We started our collection together in 1970 with a ready made bonsai Juniper and a Cotoneaster from a Bonsai supplier. There was not much information available and we just trimmed them to keep them in shape. In 1971 we moved to Ireland taking our little collection, that now included a Prunus and a Salix with us. In those days we needed a Phytosanitary Certificate to do this. Some larger trees had to stay in Britain with Alan's father who now had an expanding collection of his own. During the years that followed, frequent visits to England during summers, that always seemed to turn into droughts as soon as we went away, took their toll on our collection. Despite burying the pots in the shadiest part of the garden, automatic watering systems (that failed due to erratic water pressure), capillary matting and anything else we could think of, one by one we lost our precious trees. It is with sadness that we think about how those little trees would have looked some thirty five years on.