Lifestyle
The Better Life Make Do and Spend As spring approaches it’s time to celebrate - our local National Trust gardens are once again open for business. Forget the telly and the Internet, when you really want to get inspired by Nature you need to be out there amongst it. Obviously, you also need to be dressed for the part, which was how ‘Wellygate’ came about. For those of a more rural disposition, wellies are a way of life. We pop to the shops in ours – you learn a lot about customer service by the reception your footwear receives. This time of year people are generally forgiving, unlike Anne’s wellies. When she noticed a split along one boot, she wasn’t unduly concerned; she even took my suggestion of a bicycle repair kit well. She improvised for a while with a plastic bag (a tad sweaty, I gather) and finally, accepting that 10 years is a good innings for boots, we checked for replacements online. The same brand (no names, no pack drill) is now manufactured overseas – a sign of the times and, apparently, terrible customer reviews. I was delighted though because this gave us more reason to repair them, apart from my fondness for saving money. We went into town for some sealant and on the way back we detoured to the National Trust, where I gallantly lent Anne my wellies and trusted to my weatherproof boots. The sight of a few daffs, a smattering of cyclamen and a good show of snowdrops will gladden the heart of any gardener; it’s as if Nature is whispering that spring is definitely on its way, meantime here’s something to tide you over. Our walk completed, we bought some discounted cyclamen and retired to the tearoom, where I discovered my supposedly weatherproof boots had come out in sympathy. Luckily for us, we’d bought a large tube of sealant.
to put in an appearance – an event somewhere between community spirit and plant envy, with a whiff of the Boxing Day sales about it. There were people already milling about in the garden, secateurs and plastic bags in hand. Anne delivered the scones, while I went on a plant hunt worthy of the Bolithos. I’m now delighted to have 10 rosemary cuttings … thanks to the cineole compound in our Rosmarinus officinalis, and along with our new rhubarb plant, what better way to remember your neighbours? By Derek Thompson
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Back home, we learned that a couple were moving out of their rented cottage soon – something to do with the landlord, upcountry, ringing in the changes (and the till). This was sad news indeed, as we’d bartered with them several times and our battered aluminium greenhouse was enjoying a new lease of life there. They grew the best rhubarb and, thanks to them, I saw my first tayberry in their garden. Villagers had been invited to pop up the following day if they wanted any cuttings and seeds, or to buy some of their stock. Next morning at 10 o’clock sharp we trundled up the lane (there are no proper roads), Anne carrying a tin of home baked scones. As we rounded the bend we joined a trail of neighbours who had all decided To advertise contact Ruth: T: 01332 883140 M: 07545 261034 E: ruth@allthingslocal.co.uk
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