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Rich trims the leaf salad
The potatoes are out of control. The leaves are already well over the top of the trug in which I’m growing them, and I’m not going to be able to keep earthing them up much [...]

So we lost Eurovision. We deserved to. Flying the Flag was a terrible song. It was a terrible performance. It was stuck in the 80s, and proved just how pinned to the past the UK is. We got 19 points, which is 13 more than we deserved. And the only reason we deserved just 13 [...]

Chris of the Phin has gone. Off to Bath to join MacFormat, switching buses for a walk to work, the noise of New Cross for the peace of the west country, and a fortnightly dash for a monthly stroll towards publication.
So of course we decamped to a bar to say goodbye, despite his foolish decision [...]

You go away for three days, and come back to find a jungle in your greenhouse. I can’t believe how much things changed over the bank holiday weekend.
The potatoes have gone mad; foliage and stalks all over the place. The leaves on the beans are turning into great parasols. The strawberries are getting taller and [...]

We spent the bank holiday camping. In Northamptonshire, as it’s next door to Leicestershire. Why Leicestershire? Because every May bank holiday, VW devotees from around the country descend on a stately pile in Lutterworth to show off their cars, pick up spare parts, and lust over the idea of life on the open road in [...]

Radio 4 comedy dramas I can take or leave (usually leave, by preference), but I do enjoy the comedy quizzes. Particularly I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, and occasionally Just a Minute, although after his behaviour at our awards a few years back I’m gone off Nicholas Parsons.
The News Quiz, though, is a particular gem, [...]

Mice like peanut butter.
I know because yesterday I picked one up. By accident. I was in the greenhouse re-potting my peppers, tomatoes and beans when I lifted the bag of seed potatoes from under the bench. They’re small and round and have long red roots coming out of them. Kind of like a mouse and [...]

Why hadn’t the PR person who rang me today to pitch a review of a shredder read the magazine first? A cardinal sin.
‘Do you only review hardware and software?’
‘What have you got?’
‘A shredder. Will you review it?’
‘Is it Mac compatible?’ (My standard response in these situations; it usually cuts such calls short.
‘Yes.’
‘Erm…?’
‘Yes. It is. It’s [...]