But first a wee flashback to February 1st.
I came up for air from that site I found with so many great gardening videos so that we could get some eggs from our new friend at Purly Shell at the port. We talked a bit about the Long Beach job, which is now in her capable hands.
Then home again and back down the gardening video rabbit hole.
Thursday, 4 February 2021
I accomplished one thing, dragging a tarp of ivy and holly out of the willow grove to fill the empty wheelie bin.
Here’s how the center of that wild landscape looked with the pile gone.
There’s more holly and ivy to the right of this photo to haul away next time the bin is empty.
I contemplated the ivy on the east side of the grove….
…and wondered if I should reshape the mound in order to access the east end better for planting.
But the air was cold and the lure of gardening videos was strong so contemplation was as far as I got.
Friday, 5 February 2021
Clear and mild weather forced me away from Gardeners’ World. I resisted the lure of the willow grove and weeded the boring grassy patch in the west bed, where I tried to grow beans last year.
Those weeds filled three wheelbarrows! The only other little project was to pinch sweet peas in the cold frame so they are not too leggy. Got that tip from Alan Titchmarsh on the garden video site. It has the entire Gardeners’ World 2002 season which, poignantly, was the last filmed in his “Barleywood” garden. It was wonderful. He is funnier and warmer than Monty Don.
It felt great to get the boring grassy weeding job done. I much prefer weeding among interesting plants. I’ve given up on beans in that area because it’s too shaded by the maple next door and will plant some perennials in there, ones I recently ordered from Digging Dog Nursery. I shouldn’t have procrastinated on my order; some plants I want were sold out already.
As soon as dusk came, I was ever so happy to dive down that gardening video rabbit hole. It has kept me from blogging and even from reading books for the past week.
That’s quite the rabbit hole you are in! Sounds as though you are having quite the time. Wonderful what’s available to us nowadays. Sure makes this pandemic easier to take.
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Another rabbit hole is Last Tango in Halifax, which you alerted me to. It is great. I laugh and laugh because it is so different from the many drama where the drama comes from people keeping secrets. In Halifax, everybody tells everybody else pretty much everything, which delights me. Of course, a lot of it is poignant, too. During one decade of my life, I made similar impulsive decisions as …. oh I can never remember names….the woman who lives on the farm. So every time she makes another impulsive choice, I just have to laugh ruefully. Celia (the older mom, if I have the name right) needs to learn to keep shtum. And I remember the blond woman who played Raquel back when I lived in Seattle and could watch Corrie on Canadian telly.
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They are definitely blunt in “Last Tango in Halifax.” My father’s family was like that. If something was on their mind, out it came, for good or for bad. Jillian, I think, is the name of the woman who lives on the farm. She, like all the other characters, has her issues, but is presented in a sympathetic, nuanced way. Exactly how I like characters to be portrayed. I’ll be finishing the series tonight.
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We are on season two. This morning I said to Allan, “I slept better because Faerie went and slept with Zinc instead of me” and he said “Sounds like Last Tango in Halifax.” I didn’t get it for a minute…it was about the infidelity-driven plot lines.
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Finished it last night! Won’t say too much about it except I wish there had been more episodes. The last season only has four.
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Where did you find the four episode season five? Netflix seems to end with the two episode season four, which rather upsets me as I look to the future. (Just finished season two. We are backing and forthing with episodes of Winterwatch, which just appeared on BritBox.)
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You know what, I think I got the numbers wrong. Not unusual for me. 😉 I think there are only two episodes for season five. Sorry to raise your hopes!
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I will need to find them being broadcast somewhere. I hope Netflix gets them by the time we get that far.
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Readers who haven’t watched as far as season two of Last Tango in Halifax, do not read this. Laurie, I am hopping mad about a certain plot twist in season two and have no one else to mention it to. I found this Guardian article about it which expressed how I feel…and the first thing I said to Allan at the end of that episode was “This reminds me of what the writers did in Buffy!” Darn it, I’ll keep watching but I liked how ironically funny it was even when people made terrible mistakes. It will be hard to find it amusing now. Also, I find it interesting to watch how truly awful Celia can be. Anyway, I just thought you might find this article as interesting as I did. I remember the same feeling after Buffy…. such a disappointment when it was a joy to watch that show, before its time, being groundbreakingly progressive. But other readers, read no further now!
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…..
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https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jan/20/last-tango-in-halifax-latest-victim-of-dead-lesbian-cliche
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Also, in the Independent, the writer says she regrets and didn’t know she was following an unfortunate tradition…. Hrmph.
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Yeah. Sigh. I do want to add that I was so caught up in the characters that I was devastated when Kate died. Had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. But still, the points made in that piece are spot on. Yes, Celia can be awful. Not a dear old woman, that’s for sure. A challenging person who is nonetheless loved. And also loves, despite her hard ways. (Reminds me of a certain cat.)
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I woke up all depressed about that darn show. I do appreciate that the writer regrets what she did. Found a very good article where Russel Davies (Dr Who writer who also wrote the original British Queer as Folk) talks about how he felt about it and she says she wishes he would have warned her she was making a mistake. A more valuable story arc would be to have Celia join the British version of PFlag if there is one and educate herself into becoming a less horrible person. She is loved and loves but possibly because of having a homophobic and un-nurturing mother, I can’t find her lovable or even likable myself yet. I generally like the way British shows kill off characters as it’s more realistic (and American shows started to follow suit) but not this time. Not when you destroy the lgbt positivity and get rid of the only character of color in one fell swoop. Just before Kate died, in the hospital scene, I said to Allan, “They better NOT!” I was thinking of the repercussions of how viewers would feel. It’s still hard to come out despite marriage equality so i was finding it such a valuable show. Allan was spoiled, he sits and reads spoilers on his phone during shows, which drives me crazy. We have a very different way of watching. But this was one time I wish I had been spoiled. Anyway, I still want to know what happens to Gillian, but I will miss laughing during the show. Interestingly, another British show death scene that I objected to involved the actor who plays Gillian!
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I didn’t object in the same way, it fit with the plot but made me quite sad.
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I would say many, if not most, of the characters in that show are extremely unlikeable, with Allen, perhaps, being one of the few who is. Yes, a bad decision to kill off Kate, who was tied with Allen for likeability.
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I heartily agree. I do find Gillian and Caroline’s oldest son likeable. Alan is the only adult you could trust not to do something utterly appalling.
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Also have to admit that by Season 3 I was tired of the show and would have stopped watching if the last two seasons hadn’t been so short.
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I’ll soldier on but not looking forward to the grief plot. I don’t mind a show about grief. I thought Ricky Gervaise’s After Life was brilliant. I just feel cheated by the Kate plot. I guess that’s what death is known for.
>
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Yes, yes. I think there was really only enough story for two seasons. Or a limited series. I will be very interested in hearing what you think about Season 3.
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Apparently it aired on PBS last fall when I hadn’t even heard of it, and the earlier eps aired on PBS a few years ago.
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Your hard work clearing has made a big difference. I like the new look. The crocuses and hellebores are a welcome sight! Skooter sure loves hanging with you in the garden–he is so cute.
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He is happiest when we are together in the garden ….and no kittens (yet).
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Filling the green waste wheelie bin is an obsession. I have too much to compost in my two boxes, and plant material I cannot or will not, and there is always a backlog. I rush out to fill it again, the day the city empties it.
I agree with your assessment on AT’s personality versus Monty’s. An ideal GW series would be episodes alternating between the two.
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Wouldn’t it be great to have an alternating GW. I also think Adam Frost (“Frosty”) would be a great host, I like it when he substitutes. I wonder how the regular presenters felt back in 2002 when none of them were chosen to lead the show.
Of course, when I see a Monty show, I love him, it’s only when I see Alan T doing a show do I think that I love him best. Dare I say he was probably a better spouse, too, in his younger days. It’s darling to see him and Alison on Grow Your Own at Home on that new video channel. By the way, if you ever find Love Your Garden 2019 with the old veteran, I am longing to see it, as it got blanked out on HD Clump.
I count the days till I can fill my wheelie bin again.
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That is a lovely hellebore.
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Thanks, Mr T!
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