Stuart Cable tip Top Talking

Top Talk

I ask Kerrang! Radio presenter, Stuart Cable, about his childhood gardening memories.
“Dad was always in the garden.” he recalls. “We grew up in Cwmaman, in a Miner’s terrace house with the garden at the top of loads of steps. Dad was always up there and I used to think gardening just took up too much time. Perhaps he was trying to get away from my Mother, thinking about it!” He laughs.
Are those famous ex-Stereophonics, drumming fingers green? “I do enjoy my garden and I have made hanging baskets with my son Cian, this year – they look great now. I would love to grow my own veg and stuff but I don’t know enough about it really.”
He may not grow his own yet but he enjoys cooking. “There’s not a single vegetable that I don’t like.” He claims proudly, “I’ve recently bought a slow cooker and tonight I’ve got bolognaise with mushrooms, real tomatoes, carrots, peas, onions, celery, chilli and garlic. That’s easily my 5 a day,” he boasts, referring to the 5 portions fruit and veg recommended daily for a healthy lifestyle. “It’s easy to get 5 a day with one-pot cooking. I always buy organic veg when I can and love those Farmers Markets.”
What’s Stuart’s own garden like? “It’s very mature; lots going on. I know there’s a plum tree and an apple tree and a big purple one that I’m not sure about. I’d like to know more about what things are and what to do to them. You should come up and tell me,” he suggests. “I do notice what goes on and what’s flowering but it would be good to know what they are. I spend a lot of time in the garden, playing with the dogs or sitting on the deck in the hammock with a glass of wine listening to music.”
Has the great outdoors inspired his music – poignant lyrics maybe? “Good God no – Kelly would never have let me write anything.” He laughs.
“My son loves being outdoors too; in fact the only way to punish him for anything is to send him to his room. When I was small, the biggest punishment for me was to be kept indoors and he’s the same. He even has a packed lunch for school so he can get out and play quicker.”
I ask Stuart about his views on the current environmental issues. “We do need to change,” he muses, “but it has to begin with the big boys, in China and America. I wonder am I really going to make a difference knocking off a light switch when all the power stations are still spewing their rubbish into the atmosphere? I drive a diesel car and a mechanic told me that diesel burns cleaner than petrol yet diesel is dearer ...Why? There’s no incentive. These days everyone wants to travel further and do it cheaper and quicker. The first plane I went on was when I was 26 years old after signing my first record deal – it wasn’t long before I was catching two a day and I just got bored by it all.”
What are the plans for the drummer’s new band, Killing for Company? “It’ll be great if we get a record deal but at the moment I just want people to hear and enjoy our music. We are having fun and it just feels right when we (brothers Andy and Steve Williams and Greg Jones) jam together. The new line up are all Welsh boys and Stuart concludes passionately, “I tell you what, If we had guaranteed sunshine here for just a month or two we would prosper as a country. There is nowhere in the World as beautiful as Wales.”


My Week

Enjoyed the HSBC Cardiff 10K running to raise money for Kidney Wales. Great to see so many people outdoors and being active. Exercise is so important for the mind as well as the body. Very much looking forward to organising the first Crickhowell 10K next spring.
Signed up for my dry stone walling course and can’t wait to start. This one is out of choice ‘though the industry wants everything to be certificated now - ridiculous that men that have been doing these things day in day out for years now have to prove their competence to an 18 year old with a clip board and shiny shoes.
Have vowed to buy all my meat from proper butchers or farm-shops after seeing ‘Food Gone Bad’ this week; when are we going to start valuing ourselves and our bodies enough to say ‘No’ to rubbish. The only part of a pig that wasn’t used in some of the processed products, was his squeak.


Feel Amazing

Walk barefoot in the early morning dew on the grass. Walking barefooted makes you feel more ‘grounded’; more connected with the Earth and Nature and the soft morning dew is great for your skin.

Green Goss

Wise words from neighbour Dai Dobbs, when he heard we were laying 6 cubic metres of concrete in work, “The trouble with life, is that all your successes are written in sand and your failures are written in concrete.”


Gadget Girl

Rainbow’s are Nature’s little bits of magic and the recent unsettled weather has provided lots of them. However now you can have a rainbow in your room at the flick of a switch. This amazing little gadget is both entertaining and relaxing and makes a great child’s night light. Using multi-coloured LED’s to recreate the natural colours of the rainbow onto ceilings or walls it’ll brighten up your day or night. For more details visit www.boysstuff.co.uk. Priced at £29.95 - unfortunately it doesn’t come with a pot of gold at the end of it.

Horti-scopes
VIRGO

Virgo’s love keeping busy and can lean on the side of being fussy and obsessive. Their garden will be neat and tidy and they will always be fanatical about mowing their grass regularly. Virgo’s often specialize in, or prefer, a specific area of gardening and will love topiary. A Virgo’s shed will be well organised and they always put things away after using them. Virgo women prefer artificial plants and flowers in the house as real ones can make a bit of a mess and Virgo children would rather play on the carpet than on the grass.

Top Talk - Eastenders here I come

Top Talk

It seems Ray MacAllan is rarely off our screens. “I’ve been kept busy, he admits , “I’ve been in Eastenders, Coronation Street, The Bill, Holby City, Honest and Dream Team. And I’ve got a big part coming up again in Eastenders,” he adds, “that’ll be exciting.”
“You won’t have much time for gardening then?” I venture boldly.
The popular actor agrees, quite cheerfully. “I only ever do the really basic stuff anyway. To be honest I don’t like picture postcard gardens, I much prefer a natural garden. When I lived in the Peak District there was a huge natural rockery in the garden. It was beautiful. Wherever I’ve lived, Mum has always come around and given me advice on what to plant and prune. As I’ve changed houses the advice has varied hugely. I’m lucky now as I’ve only got a small garden and my nephew has his own landscaping business so he helps me out. It’s nice to have a beer and watch him!”
Ray is on his way to his weekly Tai Chi class. “We are out in the park tonight,” he explains. “It’s so beautiful, surrounded by peace and quiet - just listening to the birds singing. I love to meditate next to running water too; it all makes you feel at one with Nature. When filming is hectic, it’s a great way to relax.”
“It annoys me when we mess with Nature,” he continues, “we should pull our socks up and be looking for other forms of energy. I know it’s controversial but I’m all for wind farms. There’s a large one between Sheffield and Leeds and it actually looks quite soothing and meditative. And we should make more of the sea’s energy and power. Surely the technology is available? If we can put men on the moon we should be able to harness the Earth’s natural energy; the sun and the wind. “I run through our beautiful Parks and woodland and get annoyed when I think how we are depleting our Planet. Nature is so giving; we must learn not to take so much or at least to give something back.” Ray is putting something back by running the New York Marathon for Leukemia Research and will appreciate all support and donations. Contact him directly at rmorganmac@btinternet.com for details of how to contribute.


Date for the Dairy

IOG SALTEX is at Windsor Racecourse from 2-4 September. Its must see for anyone in the landscaping, grounds care, sports facilities and amenities sectors. With live working demonstrations, new product launches and over 500 stands and stalls, it’s a great day out and an annual holiday for many grounds men, landscapers and forestry workers. For free registration contact 08445576500
See You There
I will be opening Llangynidr Agricultural Show and Fun Day tomorrow (Sunday), which also incorporates the Village’s 65th Gardening Show. It promises to be great fun and the night will be danced away with a disco and a traditional hog roast. Come along and say ‘hello’; for more details contact 01874 730287

Great Balls of Fun

I know a few people who think they can walk on water but now anyone can. The amazing Walk on Water Ball is a 6 ft diameter inflatable ball that actually allows you to ‘mess about on the water’. A little extravagant at £229.00 but a lotta of fun. And if you prefer dry land, then check out the gigantic 3 m high Rolerball that accommodates two strapped-in people and promises the most awesome adrenalin rush. For the large garden and large pocket at £999.00, but worth just visiting the site to watch the video. www.iwantoneofthose.com

Did You Know?

Although temperatures for last year’s August Bank Holiday reached 24 degrees, in 1996, 1986 and 1976 Wales had wet and windy Bank Holidays with gales and thunderstorms. What will this weekend bring?
www.lynneallbutt.co.uk

Just in Time North to South on Horse Back

Top Talk

I caught up with ‘Belonging’ actor Steffan Rhodri as he came back from horse-riding. I’ll be ‘living’ in the saddle soon,” he explains, “so I’m preparing.” Also known for his role as Dave the bus driver in Gavin and Stacey, Steffan is taking part in the ‘Amswer Justin Time Horse Ride Challenge’ that is raising money and awareness of pancreatic cancer; a disease that claimed the life of talented TV director, editor and performer Justin Smith.

Leaving Tallacre Beach, near Prestatyn in North Wales at 11 o clock on August the 25th Steff, together with Shan Cothi, Brychan Jones, Brychan’s wife Sian, Justin’s sister Branwen and friend Chris Lewis will be riding the (roughly estimated) 287 miles down through Wales arriving in Ogmore on the 14th September. “I’m the least experienced rider,” confesses Steff, “but I have discovered I’m very good at mapping the routes and finding little bridle paths and Rights of Way. And we’ve also organised some amazing events and concerts at various towns along the way.”
The Twin Town actor, continues, “ I think the most magical thing is going to be seeing Wales as a spectacle. I feel I know Wales well as an Actor but really it’s only the towns, and roads between them, that I ever see. I’m looking forward to riding over mountains, through valleys and rivers.”

Does his appreciation of the countryside mean he’s also a keen gardener? “I’m the World’s Worst Gardener”, he claims adamantly. “I had an allotment once and after spending a day trying to clear it I gave up. I hated it. Dad was a good gardener and my sister has followed in his green footsteps but in some weird sort of transaction I am more like my Mum and would rather do the cooking. In fact,” he admits, “in every relationship I have had I’ve made it clear that I will do the cooking to avoid gardening – it’s always been a kind of trade off.”
For more details, the itinerary, event information and to make a donation to the Welsh based Charity, pop into www.amserjustintime.org or call Harlequin Agency 07966704548


Seasonal Spuds

Enjoying the taste of new potatoes straight from the garden at this time of year reminds me to prepare a later harvest for Christmas dinner. There is still just time to plant Carlingford tubers, known as Christmas New Potatoes, in large pots or tubs, so they can be moved into a shed or greenhouse to protect from frost. Available from www.thompson-morgan.com or call 01473 688821. Dearer than other seed potatoes, they are worth every penny.


Back to Our Roots

Alternatively, have the’ new potato taste’ at Christmas by storing August’s potatoes. Lift new potatoes now and place uncooked, unwashed and unblemished potatoes in a biscuit tin. Cover with slightly damp silver sand (not builder’s sand: silver sand is low in iron oxides and salt and is used in children’s sand pits) which can be bought from most garden centres and DIY Stores. Then bury the tin about three feet deep and dig up on Christmas Eve. This old-fashioned method of storing veg is known as the ‘clamp’ method and works well with any root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and beetroot.



Boot-iful

I think there is a niche for a ‘summer wellington boot’. And coming close to that, for kids anyway, is a fantastic range of waterproof footwear from www.garden-gear.co.uk They stock little frog, bumble bee and ladybird shoes and ankle boots that would make Gok Wan weep. Also available are ‘paint your own’ wellies – ironically, a great idea for keeping kids amused on rainy days. Call 077767 497443 for more details.
www.lynneallbutt.co.uk

LYNNE ON CORONATION STREET TOP TALKING

Top Talk
Coronation Street actress Vicky Binns starts the conversation by admitting she often goes back to her Mum and Dad’s to relax, by pottering around their garden. “It’s the nicest place in the World,” she tells me, “I have got a small flat in Manchester and it drives me nuts being without a garden.”
I wonder if Vicky, who plays Molly in the popular soap, gets involved and helps out? “Good grief, no,” she laughs, “I just listen to Dad telling me about all the things he does to keep the garden looking so good.”
“We were in the garden the other day and Dad said, ‘smell those’ pushing a bunch of sweet peas in my face. It was amazing it immediately reminded me of being a kid. Scent is so emotive. I was 10 again. Dad told me that he loves lobelia because it reminds him of his childhood when his Granddad used to grow it. Dad used to call it ‘low- belia’ she shrieks with laughter.
Vicky does however, have aspirations to grow all her own vegetables one day. “My last landlady and I grew some veg and tomatoes in grow bags at my last flat,” she recalls. “It took us about 4 months to grow one pepper which we cut in half and stuffed to share. And our tomatoes were quite good,” she adds. “I really don’t have much time at the moment,” she explains, “ as I have a heavy story line. I love being busy and we’ve got some new actors starting soon which is exciting. I think I’ve been in every episode for the last three weeks.” Vicky is obviously, and deservingly, very proud of ‘Molly’s’ forthcoming marriage to the Street’s loveable mechanic Tyrone.
I ask if Coronation Street is home to any keen gardeners? “I don’t think so,” she considers, “everyone is pretty busy. I don’t hear any one talking about gardening, though some of the cast are in to ‘keeping fit’ and love walking and running outdoors.”
Is it true Vicky has made her own Keep Fit DVD. “I was actually approached by someone to do that. She giggles, “they asked me how did I fancy losing a bit of weight and doing a dance video?
Was she offended? “Not at all,” she giggles even more, “I am very much aware of who I am and how I look and it was a great one-off opportunity to have a proper trainer and to get fit. ‘Dance It Off’ was great fun and hopefully inspired ‘normal’ people like me to get into shape and improve their confidence. I’ve managed to keep the weight off too.” She adds proudly.
It’s hard to imagine the likeable, light-hearted actress having any grievances but she stresses that her natural instinct is to hate waste. “I hate throwing anything away and all the plastic packaging drives me mad. Why put lovely organic fruit in layers and layers of plastic?” She rants. “I would love to boycott the supermarkets but it’s all about convenience.” She explains. “Back to being busy; life is so fast-paced today.”
And almost by way of explanation she makes her apologies as she is called back to complete her scene.

Did You Know?

The Anglo-Saxons called August ‘Weod Monath’ which means ‘weed month’ – referring to the rapid growth of weeds (grass and other plants) at this time of year.
Watch the Weather
I am a self-confessed gadget-girl and my latest temptation is the new weather-forecasting watch from Oregon Scientific. Measuring barometric pressure to bring you a simple-to-read forecast, it is apparently amazingly accurate. It is also waterproof which is quite a selling point for those of us working outdoors this summer! £39.99 from www.orgonscientific.co.uk

Left, Right, Left, Right

Next Monday (11th) is International Left-handers Day. Apparently on average, left handed people have higher IQ’s; famous left-handers include Prince William, Marilyn Monroe and Leonardo da Vinci and 1 in 4 Apollo astronauts were left-handed (250% more the normal level). And now there are tools, including secateurs, edging shears and tape measures, for the ‘lefties’ too. I was told, ‘if you have to ask why left-handers can’t use ordinary tools then you must be right-handed’.
For more information, a range of tools and a chance to join the Left-Handers Club, visit www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk or call 0208 7703722

www.lynneallbutt.co.uk

Top Cooking

Top Talk

Author and broadcaster Gilli Davies admits she was lucky to be ‘in’ at the beginning of TV cookery programmes and was therefore, able to promote the benefits of local food production. “I stumbled into it,” she told me. “I had trained as a secretary and worked in fashion and at the time I was a nanny for a couple who owned a pub. One night they were short staffed so I put the baby to bed and went to the kitchen. It was just wonderful, I immediately knew wanted to cook. I later started writing by taking over a cookery column and that led into broadcasting – none of it was planned but I absolutely loved it. I worked with Nick Bailey from Classic FM and set fire to his studio once or twice,” she laughs.

Does the popular author grow her own veg? “I have grown a lot in the past. We love peas and beans so we just grow those now. And we’ve got raspberry canes and currants in the garden. Herbs have always been very important to me and I’ve got a lovely herb bed just outside the kitchen window full of different sages, bronze fennel, sorrel, rosemary and bay. I love cooking with fresh herbs and using them in salads. I love broad beans with parsley sauce but I’m working on a recipe that keeps the herb but not the white sauce. Maybe a herby vinaigrette?” she says almost to herself. “Rhodri Morgan once challenged me to make a fat free Welsh cake. I managed it and sent him the recipe based on a fat free yoghurt.”
Gilli’s real passion is sourcing her ingredients. “ I love shopping on the wing, foraging for the ingredients and then putting a dish together with what I’ve found. The fun is sourcing the produce.

When I was based in Wales, she is now based in Yorkshire with husband Peter Cliff, I had to travel to London to meet with producers of Welsh produce. The logistics were daft but it inspired me to write about Welsh food and in the series Tastes of Wales we simply celebrated local food. I’m not too precious about organic produce. I think it is more important to be local and at the very best, straight out the garden. Organic beans from Kenya are just not the same.”

Gilli’s latest book Celtic Cuisine can be purchased from all good bookshops or visit www.gillidavies.co.uk for more details of Gilli’s cookery school (‘for men too,’ she adds).

Gilli’s Green Tips

Gilli and Peter have spent the last two years concentrating on ways to change their energy consumption. “We have put in solar panels which heat all our hot water and have cut down our electric bills enormously. She says and adds proudly, “I drive a Skoda 1.8 which does an amazing 55 miles to the gallon. I also play lots of golf which takes ages and keeps me out of the shops, stops me spending money and collecting all that packaging.” She laughs.


Fire Service

Recently voted Best Gardening Product of The Year, the enamelled Fire Bucket barbeque might come in handy now we are actually having a summer. Some bright spark has transformed the traditional fire bucket to provide a funky, portable barbeque for alfresco fun. £24.99 from www.gadgets.co.uk or call 01923750075. The same company also have the great Tennis Fly Swatters. The fabulous electric bug-zapping, tennis racket style swatters are an effective and entertaining way to annihilate flies and mosquitoes for only £9.99.


Did You Know?
Houseflies hum in the middle octave, key of F and take off backwards; mosquitoes have 47 teeth and are twice as attracted to the colour blue than any other.

www.lynneallbut.co.uk

Top Talk with Tanni Grey-Thompson

Top Talk with Tanni

In her usual modest style, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson DME asks me to describe her as an ex-athlete, “I seem to spend most of my time in meetings now” she adds a little wistfully. “I love being outdoors and always trained outside in any weather – wearing thermals and a bobble hat in the winter she laughs. The ex paralympian (14 times medal winner- 9 Gold, and holder of over 30 World Records) tells me she is much more into gardening these days. “I used to just hack everything back, she confesses, but we have recently moved house and have got a lovely mature garden so we have decided not to ruin it. If I didn’t like the look of something I just used to pull it up and then find out it was a plant. Ian (Tanni’s husband) won’t let me have a chainsaw so I have to make do with my hedge cutter, which is quite good for hacking actually!”
“I think I get my hacking skills from my Mother, Dad loved ivy and let it grow everywhere and Mum would keep hacking it back. They weren’t great gardeners, I remember Dad climbing up the apple tree to prune it and getting stuck. Mum just said, “I told you so.”

We are planning to grow some veg in the new garden. My first attempt at tomatoes was using grow bags outside the kitchen window. I used to open the window and throw water at them. I fed them too much or at the wrong time and all the flowers fell off. I s’pose I’m a bit of a random gardener really. We recently bought 10 goldfish for our pond and the next day Carys (10 yrs old) came sauntering in and casually said, ‘well, one’s dead already Mum’.”

“But,” she says proudly, “I am compulsive about recycling and get really annoyed about the amount of packaging used. When I buy new shoes I always refuse to take the box. And I love jumble sales and second hand clothes. My family have always been really embarrassed about it but now the clothes are called ‘vintage’ and it’s cool. They got mad with me when I picked up a jumper I liked and they said, ‘you only brought that in last week’! The worst thing is I have to tell everyone about my bargains. I was at a posh do a couple of weeks ago and someone asked where I got my lovely designer dress from – I had to tell them I only paid £2 for it from a Charity Shop. I think it’s a Welsh thing – I just can’t keep it to myself!”

Cool Clothes

One of Tanni’s new ventures has been co-designing a range of clothes for disabled children and adults. The new Tanni&Anni Range at Rackety’s caters for people with special needs, disabilities and wheelchair users, all of whom have busy and exciting lives. “People in wheelchairs used to have to have their coats put on back to front,” explains Tanni, “which is a bit humiliating to be honest.”
Children’s T-shirts have funky messages such as ‘Wicked on Wheels’ and ‘There’s no need to stare, I know I’m cool!’ Check out http://www.tanniandanni.com/ for the full range or call 01538381430


Running for Marie Curie Cancer Care

I first met Tanni at the launch of last year’s BUPA Great Welsh Run. Typically, as she was no longer competing as a professional athlete, she was mischieviously threatening to dress up as a chicken to complete the course. Unfortunately she can’t make this year’s race, tomorrow (27th) but I will be running again, with celebrities from Eastenders, Emmerdale, This Morning and of course, Lynn ‘the Leap’ Davies. We are all proud to be raising money and awareness for Marie Curie Cancer Care and would love to see you there. Join us at Cardiff Bay at 9.30am Sunday 27th to cheer us on our way and pop into http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/ for more information.

Did You Know?

National Parks Week runs from the 28th July until 3rd August, promoting Wales’s Brecon Beacon’s National Park and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, amongst others. You are encouraged to join in the many activities on offer during the week and simply enjoy the beautiful scenery and surroundings.
Children were asked “Who likes shepherd’s pie, Sunday roast and kebabs?”
“We do!” They cried
“Where do they come from?” they were asked
“The shops!” was the reply.
National Parks Week is celebrating the year of Food and Farming and reconnecting people to the landscape that provides their food and local produce. Visit www.nationalparks.gov.uk

www.lynneallbutt.co.uk

Top Talking with Politicans

Top Talk

Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for Cardiff Central, Jenny Randerson, describes herself as a ‘self taught gardener’. “My experience has come mainly from taming a wilderness,” she laughs, “it’s a large garden by urban standards, about quarter of an acre, and we’ve had a complete mix, including an orchard, a veg patch, rockery, grass and even a pond. We have recently abandoned the veg to try and reduce the amount of work. Whoever invented elections every May was obviously not a gardener as it’s a crucial time to be sowing seeds in the veg garden. Both my husband and I get totally involved in electioneering so we have no time for the garden then. It’s a wilderness now; it’s heading towards being a wildlife garden but not quite created itself properly yet. We love rare, wild flowers and my husband Peter, who is a Botanist by training, always mows very lovingly around a beautiful little orchid we have growing in the middle of our lawn.”
Jenny is also an avid composter. “None of our household waste goes out in the bin, she says proudly, “it’s all composted and we have a wormery too. In fact when we moved house, the neighbours thought we were mad because we bagged up and moved the compost before moving the furniture!”
How else does she do her bit for the environment? “My weakness is the car,” she admits, “I have recently made a rule that if I have to do a long journey for work then I will use the train when possible. My son refuses to have a car; he lives in London and cycles everywhere, (“I’m no good on a pushbike,” she confides, “my Mum wouldn’t let me have one”). “ He won’t take short haul flights either and when he and his Dad went ski-ing, they went by train. It took longer but they really enjoyed it and saw so much more.”
Jenny returns to talking fondly about her garden. “It’s a tremendous source of peace which is priceless; it’s not immaculate but I love it. We have a summer house, which is called the ‘Summer Palace’ as it took so long to build, and I sit in there with my papers working in the evenings. It’s great thinking space. Gardening is also such good exercise – productive exercise, far more productive than those silly treadmills.” She concludes passionately.

Wonderful Wormeries (and more)

I have sung the praises of Wiggly Wigglers for some time – they are such an amazing company and are also growing at a rate of knots. Suppliers of all things ‘green and beautiful’, their already extensive catalogue now includes delights such as Wildflower Turf, Sprouting Seed Pergolas, unusual veg (including blue potatoes), cement shopping bags (made by a woman’s co-operative in Bangladesh, these cotton lined recycled bags once held 50kgs of cement), and the most beautiful natural flower bouquets. They still supply simple-to-get-going wormeries, insect houses and composters as well as books, DVD’s and expert advice. The catalogue is packed with tips and great ideas and information and is just a fabulous read. Do get a copy http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/ or call 01981500391


From Russia With Love

Having just returned from a whistle-stop tour of Russia and the Eastern bloc, and whilst Hubby was absorbing historical and political facts, I thought I’d share some of the less conventional facts that I remember. In Poland, white asparagus is grown extensively and the crop has to be kept covered with soil (like potatoes) to prevent sunlight turning the spears green. This makes picking the crop quite an art and the last year or two asparagus has been left to rot in the ground due to the skilled harvesters having sought work elsewhere. In Russia, people in the service industry are attending courses to learn how to smile; The Hermitage at St Petersburg has so many exhibits on display that if you wanted to see each one it would take almost 3 years; Helsinki has recently imported foxes to control the rapidly growing rabbit population in the City Centre; Tallinn has only 4 hours of daylight each day during the winter months. Five years ago Moscow was experiencing winter temperatures of around - (minus)28 degrees but last year the lowest temperature recorded in the City was +8 degrees..... and it still didn’t raise a smile!

Cor Slimey!

An entirely new species of slug has been found in Welsh gardens. The white, nocturnal, carnivorous slug has been christened the ‘ghost slug’ or Selenochlamys ysbryda (ysbryd being Welsh for ghost) by scientists at the National Museum of Wales and Cardiff University. Ben Rowson said, “We thumbed through old Russian and German records and found that they’re entirely new. As it is an undescribed species we christened it with a Welsh title which we think is the first time a Welsh word has been used in an animal’s scientific name.”
The ghost slug feeds on earthworms and could, potentially, become a pest though more needs to be discovered about it first.
Did I mention Wiggly Wigglers sell worms?

www.lynneallbutt.co.uk