WEDNESDAY evenings can't often be as important as last Wednesday was for Carole Weale, Secretary of the Chiswick Horticultural Society.

Not only was the society holding its Annual General Meeting at St Joseph's Church in Grove Park, but her thoughts were also with her daughter-in-law Mary Weale, whose mother also lives in Chiswick, and who was attempting to become the Conservative Party candidate for Kensington and Chelsea.

Despite Mary's ultimate failure to secure the candidacy, Carole Weale had been enthusiastic about Mary's chances in the neighbouring constituency, saying that "we are very hopeful because she is the only woman still in the contest, and it's important for the Conservative Party to have women candidates". She also thought that being a candidate with a local reputation established through her work as a councillor in the borough would boost Mary's chances, as well as being a fresh candidate who had not already had a chance in front line politics.

Meanwhile, the Chiswick Horticultural Society, which has around 400 members, reported that it is hoping to build a new trading centre to replace the existing hut. The new building will have a turf roof, and will benefit as far as possible from passive solar heating, placing minimal demands on other forms of energy. The Society is hoping to raise £50,000 for this environmentally friendly project, and has already secured a Special Innovation Award to create a wildlife garden on an overgrown and neglected allotment.

The Special General Meeting of Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Association was to select a candidate from the final shortlist of four that had been whittled down from initial applications by over 200 candidates approved by the Conservative party. The entire membership of the Association, which, at around 3,000 people, makes it one of the largest in the UK, was to vote for one of the final four, who included former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, and Nicholas Hurd, himself the son of a former foreign secretary, Lord Hurd of Westwell, and Warwick Lightfoot. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, eventually triumphed.