Now that the dust has settled on Orchid Christmas I would like to that all those who helped to make it such a fantastic day. Firstly, thanks to the Orchid Society of Great Britain for coming from as far away as London to put on such a lovely display – and congratulations to Martin for winning Best Species and Best Hybrid for his Cattleya specimens. Thanks also to Sara and Arthur, Burnham Nurseries, for bring ing such excellent plants for our visitors to buy.

Next I would like to thank the Mendip Wood Carvers who spent the day in the Mendip Workshop entertaining visitors with explanations of their craft and their passion.

Finally I would like to thank the fantastic adult and student volunteer teams. The food team lead by Agnes did an outstanding job of keeping our visitors happy and raised significant funds for the Mendip reptile group. Annie and Zoe did fantastic work in the greenhouse (with some great help from ex-students Jacob, Luke, Ike, Heather and Zoe), Chloe did a great job in the Lab, Gareth for his massive effort on the door, and Paula for helping out where needed. The student teams worked tirelessly all day, a great team in the greenhouse; Jess, Toby, Kate, Otto, Ed, Lilly, Rosie, Alex, the impressive Lab Team of Tallis, Harris, Issy, Laura and Hannah, the amazing Reptile group, Max, Jack, Harvey, the enterprise team, Ed, Chris, Ben and Callum, and the general help team, Aaron, Austen and Lewis. A real joint effort. Thanks Katherine, Martha and Cara for the Jewellery too.

The talks by Jess, Tallis and Otto were also a real highlight for many of our visitors, well done.