Esprit Bonsai International – August 2019

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
#101 EspritBonsaiInternational - 79

Useful information
Foyer communautaire,
Parc du Bois de Mons, 121, 7000 MONS, Belgium.
Contact: Jean-Daniel Delattre, +32 495 61 94 21.
Courriel : [email protected]
Website: http://www.monsbonsai.be
Facebook: Cercle montois du bonsai

ers,” Jean-Daniel Delattre explained.
“Moreover, in the wake of the event
we organise a meeting to welcome
newcomers. This year, a further
22  people should have joined.”
Many of these are practising, self-
taught bonsaists. They come to the
club to learn how to choose trees to
work on, integrate technical proce-
dures and progress in their practice.
New members receive a special
welcome. They are offered an intro-
ductory general theoretical course
by the president. This gives them a
basic common knowledge on the
history of bonsai, its evolution, and
the use of bonsai tools.
“We immediately make everyone
feel at home!” Jean-Daniel Delattre
said, cheerfully. “The club’s watch-


words are conviviality, sharing and
passion. There is no formality; from
the start we use the familiar  ‘tu’. As
for me, I learn something new every
day!”

Eight workshops
a year
Members attend eight workshops
a year that are led by advanced
members. Each of these sessions
has a space reserved for those who
prefer to work independently. Sim-
ilarly, in February, the club offers a
trip to a nursery: “The aim being to
help members buy trees and mate-
rial to work with throughout the year,”
explained Jean-Daniel Delattre. And
the outing is convivial, made in high
spirits and a sense of tourism. Mem-

 A Japanese azalea in full bloom at the
Cercle montois du bonsaï 2019 exhibition.


 Members of the Cercle montois
du bonsaï at a workshop in
full swing. The club organises
eight workshops a year.

 Advanced
members of the
club, identifiable
by their red
T-shirts, help
other members
during the
workshops.

bers go for local species such as
hawthorn, birch, hornbeam or beach.
The Cercle montois du bonsaï
further motivates its community of
bonsai lovers with a bimonthly pub-
lication, “which contains useful con-
tacts, minutes of meetings, news
past and present, a horticultural
glossary, and so on,” the vice-pres-
ident enumerated. “So, if a member
is unable to attend a workshop, they
can keep up-to-date with the club’s
activities.”
Increasing the frequency of exhi-
bitions is a project that the vice-pres-
ident would like to undertake. “We
have had many requests to organise
more,” he said, thoughtfully. “With
the addition of new members, per-
haps this may be possible.”
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