Matthew Appleby alternative gardening awards 2009/10-bests and worsts. I wasn’t going to bother but someone (ie one person) asked me if I was going to after last year’s piece. So here goes.
1. News story of the year-Chelsea Flower Show downturn-hits zeitgeist of recession in City.
2. Worst news story of the year-Alan Titchmarsh Wikipedia site says he is writing a guide to the Karma Sutra.
3. TV show of the year-None. This was the year gardening took a year off TV. Everyone took a year off.
4. Newcomer of the year. TV-wise -no-one. Expect better in 2010. Matthew Wilson, Monty Don, Alys Fowler new series. Oh yeah, newcomer-see above William Appleby.
5. TV presenter of the year-Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall (Landshare, GYO, popular). 2nd-Nigel Slater (BBC1, allotments, nice).
5 1/2. Lookalikes-Adam Frost and
Ronnie
O'Sullivan.
6. Departure of the year. Inga Grimsey (and 80 RHS staff). Fred Whitsey. Hurrans garden centres.
7. Comeback of the year-Rosemary Edwards rescuing Gardener’s World. Nicholas Marshall at Wyevale garden centres.
8. Worst TV of the year. Gardener’s World what’s hot and what’s not. Funniest TV: Alys Fowler making a guinea pig hutch on GW.
9. Party of the year-Tapas seven RHS lunch for journalists who wrote only nice things this year. Most sociable people-Tim Edwards, Andrew Richardson, Andy McIndoe, Carol Paris.
10. Disappointment of the year-Future Gardens. And the gardening hacks (ie most of them) who bigged it up without question.
And the next top 10. Ok 11.
- Issue of the year-food security
- Non-issue of the year. GM/peat-both never took off
- Worst columnist-Ben Fogle's Sunday Telegraph country diary. Fogle typically will write wrote how roadkill is a terrible thing for the countryside when of course it shows healthy animal populations. Zoe Williams – I’m not scared of vegetables apart from celeriac. Basil is alive. 'If we were prepared to eat goat's milk by the 1940s, you have to ask, did we really need to have that huge war?' http://alturl.com/big5
- Book of the year-The Alternative Kitchen Garden, Emma Cooper.
- Bad sex literary prize-Radio Essex gardening presenter Ken Crowther’s ‘Two Weeks in Nice’ Apprentice gardeners Jack and Nick are on their first holiday away from their parents. They experience the gastronomic, horticultural and feminine delights of St Tropez and Nice.
- Strop of the year. GW producer for having nickname revealed. BBC Chelsea presenter for having salary revealed. National Trust person on peat-free. Trade body person on trade show. Dozens by me. Bridges built now though.
- Event of the year-Chelsea, Glee. Both unexpectedly good.
- Best columnist. Seabrook.
- New talent-me at Daily Telegraph.
- Industry fun figure-Monty Don “I cry all the time, most recently when I realised the housemartins had gone away”. London Evening Standard's Pattie Barron announced a fab new collaboration with the RHS with a long PR quote from Inga Grimsey…on the day Inga resigned. Also talked about her 'London loam'. Lives in Brighton.
- Lifetime achievement – Jim McColl
