sime42

And "forgetfulness". Gavin Williamson Says He Has 'Forgotten' His A-Level Results | HuffPost UK M.HUFFINGTONPOST.CO.UK But the education secretary does recall opening the envelope and seeing the grades.

Fluffing?

Good thinking there. No concerns about the glyphosate crossing over into the tree via the roots though? I thought that could be an issue in some cases.

Anyone tried Cucamelons, (Mouse Melons) before? I'm growing them again this year and they're really heavy croppers. Melothria scabra - Wikipedia EN.M.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Seems like a good year for chillies, mine are very numerous and large already. Though I think they're always a good bet as seem to do well most years. We're picking them already. Even though they're not quite ripe yet, still green, they've got a fair poke of heat. Picking a handful of toms each day now and almost as many gherkins.

Thanks. I'm always interested to hear about proper old crafts. Did you want to use sinew to be in keeping with tradition or is it better than synthetic equivalents?

That's the fundamental thing that I've never been able to fathom. The likes of Amazon, Google, Apple etc already have more than enough data on all of us. The government could only ever hope to gather a fraction of that amount, let alone manage to utilise it to control us all in some way.

Not far off. Yorkshireman grows the 'Holy Grail' of gooseberries WWW.BBC.CO.UK Graeme Watson's prize gooseberry saw off the competition at a centuries' old fruit show. Underdog pensioner wins gooseberry war to claim world record WWW.TELEGRAPH.CO.UK Elderly amateur gardener Bryan Nellist has finally broken the record for growing the world's biggest gooseberry months after a row broke over how the berries were weighed.

Beautiful, but deadly I imagine. Great workmanship. What's involved in processing the sinew?

Booom! There it is. I thought it was more of a confirmation bias but there you go.

I probably got that wrong, it's more likely Cercis canadensis, with the red leaves.

Agree. Cercis siliquastrum. Nice little decorative tree.

A much underappreciated principal.

Used to be even worse in the 60/70s apparently, before the A30 and A38 were made into dual-carriageways. You'd have to queue for hours and hours to get off the M5 at Exeter.

@Big J You've not mentioned the legion little black or blue dog shit bags yet. Sure to be found in any nice green natural space. Lovely! What on earth makes these knobs think that it's an acceptable practice? They often even go as far as to carefully hang them up on trees and bushes.

Poor old Devon seems to be getting a bit of a bashing here! I don't particularly disagree with any of the complaints raised, they're all true unfortunately. The thing is this sorry state of affairs is pretty much the case in any picturesque and rural county in England. Think of Cornwall or Cumbria or Dorset or Pembrokeshire, (Wales I know). Personally I don't see how many or even any of these issues will be sorted by Brexit. The cause of the malaise is far more complicated than just being due to immigration and the EU.

There are some small rays of light in the otherwise grim and depressing outlook for Great Britain. Here's one;- Orbital Marine Power Launches O2 "World's Most Powerful Tidal Turbine" | Off Grid Energy Independence WWW.OFFGRIDENERGYINDEPENDENCE.COM O2 has the ability to generate enough clean, predictable electricity to meet the demand of around 2,000 UK homes and offset approximately 2,200 tonnes of CO2 production per year. ""The O2 turbine started construction in the second half of 2019 and reflects approximately 80% UK supply content. From Scottish steel work and main manufacturing through to anchors from Wales and blades from the south of England; the build of the O2 is estimated to have supported over 80 jobs within the UK economy. The launch of the O2 marks the first vessel launch from Dundee since ship building ended over forty years ago."" 80% home made, that's rare in these times. Obviously the 80 jobs is a drop in the ocean, but it's a start. (As long as non of them were filled by any of those pesky, dirty job stealing immigrants! [emoji12]) Hopefully the government will see the value of ventures like this, (ecological, economical, cultural) and fully support them. It would be great if this could be scaled up into a proper, exporting industry.

200 plants?!

I'm growing ours up frames as well for the first time this year. Inspired by Monty's efforts. I think a lot of the Cucurbit type plants are climbers or at least ramblers.

Most of ours have been ok but we've had a few of the bulbous type. Bit weird. I'd like to know the reasons behind it.

It's entirely credible. I signed a petition against the government trying to change the law on lorry driver hours a few days ago. The number of dodgy things they're trying to do to rectify Brexit, Covid and other fckups is very worrying. Worse thing is we don't even know the extent of it, who knows how many things they get away with because they never even make the light of day. ​​ """""""38 Degrees Logo ​ Dear s, Last week, as a way of solving potential food shortages this summer, the UK Government eased strict HGV driving rules which now means HGV drivers can increase their driving hours. [1] The temporary measure could result in an increase of more driving errors and accidents. It’s potentially a very dangerous gamble to take. Drivers, Unions and Industry experts speaking out are even stating that it ”wouldn’t make any difference” to the problem it’s trying to solve. [2] The Government has warned that driver safety must not be compromised, but changing rules which were put in place to keep drivers safe, could do just that. [3] Dangerous laws for HGV drivers could mean dangerous roads for everyone. There are thousands of us reading this email. A huge petition signed by members of the public could persuade Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, to scrap the new driving hours and help make HGV drivers and fellow passengers safer on UK roads. So can you sign the petition now to keep our roads safe? SIGN THE PETITION The current driver shortage is being blamed on several things, including many not returning from abroad because of the Coronavirus crisis, Brexit, and pandemic disruption to the qualification process. [4] Industry leaders have said there could be gaps on supermarket shelves this summer, as supply chains collapse - but there must be safer solutions than increasing working hours of drivers. 38 Degrees is an online community of millions and millions of people who have shown time and time again that when we come together, we’re unstoppable. Individually it might feel impossible to change laws like this, but when we act together there’s no reason we can’t get the Government to reverse the extension of HGV drivers working hours. So will you sign the petition today? It only takes 30 seconds. SIGN THE PETITION Thank you for everything you do, David, Ashley, Robin and the 38 Degrees team P.S - If you are a HGV driver and you would be interested in speaking to a member of the 38 Degrees team about this campaign, please tick the box on the petition page: Grant Shapps: Keep our roads safe 38D.GS On 12th July, as a way of solving potential food shortages this summer, the UK Government eased strict HGV driving rules which now means HGV drivers can increase their driving hours. The temporary... Notes: [1]The Guardian: Working hours rules to be relaxed to ease UK lorry driver shortage [2]BBC News: Backlash against longer hours to ease lorry driver shortage [3] See note 2 [4] Sky News: HGV driver shortage: 'Extended hours for 'exhausted hauliers won't fix delivery crisis', industry body warns. """""""

That's a bugger. They're not too bad here but I'm not growing many brassicas/mustards at the moment so maybe not noticed. Flea beetles have done a lot of damage to radishes and Pak Choi in previous years. What's the secret to Pak Choi, apart from lots of water? Mine always try bolting straight to seed pretty much as soon as they've germinated!

Yep. Not much pumpkin to see yet though, just a mass of leaves and stems.

Got it, thanks tart! I thought there were a few or more superfluous words in the extended, director's cut.

Can we have that in a more concise form please? [emoji848]