes digital
Jenny Wilkinson, who lives in NEIGHBOURHOOD, updates us on news from the Marina da Gama Garden Club. Originally established when fax machines reigned, the Marina da Gama Garden Club has recently joined the digital age with the launch of its own WhatsApp group. Comprising keen gardening enthusiasts from across the Marina, the group was set up by Uitsig resident, Valerie Benson. Members share interesting ideas they have found online, discuss gardening problems, post
questions and offer solutions. If you’d like to join this fun, lively and supportive forum, please contact Valerie on 082 475 6187.
Meanwhile, club members continue to meet face to face at 9.30am on the first Wednesday of each month (except January) at the San Marina Recreation Clubhouse. Says Jenny: “We usually start with tea or coffee and snacks, followed at 10.00 by a brief meeting to discuss garden club business. By about 10.15, we are ready for a speaker.”
The subject matter is generally related to nature in some way, advises Jenny, but can vary from waterwise gardening techniques, how to grow orchids, managing biodiversity in Cape Town, or the similarities and differences between South African and Australian plants.
In April and either September or October, the club swaps it monthly meeting for an outing to a venue ranging from Babylonstoren or Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden, to Harmony Flats Nature Reserve or the newly restored Arderne Garden, Claremont. This year, there are plans to include a visit to enjoy some botanical art.
Annual [PM1] membership is R70 per person or R120 for a couple, and there is a door fee of R20 for members and R30 for visitors. Outings may require a payment to cover entry fees, but it rarely exceeds R30.
If you’d like to cultivate your botanical knowledge in a sociable environment, why not join? Either turn up at a monthly meeting, or call Jenny on 066 127 5766.
I was not terribly impressed with this version. In fact, I was aghast. Quite aside from the egregious error of assuming that the Wednesday morning group and Valerie’s WhatsApp group were one and the same thing, there was the issue of the mocking portrayal of us as a bunch of luddite old fools who would not recognize the internet if it leapt up and bit us. Also, if this purported to be an article written by me, where was the “Says Jenny” coming from? Would I refer to myself in the third person? Would I refer to myself at all in an article not about me, but about the garden club?
So I emailed back to the editor, pointing out that he had introduced errors into the article, and requesting that my version be the one used. He responded that he would correct the errors of fact, but that as editor, his was the final word on style. With some degree of trepidation, I awaited his final version. Alas, although he no longer confused our group and the WhatsApp group, he was still offensively condescending and still included third person references to me. Here’s his document, with my comments marked in pink boxes:
I requested that he withdraw both my articles as I found his versions of them unacceptable. He has still not confirmed that they have been withdrawn, even though I have asked for confirmation four times. I suspect that his ghastly version is going to appear in the magazine, and I must assure you all that I never would have depicted you as old school people who have had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the century of the fruit bat. I like you all and would never wish to insult you.
Love,
Jenny
marina da gama garden club 