My non-gardening husband and I attended the last symposium, and he enjoyed himself so much he began asking when the next one would be soon after we got home. There was a broad range of talks. It was surprising how much can be said about South African bulbs. Without cheating by looking at the booklet, talks were: Scientific (their relationship with pollinizers), ethnobotanic (endangered bulbs as medicine), historic, practical (how to grow them there, in several places in Europe, in California), where to find them, hybridizing several genera, developing them commercially, partnering with farmers to protect them. The speakers were lively - I remember one woman who is hybridizing Eucomis, who arranged her hair like one. The field trips were wonderful. I suppose I should have felt a bit sorry for the local experts who were besieged by beginners like me, dragging them hither and yon to identify plants. Diane Whitehead Victoria B.C. Canada