Awful weather - typical Brits talk

YoungBlueEyes

Farway beat me to it, but happy World Pangolin Day folks!

Your pic made me realise I didn't check for BG on iplayer last night (doesn't the fellah on the right look like George? 😊) Sometimes it's on catchup even if they haven't shown it. I'll be glad when all that snowy sporty nonsense is over and tv can get back to normal.

Woohoo for the quick lurgy removal Dusty and logs and oil 😎

Have a nice lunch out Farway, hopefully you've got good weather down there and you can sit out 😀

PoshFriend does appreciate me 2p, even if she doesn't say it. She's a demanding pain in the hole, but she went above and beyond when I was on the bones of me erse and needed someone and I'll never be able to repay what it meant to me. Anyway. I agree about feeling idle reading this place… the thing is I know what I'm supposed to be doing I just cba getting round to it 😔 I'll start doing a bit in the mornings/evenings now it's stretching out. It's making the start that's unappealing, it's alright once you get going. Hopefully.

Re the entirely made up call that didn't happen ahem I didn't mention equity release because she didn't. One of her son's is in hock to her other son, to the tune of £50k, and they're bullying/guilting her into giving up her security at 84 years old to appease bickering wastrel useless druggy sons. I told her she can leave them the house in her will, and she was happy enough with that. Thing is she wasn't a client so we'll never know how it ends…

Right, speaking of seeds - I've seeds come in my magazine this month but I don't fancy them one bit so if anyone wants some "rare and exciting Ratibida columnifera 'Red midget' " seeds I'll happily post them to whoever asks 🙂

OT mild but damp out there this morning 9'c and up to 12' later, possibly. I had to follow himself into the garage earlier so they can sort out the sensors something something. We were there first thing but they don't give you an actual appointment time, so I sat a wee while then thought better of it and came home. The place closes at 12, well I can get some gardening done before he might even be home. Need to start my tom seeds at the very least. And more weeding 🙄

Dustyevsky

Ended-up at the Doctors yesterday; Mrs Dusty's orders! 😯 She said, "It's 2.30 on a Friday, and I don't want to be waiting hours in A&E with you at the weekend!" So I did an e-consult, and zapped a few photos of my rash over to the Health Centre. I was seen inside 2 hours, and sent on my way with some colourful-looking antibiotics….pretty impressive! ☺️

No one has ventured an opinion on why I have the rash, and it looks the same, but I don't feel ill, so there will be more seed sowing today. 😃 Yes, Bluey, it must be the tomatoes and chillis next, or I'll be all behind. The raucous GCs have returned to Birmingstan, and an air of calm has returned, along with nervous cat, who (unlike wort's moggy 😪) spent last night, back in her rightful place, by the wood burner.

I still have some BFB, but will need more, so thanks for the reminder.😉 I bought 10 bags of compost in the autumn, 'just in case' so I'm mostly good to go. While there are half a dozen 'new' flowers I'd like to grow this year, being realistic, they'd be best left in the catalogue! 😔

Good to hear your lurgy has also diminished sufficiently for lunch out, Farway. It looks as if the creeping, misty rain nonsense will spread across to you by then, but we shall have proper downpours here.😕 No worries, it's definitely warmer today, and tomorrow we have the promise of real sunshine.😀

In the absence of Devonian pangolins, I can only give you something else beginning with P from the archives. This was exactly 11 years ago, with a mist hovering in the valley bottom.

YoungBlueEyes

That was a good turnaround re the docs Dusty, you’d need to have your legs hanging off to get seen in 2 hours here! 🤞🏻your colourful pills work 🙂

I just popped on to say - I am gardening, in the sunshine, and here is proof -

… and then this happened -

Not a BeeBum but it still made me smile 😊

Oh and they’ve updated the chip in himself’s car, so it’ll be grand for a few days and then summat else will take its turn to start blinking and beeping. It’s a good wheeze is that, and they charge him for it too!

wort

Dsis took me to the nursery, got these and 3 bags of compost and a large pot for DDs rose. It was sunny but as soon as we got home it rained. I’ve potted up the rose. But looks like rain set in.
Off out tonight 21st birthday 🎉 nephews dd. Not sure what that makes her. 🤔

wort

YBE I don’t blame you not letting her know about equity release, I wouldn’t have either. Those sons sound like rapscallions.

Those seeds are certainly different, I’d have them but as I’ve said before I’m no good with seeds. I’ll let someone more proficient have a go. Thanks.Good hubbys car is fixed.

Dusty that’s impressive,to be seen at drs so fast. Hope the tablets work as quickly.

Farway hope you have a wonderful lunch.

twopenny

That's one fed up pheasant Dusty 😄

Well done on the doctors. Having been told I won't be contacted for a month I got a letter this morning with an appointment to do what was done last Monday! So that's a call I'll have to make. Seems private isn't better after all. Just quicker.

Wort what a lovely haul 🙂 and what a neat lawn. Mines green with moss and weeds.

Bluey awww to a bee already. They must be tough up your way with the temperatures you've been having.

Not sure what to say Farway. You'll be sleeping it off in the chair and dreaming of your garden being perfect 😉

Nice this morning. Sort of sunny and bright so I had to get cleaning when I could see the muck. A load of washing half dry. Kitchen door has been open all day and blossom popping out. Then it rained. It's 14c out there 😄😄😄

Don't know what's happened to my potted spring bulbs. Some have deigned to flower but even those are a sorry excuse. Perhaps it's one year of neglect too many.

Farway

Back again, with a wet & murky start to the day, it ended the same yesterday, after pub lunch, damp & misty murk

Pub lunch with DD went sort of well, first pub the kitchen was closed for the day, boo, so Plan B initiated. Don't know if I'm very old & seen it all before or just super clairvoyant, but I'd already looked up alternative pubs on Friday. Turned out well , and Rodney, the dachshund, was well behaved, but DD is Boss dog walker so all her charges behave. No photo, missed a good one but too late by the time I got sorted.

It's BAFTA day, wetting myself with excitement, not.😄

Wort, thanks for BFB tip, no longer there of course, but good to know. A good haul at GC as well, and a birthday party, busy weekend for you, see you at the BAFTAs? 😁

Dusty & YBE himself's car fixed, all going well so far.

My B beans are still alive, with more showing up this morning

Sun is promised around noon onwards, hope so 'cos I still want to trim the ferns back & get wheelie bin out for Tuesday

Gives me time to find a cheaper House insurance quote than the double renewal price I have received, one expects maybe a few quid on for inflation, but over £200 increase is taking the Mick IMO 🤬

YoungBlueEyes

Morning all - Search Baftas on the anniversary of Dolly the sheep being announced to the world 🐑 (This time next year it'll be 30 years ago! 30 years! )

Dusty that pheasant looks like he'll be needing some toilet paper soon😁How's the rash this morning?

Wort I agree with 2p, your lawn is lovely. Good haul of plants there so that's your Sunday sorted eh ☺️Will we get a pic of Swish Rose + pot..?

You going shopping for more bulbs then 2p? You don't think of these things as having a life expectancy really. Annoying about your doctor's letter, you'd presume shelling out for the thing would produce a better result 🙄

It's another lovely Spring-like morning here, 11'c and sunny. I've a load on the line and another load in the washer churning away, and I'll have another day in the garden I think. I got a good bit done yesterday, but the main thing was my IOW toms are started 👏

The windows are nearly all open, but not the back door sadly. Whoever is in charge of the Cat Redistribution Flinging Machine wants to point it at someone else now thankyouplease. As Well as His Holeyness there's a lookylikey arrived from somewhere and that big black bastud is a regular now too. * sigh *

Edit - wort your nephew's daughter is your great niece :)

Dustyevsky

Bluey said:

That was a good turnaround re the docs Dusty, you’d need to have your legs hanging off to get seen in 2 hours here! 🤞🏻your colourful pills work 🙂

Yes, I believe we're well-served here, compared with many places. Half the clientele live miles away, so maybe they don't 'overuse' the facility. Certainly, the poorly folk I ferry there seem genuine enough, even if a few do wriggle out of paying. 😕 I have much sympathy with those the council housed in small villages, not long before they lost the ability to drive. 😔

So far, there's no sign the antibiotics are doing much, except stopping me from taking painkillers for the flare-up in my osteoarthritis! That gives a clue to what sort of illness is involved. If this rain stops, I shall go nuts if I can't do all the stuff that now needs doing urgently. We've been waiting many weeks to get going on the winter jobs.

It was a lovely, quiet morning yesterday, sowing the chillies and toms. 😇 Then a call came from our farmer friend to say he'd be bringing 16 sheep over. 😯 Normally, I'd be pleased, but their water trough remained non-functional, so there was a lot of scrabbling around in the mud, unearthing the feed pipe etc. for a temporary fix. I was grateful it was 'warm,' though. A few days ago, I'd have been frozen, as well as wet! 😨 Now sheep may safely drink.🐏

Today, I have to bang-in one more fence post to make sure the sheep can't reach the laurels we planted between our second wild area and Mr King's garden. Their owner says he'll come and do it, but not when!☹️

2p said: That's one fed up pheasant Dusty 😄

We have the usual survivor on the land somewhere at present, but he's timid, so I've not had the chance of a photo. Any pheasants that have stayed alive till now should be grateful, not fed-up! 😄

That's a super collection of perennials, wort. I can pick out most of them, Is the Nepeta 'Walker's Low'? That's a good un!

Dustyevsky

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81894660#Comment_81894660

Dolly the sheep always reminds me of our not famous plant, Verbascum 'Pandora,' which mysteriously appeared in our garden in the 1990s. It was likely a hybrid; pink, and with amazing vigour. You could literally take one root and propagate dozens of plants from it. No need to clone. As a clear pink was then an unusual verbascum colour, we saw ££££ 🤑and contacted people in the trade.

The first contact arrived to view the plant within days. He told us to make 50, and take them to his Midlands nursery. There, they were evaluated professionally and declared a potential winner. So, we had to decide a marketing strategy. As the plant could be bulked-up rapidly, we decided to go for early release through all the big outlets, like B&Q, Homebase etc, and never mind plant breeder's rights malarkey. Yes, other nurseries would copy it, but that would take a few years, and in the meantime we'd make a killing. If we went PBR it would take longer and cost ££ up-front.

That was the plan, but we aren't the sort of folk fairy tales happen to.🤔 About this time of year, we had a phone call from the nurseryman to tell us his business had failed, with debts of £9m. 😲 Assets were to be seized. We had to rush to the Midlands in the snow to retrieve our plants before they became the property of the creditors. It was all very sad.

Soo…we started again. 🙁This time, with a very well-known business with a big brand name. They didn't want to go down the 'pile em high, flog 'em quick' route. We had to apply for Plant Breeder's Rights with all the nonsense that entailed in Europe. The company paid, but that meant we would pay eventually via our share of the profits. Meanwhile, another evaluation happened, which Pandora passed. 😇 At last, a few years later, we were ready to release 'Pandora' at Chelsea. Yay!😍

It didn't happen! 😫 There were leaflets and promotional stuff, but the big company messed-up. The plants were not in flower. Maybe this was the first hint all was not well with Pandora herself? Anyway, there wasn't much interest, although some garden centres in N Ireland took her on. I think a few thousand were sold. “Never mind,” we thought, “there's next year.”

Next year wasn't any better. 😯To cut a sad story short, within about 4 years there was no revenue. In fact, money was owed for administration. By then, another plant we'd bred, rather than found, was being quietly 'buried' by the company. They didn't want it, but they didn't wish others to have it! We'd signed our rights to that away, too.😪

Pandora had the last laugh. Over about 10 years of propagation, I noticed her original vigour was fading with each generation. By the time we rocked-up here in Devon, she was getting difficult from root cuttings, and the plants produced were slower growing and less robust. I believe we lost the last one around 2020, but it might have been earlier.

According to AI, there is no Verbascum 'Pandora,' but she still exists in one database. I doubt if anyone still has a living example.

https://verbascum.org/species/total/

There's a moral here somewhere!😉

Sun's out, and so am I. Gotta go see those sheeps!