Moan, Moan, Moan - 2011

[Anthony Darby]

Just think wire brush and Dettol® Cliff, and hope it's your turn first.

[ranunculus]

Just think wire brush and Dettol® Cliff, and hope it's your turn first.

     That should cure my cataract, Anthony!!!   

[Lesley Cox]

Don't you get a build up of creosote in the chimney flue?

There's been no evidence of it.

[Anthony Darby]

Well, the cure is eucalyptus oil, so perhaps your two types of wood cancel each other out?

[Anthony Darby]

Thought I'd watch the tennis tonight. For the second time I'm stuck watching Nadal instead of Andy Murray, which would be more appropriate for a New Zealand audience! The first time was two nights ago when they switched from AM to RN at 2 all in the third! It's not as if the match is remotely competitive or even entertaining. Nadal invariably has a face on him that could curdle paint.

[Maggi Young]

Just popped though here to collect laptop...Ian is watching Murray play Berrer, who has just managed to win a game after umpteen advantages.... sorry Anthony!

[Anthony Darby]

I see from the live feed on BBC Sport he's gone over on his ankle. Not good, meanwhile I'm subject to the man with a face like a torn scone on Sky Sport.

[Anthony Darby]

Ah ha. It's on Radio Roland Garros.

[Tim Ingram]

Major renovations in the garden! After putting it off as long as I could I have looked more closely at the damage wreaked by this winter on the 'Southern Hemisphere' part of the garden. A lot of plants have been killed which have been happy for many years - Thus Acacia pravissima, Myrtus luma, Pseudopanax ferox (I'm really sad about this, it was some 8 or 9ft high; another species, crassifolius is sprouting new buds all the way up the stem) and Grevillea 'Canberra Gem' (this has been in the garden for probably 20 years and was huge - its going to be uncomfortable to remove). Several Pittosporums have been badly damaged but are sprouting well low down. Pseudowintera colorata I don't think will but I have a soft spot for this very curious plant and saw a lovely form in Hester Forde's garden outside Cork, a much more sensible place to grow it. Crinodendron hookerianum lost all of its leaves but is growing out again well, even right at the tips of the branches. A friend with a plant higher up on the North Downs had no damage and her plant is flowering well. Its relative, the white C. patagua looks OK. Other plants haven't been damaged at all - Azara microphylla, which fills the garden with vanilla scent in late winter, is in rude health and my treasured rather gangly plant of Telopea truncata, the Tasmanian Waratah, has some strong vegetative buds (I think it may need some TLC to encourage it to flower but it grows well at Wakehurst Place, planted originally by Tony Schilling I think).

The piles of weeds and shreddings are growing alarmingly but hopefully at the end there will be lots of new places to replant. The winter was harsh (before Christmas) but didn't seem that much colder than at times we have had before - probably it was the fact that it stayed cold continuously and never warmed up during the day. Hopefully such conditions won't come again for a while!

[Lesley Cox]

Would you like some seed of Acacia pravissima Tim? Germinates well and grows quickly.

[Tim Ingram]

Thanks Lesley, yes I would. Up to now I thought this was pretty much the hardiest species here. I do have another, pataczekii, which is very different (not sure of its origins) and has come through the winter OK. My address is Copton Ash, 105 Ashford Road, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8XW. I normally collect quite a bit of seed through the autumn from the garden so hopefully may have something you would like. Thanks again.

[mark smyth]

I watched An Audience with Michael Buble tonight. I recorded it on Monday which was a repeat.

I could hear that he was using Autotune!!!! I googled it and found many comments saying they heard it also.

While mentioning Google have you seen it today? Their logo today is a guitar with strings that work

[David Nicholson]

I watched An Audience with Michael Buble tonight. I recorded it on Monday which was a repeat.

Were you so stuck for something to do?

[Anthony Darby]

I think you've just burst Mark's buble?

[mark smyth]

it has Anthony.

Yesterday 32 people from a gardening group came to see the garden. All week I worked hard to tidy everything especially the back yard so they could see the troughs. I greeted them, told them how it evolved, the all year interest, the plants they can see. I left them to it only to be amazed that they all played follow the leader in to the back garden. A few asked questions "dont you worry about the size the hostas will grow to?" they're all miniatures. I caught one person nibbling allium leaves so had to tell everyone not to eat anything. My man whispered "Can I have an orchid you have lots". No one looked at the crevice bed, no one looked at the rockery

By 30 minutes they were gone. Some walked in and almost straight out again.

"Here's a gift for your trouble". £20!! I'll not be so stupid next time.