The message
from Kay contains these words:

In article , JennyC
writes

"JennyC" wrote

A friend has a large shrub type plant in her garden that we'd
like to
identify.

Its about 7ft tall
Large leaves with a 'hairy' feel to them
The stem of the leaf bracts is also very 'hairy'
These are soft hairs, green coloured
It has large white flowers
Has a very tropical look to it, but grows here in Holland
without any
trouble

I've googled, but not been able to find it.
Any ideas?

I think I have found it :~))
Hydrangea aspera sargentiana :

http://www.esveld.nl/htmldia/h/ex/hysarg.htm

Blimey, Jenny, how were we supposed to get that from that description,
when you leave out the most characteristic bit, the shape of the
flowers? ;-)

"Large white flowers" had me thinking along the lines of magnolia :-}

Janet