Gardening blog this week is about...Julia Bradbury, Glastonbury, Eden Project, BBC, garden centre parties, RHS Hampton Court, Felicity Kendal, fish, pizza and...short gardeners.
1. Anne Robinson is to become the new face of BBC Watchdog, replacing Julia Bradbury, who has her hands full at Countryfile. There don't seem to be many presenters to go round at the BBC, or maybe just no new talent?
2. BBC Glastonbury coverage involved 400 plus people. Headline news last week. When Horticulture Week asked how many covered Chelsea Flower Show, the BBC press office told us a few weeks later that it was about 18. Times that by 10 insiders suggest. The rest are all contractors and freelancers. Could there be less?
3. Went to London Parks and Gardens Forum annual summer do at Garden Museum last week. Met the admirable Mike Fitt, still working hard on behalf of Royal Parks and Royal Parks Guild; Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, very tall and doing lots of stuff at Hampton Court Palace -read about it in HW soon; Natural England's Drew Bennellick, that week's HW interviewee who told me out Landscape Review stalwart Jez Abbott once profiled him and a friend used copies of the pic as birdscarers; Dominic Cole, who is doing a brilliant-sounding project linked to Tim Smit from the Eden Project on the roof of the Hayward at London's South Bank; Mike Rowan, who was not doing his Richard Whiteley-style MC job at that day's Greenspace conference on GYO in parks (that my colleague Magda Ibrahim was at) and Jason Debney from Thames Landscape group that looks after Arcadia-David Attenborough could be at their annual summer bash at Syon Park this year. Wesley Kerr nearly said hello then remembered he shouldn't. Christopher Woodward gave a speech saying Veolia's park keepers can spend only 90 seconds pruning a rose or else the contract loses money. He added that Felicity Kendal has turned him down for an appearance at the forthcoming museum Good Life exhibition, but Richard Briers and Penelope Keith are up for it.
4. Also went to Kew on Sunday. Kids' play area has been dismantled just in time for summer holidays. And lift to treetop walkway lift is still not working after a year. Not good for the kiddies. What's up?
5. Went to Millbrook Garden Centre near Gravesend on Friday evening. Forthcoming interview of owners Tammy Woodhouse and Sue Allen in the next Garden Retail, out third Friday in July. They were throwing a retirment party for Sue and a succession one for Tammy as well as a 30th anniversary celebration. Coolings garden centre's Paul Cooling and Scotts' John Ashley were among 130 guests. Sue Allen told me they were 'party people'. Good to see.
6. Also went to the lovely RHS Hampton Court launch at Hilton on Park Lane. Beautiful Andrew Galvin restaurant. Edible Matthew Wilson celebrity gardening pizzas. Odd event. No senior RHS staff there so Wilson, after spending a while in the kitchen, did the speech, then talked to the guy from sponsor NS&I. The chef said a bit but was unsure of Wilson's name. The hacks there-Marc Rosenberg, Lucy Halsall, Gavin McEwan, Times online guy, RHS mag workie, me and Emma Townshend ate nice pizza, looked out of the windows at brilliant 360 London view then left, a bit bemused. Lovely RHS staff said they didn't know where show staff or senior staff were. Lot of staffs in that sentence.
7. RHS commercial director Gordon Seabright wants to see a Wisley 10km run. Sounds like a good idea to me. Any runners up for it? I'm in celeb fitness trainer Matt Roberts' running group training for the Royal Parks half marathon in October.
8. There's one way to solve the crisis in the oceans highlighted by ex Daily Telegraph environment editor Charles Clover's End of the Line film, which has won much favourable publicity, for its important message and as CC called in old favours from fellow hacks. There's one way to solve the problem of fish dying out. Ignore the everyone who says eat more fish and...eat less fish.
9. Being a short gardener surely helps with the weeding. Shorties are often known for their anger management issues-Napoleon etc. But gardening makes gardeners mellow, balanced people. Top 10 shorties: Martyn Cox (5'6''), Paul Jackson (Four Oaks 5'7''), Chris Cooke from Cornwall nursery Churchtown (5'4''), Liz Dobbs (Gardens Monthly 5'1'') Val and Steve Bradley (The Sun 9' 6'' end to end), Stephen Smith (Grosvenor estate gardener 5'6''), Alys Fowler (5'3''), Chris Beardshaw (5'7'' and with stacks 5'9''), Alan Titchmarsh (5'8'' or 5' 9'' when bouffant up). Any to add?
10. Sold a garlic bulb I grew to a colleague the other day. Should I feel guilty about not paying tax/undercutting the professionals/selling stuff to colleagues?
