A Strange Creature
I came across a strange being today. Is it a slug? An alien creature? It certainly seemed rather slimey. But what is it? I decided to call it Gill after my arch-nemesis. But then I thought again. It&#... Read More
Six on Saturday: 9 December
Christmas draws nearer. After a month of hearing Slade everywhere, I wish it was drawing away. But there we are. It’ll soon be time for the latest DFS sale. And I’ll soon be servicing the ... Read More
Well I Never ….
I was planning to open a communications channel with someone around Christmas. Well it seems someone has been just as eager to get in touch with me. Hands up everyone who would NOT be worried (or have... Read More
An Unusual Diet
I was trolling through my nemesis’s blog the other day, looking for a bit of mischievous inspiration when I came across a rather weird fact. She eats words for lunch. I, like many, was under the... Read More
In Memoriam
The funeral was yesterday. Chesney was laid to rest in the shrubbery, too good for the compost bin. He has a memorial label. I admit that I shed a tear for the fighting fella. Grown from seeds given t... Read More
A Diversionary Fart
For the avoidance of doubt, this post is not part of my series filling in for Gill Heavens, resident of an abandoned badger sett and consumer of copious quantities of cheese and onion crisps (and gin)... Read More
Six on Saturday: 2 December
Well here we are again. Another Saturday. And it’s damned cold. But Semper Sursum* as my old school motto used to say. Another Saturday means another opportunity to rack my brains for a six of s... Read More
Inconsistency
Pay attention in class, please! I’m talking about inconsistence, not incontinence. The former isn’t a real word; the latter is what poor Gill Heavens may be suffering after a couple of wee... Read More
What is Who is Sylvia? Or Silvia?
There are several answers to this question. There’s the poem by Shakespeare, the play by Edward Albee, the song by Schubert and the TV sitcom starring Charlie Drake to name but a few (+1 for the... Read More
No Bougainvill ‘ere!
Sometimes I make mistakes. Quite often actually! This was one of them. I can’t remember what I intended to order but somehow I ended up with a Bougainvillea. I did check the order and I did orde... Read More
Pretty Flamingo
When Manfred Mann released Pretty Flamingo I was 12. I’m a bit older now but I still have a pretty flamingo. This is thanks to Gill Heavens, who sent her to live with me after I jokingly commen... Read More
Forward Planning
I have decided that enough is enough and that my “Plants I Want” list for next year is now complete. I will resist all attempts to increase this list by those who blog about Plants of the ... Read More
It Must Be Autumn
Or late autumn, to be exact. We have all planted hundreds of bulbs and borders are full. At this time of year you can tell by looking at lawns that neighbours have just had plants delivered. Because e... Read More
Six on Saturday: 25 November
Well I’ve done a history six, introduced naked gardening and had an ornamental six. I have racked my brain (took me a while to find it though) again and this week have come up with a new six ide... Read More
Preparation
Gill Heavens, curator of Off the Edge Gardening has gone AWOL. She did tell us but she asked no-one’s permission. I’m told I have to fill the gap. I will at least make a valiant effort. Es... Read More
A Vacancy Looms
The difference between rupture and rapture is but one character. That character represents the difference between carrying a case of wine into the house and drinking a glass of it. It also represents ... Read More
Six on Saturday: 18 November
I should’ve kept my mouth shut! On Thursday night we had the earliest frost here in 25 years! Well the car roofs (seems it’s “roofs” now and not “rooves”) were look... Read More
Six on Saturday: 11 November
He who must be obeyed has thrown down the gauntlet. Can we mere mortals come up with a “Six” week after week through the winter? Will sex* fall by the wayside? But being Welsh and, therefo... Read More
Six on Saturday: 4 November
There are two problems with this Six on Saturday thing. The first is finding six things to feature every week without (a) appearing to copy everyone else’s choice and (b) repeatedly featuring th... Read More
Book Review: Natural Selection by Dan Pearson
I’ll start, as I start any review of anything, by mentioning that I do not accept freebies or discounted products to review. This includes so-called “review copies” of books. I buy s... Read More
Reflections on Life, Part 1
For some strange reason, I have a lot less spare time these days than I did before I retired completely. In working days, I had an excuse of limited time to do things. This, in my head, justified brin... Read More
Six on Saturday: 28: October
Here we are again! It’s Saturday. Brianless. Dry, sunnyish, fairly warm (around here) for the time of year. Which means no photos of frosty leaves or icy waters. Brian did for all the spiders la... Read More
Six on Saturday: 21 October
It’s Saturday again and time for another Six on Saturday. I missed last week thanks to a misbehaving stomach; I took some time in lieu. But I’m back this week, despite having a computer th... Read More
Six on Saturday: 7 October
As usual, thanks, praise and a little bit of grovelling go to our Head Wally, The Propagator, for coming up with the original idea for this meme and hosting it ever since, dashing back to the UK for a... Read More
Six on Saturday: 30 September
I’ve been accused elsewhere of being creative. In the spirit of creativity I offer my six for today. I’m going to be like the BBC – a few repeats. But then others have done that alre... Read More