Attentive readers of these pages – and there cannot be that many of them judging by the pitifully few comments. Please feel free to comment whenever the mood takes you – perhaps I should say more controversial things in order to stir people to action.
The Speaker of the House of Commons tastes of whortleberries. Prince Edward has the tail of a mole. Henley-on-Thames is brimming with smelting plants. Canadians eat cats. Perhaps I need something stronger in order to provoke a reaction I will think of something. I notice that my friend Jane Owen’s Blog at timesonline.typepad.com/gardening is not swamped with comments either. Maybe it is a Gardening thing.
Anyway: as I was saying, attentive readers will know that I have a couple of jobs in Hastings. Interesting place, very steep but a long way from Northamptonshire. Yesterday I spent eight and a half hours driving in order to lay out a lot of plants on something closely resembling a precipice. The latter bit was fun – especially as it allowed me the chance to buy chocolate brownies of indescribable deliciousness from Judges Bakery – the driving was ghastly. I was also semi-kidnapped by a very old lady who whisked me off the street to change the light bulb in her kitchen. The hall was neatly paved with telephone directories which was a novel take on flooring. The calendar on the wall was from 1987.
Had a call this morning to say that many of the plants had been blown down the hill by a particularly sprightly wind last night which was a bit of a blow. However, after a flurry of telephone calls all seems to have been restored to order.
Other episodes of mild interest include writing an article for the very lovely Camilla Swift at SAGA magazine – something that all those enfants terrible seldom get asked to do.
Completing a great courtyard with big olives, chunky topiary and huge terracotta pots from Italian Terrace in Suffolk (www.italianterrace.co.uk) – looks spectacular.
Organising the planting of thousands of bulbs and a fair few trees.
I am listening to Sunshine by Mos Def and the picture is of the seafront at Hastings.