People at the 2005 AGGS convention: Tom Bruning and Ingrid Lindskog

Tom Bruning, advertising manager of the Gloxinian (now Gesneriads), who would be gratified if you all patronized our advertisers, is enjoying himself here on the Columbia River trip, July 9, 2005, little suspecting that Ingrid Lindskog, denizen of the long nights (of northern Sweden), is lurking right behind him.

Ingrid (whose wonderful sense of humor I'm counting on here) is a director of the Gesneriad Society, the guiding spirit behind the Gesneriasterna of Sweden, and the editor of their nifty magazine Gesneriastnytt.  It's easy for USA residents to join Gesneriasterna, since Michael Riley handles all US memberships.  Last I heard, it was $25/year (a real bargain).

For those of you who were wondering about the name Gesneriasterna, here's how I understand its composition (Ingrid will correct me).  The suffix -na means "the".  The preceding suffix -er indicates the plural.  The preceding suffix -ast is from "enthusiast".  Hence, "gesneriasterna" = "the gesneriad enthusiasts".  And since "nytt" = "news", the magazine's name means "nuts about Konrad Gesner" (once again, do not believe everything you read).