Evening all, Saw the terrible news from Manchester last night before bed. I really struggled to drop off. Can't imagine what those families are going through. Merri loves Areana Grande she watches a TV programme that she is in. She went to her first concert last year and I keep thinking about that young girl who was the same age.
Took Mabel out today to visit baby piglets at a local farm and spent the day thankful that all my family are safe and well. Stay safe everyone.
I was disappointed with the judges decisions at Chelsea. My 2 favourites, Chris Beardshaw and the Covent Garden one got silver gilt and silver. The ones I really didn't like got gold. But then I only saw them on TV and not in real life. But I noted that Monty asked James Alexander Sinclair if the judges thought that real gardens like Chris's had gone out of fashion and even Joe Swift thought it would have got gold.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Haven't caught up with all the results yet but I often disagree with the judges. It seems increasingly that the gardens they like are more about concept and paving than plants and CB's gardens are always about using plants to express a vision or a message, not hard landscaping. They gave Matthew Wilson's Yorkshire garden a silver last year and it was clearly the most sumptuous celebration of plants and place in the show and won the People's award. Diarmuid Gavin's entertaining inventor's garden got silver gilt yet it was clever, fun and full of fabulous plants.
I seriously dislike the dry, barren, wasteland look of the Provence garden last year and the quarry garden this year which is why we moved to the warmth of the Vendée and not the baking south. We wanted rain for juicy green plants and no more deep freeze winters.
OH watched one of the earlier programmes with me this evening and asked "Who's that young man with the inane grin?". James Wong.
Thank heavens for Adam!
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I too couldn't concentrate today and had to force myself to make the most of the weather. I went to a garden centre to try to take my mind off the news but they had the news on the radio.
As a person of the islamic faith I would like to remind people that we are all very much heartbroken by this. I believe we are all thinking the same things and are all very angry at such a loss of life, and so young the victims are too.
While the extreme right wingers in the media throw accusations without even having asked any of us our thoughts, please remember that most of us are ready to spot and take action against any intolerance we see.
I've met so many people in my life and my husband has travelled a lot to various mosques nationwide and we were discussing how we have never met a hateful person in real life. Its very confusing as well as upsetting.
My point is, I believe there is a lot more love on both sides than people realise. I just hope times get better.
I have met many people, of may faiths and of none who have astounded my by their kindness or lack of it. Religion confers neither on its followers.
I am an openly gay, married man and we have been to many countries including many , predominantly Muslim countries, Malaysia, The Gambia , Egypt and others and have never had any hostility shown towards us. Curiosity and disbelief yes, but never hostility.
Ignore "the extreme right wingers" please.
On a positive note: A customer was paying for his shopping and didn't have enough cash and then realised he didn't have his wallet to use his credit card. He is a regular customer and it was agreed that he could pay on his next visit. The chap behind him in the queue, a complete stranger, said " It's only £7, I'm happy to pay it for you"
There are far more good people out there than bad.
Happy Birthday Punkdoc. Take it easy on the cake! I hope you have a lovely day.
Tinygardengirl, hello. We have friends who are Muslim and they are the loveliest family you could hope to meet. Very generous and always happy to share some jokes. They introduced us to Persian food about 30 years ago and we still cook some of their recipes. I'm all for mixing with other cultures.
Pat; it reminds me of a low flying plane! Clouds are funny things; somehow they let our imaginations run away with them.
Punkdoc; Happy birthday! No worries about starting the cake early you can claim a slice was for me. I refused to have cake yesterday - the gluten free ones you can buy always have suspiciously long expiry dates and it was far too hot to bake my own. Don't worry; everyone in the office got a cool cream slice from the local bakery!
Hosta: I've paid for people's shopping several times, it has always felt the "right" thing to do and was usually someone who had some exactly the same as your gentleman that so easily done slip of your mind and sudden realisation your wallet is on the table at home. One time I brought an elderly gentlemen's shopping and it was quite clearly a Sunday roast for one. In a purely selfish way it was worth doing just to see the chaps smile before he disappeared. Little did he realise that in this busy world he was the only other person I'd spoken too for two days aside from the checkout lady.
Good on your kind stranger; we need more of them.
Tinygardengirl; hi! I don't think we've chatted much before. I just wanted you say hello, and that for me, like so many others here, we welcome you to the forum and we welcome learning more about you, your passions, your beliefs, your loves, your hates. We all know that religion can do so much goodness in the world; it can bring people together, create a huge network of support and love. It gives people the strength to get up, carry on, and do wonderful things like banding together in time of crisis to open your doors as a place of safety, to get the kettle on or hand out bottles of water to the emergency services on the hottest of days. Religion can be brilliant.
The people that commit these terrible acts; I do not care what anyone says. They are nothing to do with religion no matter what they claim or whose flag they wave or whose quote they try to shout. They are, bluntly put; arseholes.
And together we will overcome them.
I do however realise that the media is often one of the biggest arseholes and that their own words will put so many people at an increased risk so I want to say this; to anyone on this forum who because you are awesome enough to be different are put at an increased risk from the attacks of other mindless arseholes
Posts
It must've been a grim birthday for you Clari , what with the atrocity and your OH being away. Many much happier returns to you ((hugs)).
Now it's time for bed
Sleep peacefully everyone ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Evening all, Saw the terrible news from Manchester last night before bed. I really struggled to drop off. Can't imagine what those families are going through. Merri loves Areana Grande she watches a TV programme that she is in. She went to her first concert last year and I keep thinking about that young girl who was the same age.
Took Mabel out today to visit baby piglets at a local farm and spent the day thankful that all my family are safe and well. Stay safe everyone.
I was disappointed with the judges decisions at Chelsea. My 2 favourites, Chris Beardshaw and the Covent Garden one got silver gilt and silver. The ones I really didn't like got gold. But then I only saw them on TV and not in real life. But I noted that Monty asked James Alexander Sinclair if the judges thought that real gardens like Chris's had gone out of fashion and even Joe Swift thought it would have got gold.
Haven't caught up with all the results yet but I often disagree with the judges. It seems increasingly that the gardens they like are more about concept and paving than plants and CB's gardens are always about using plants to express a vision or a message, not hard landscaping. They gave Matthew Wilson's Yorkshire garden a silver last year and it was clearly the most sumptuous celebration of plants and place in the show and won the People's award. Diarmuid Gavin's entertaining inventor's garden got silver gilt yet it was clever, fun and full of fabulous plants.
I seriously dislike the dry, barren, wasteland look of the Provence garden last year and the quarry garden this year which is why we moved to the warmth of the Vendée and not the baking south. We wanted rain for juicy green plants and no more deep freeze winters.
OH watched one of the earlier programmes with me this evening and asked "Who's that young man with the inane grin?". James Wong.
Thank heavens for Adam!
I have started eating cake a little bit early, it may be a long night.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I too couldn't concentrate today and had to force myself to make the most of the weather. I went to a garden centre to try to take my mind off the news but they had the news on the radio.
As a person of the islamic faith I would like to remind people that we are all very much heartbroken by this. I believe we are all thinking the same things and are all very angry at such a loss of life, and so young the victims are too.
While the extreme right wingers in the media throw accusations without even having asked any of us our thoughts, please remember that most of us are ready to spot and take action against any intolerance we see.
I've met so many people in my life and my husband has travelled a lot to various mosques nationwide and we were discussing how we have never met a hateful person in real life. Its very confusing as well as upsetting.
My point is, I believe there is a lot more love on both sides than people realise. I just hope times get better.
Last edited: 24 May 2017 00:02:04
Hi tiny garden girl.
I have met many people, of may faiths and of none who have astounded my by their kindness or lack of it. Religion confers neither on its followers.
I am an openly gay, married man and we have been to many countries including many , predominantly Muslim countries, Malaysia, The Gambia , Egypt and others and have never had any hostility shown towards us. Curiosity and disbelief yes, but never hostility.
Ignore "the extreme right wingers" please.
On a positive note: A customer was paying for his shopping and didn't have enough cash and then realised he didn't have his wallet to use his credit card. He is a regular customer and it was agreed that he could pay on his next visit. The chap behind him in the queue, a complete stranger, said " It's only £7, I'm happy to pay it for you"
There are far more good people out there than bad.
Happy Birthday Punkdoc. Take it easy on the cake!
I hope you have a lovely day.
Tinygardengirl, hello. We have friends who are Muslim and they are the loveliest family you could hope to meet. Very generous and always happy to share some jokes. They introduced us to Persian food about 30 years ago and we still cook some of their recipes. I'm all for mixing with other cultures.
Here's a strange cloud on the way home today.
Pat; it reminds me of a low flying plane! Clouds are funny things; somehow they let our imaginations run away with them.
Punkdoc; Happy birthday! No worries about starting the cake early you can claim a slice was for me. I refused to have cake yesterday - the gluten free ones you can buy always have suspiciously long expiry dates and it was far too hot to bake my own. Don't worry; everyone in the office got a cool cream slice from the local bakery!
Hosta: I've paid for people's shopping several times, it has always felt the "right" thing to do and was usually someone who had some exactly the same as your gentleman that so easily done slip of your mind and sudden realisation your wallet is on the table at home. One time I brought an elderly gentlemen's shopping and it was quite clearly a Sunday roast for one. In a purely selfish way it was worth doing just to see the chaps smile before he disappeared. Little did he realise that in this busy world he was the only other person I'd spoken too for two days aside from the checkout lady.
Good on your kind stranger; we need more of them.
Tinygardengirl; hi! I don't think we've chatted much before. I just wanted you say hello, and that for me, like so many others here, we welcome you to the forum and we welcome learning more about you, your passions, your beliefs, your loves, your hates. We all know that religion can do so much goodness in the world; it can bring people together, create a huge network of support and love. It gives people the strength to get up, carry on, and do wonderful things like banding together in time of crisis to open your doors as a place of safety, to get the kettle on or hand out bottles of water to the emergency services on the hottest of days. Religion can be brilliant.
The people that commit these terrible acts; I do not care what anyone says. They are nothing to do with religion no matter what they claim or whose flag they wave or whose quote they try to shout. They are, bluntly put; arseholes.
And together we will overcome them.
I do however realise that the media is often one of the biggest arseholes and that their own words will put so many people at an increased risk so I want to say this; to anyone on this forum who because you are awesome enough to be different are put at an increased risk from the attacks of other mindless arseholes
I WILL STAND BY YOUR SIDE.
IF YOU NEED ME I WILL BE HERE.