Going to the dogs

Firstly, let me apologise. I know when I posted The Return of Mystery Guess I said I’d reveal the answer the next day. Well, as you can see, it’s only taken me over a week to provide the answer. Ah well, better late than never. Thanks to all who guessed their hearts out, but in this instance the house has won. The close up item was not part of a plant pot (Rod, Vicky, Alison, Carbernat), the sole of a shoe (Victoria, Rothschild Orchid, Rod) or even the inside of my brain (thank you Graham). It’s actually a close up of the head of a little statuette of Buddha that resides in my border. Better luck next time everyone.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the return of Mystery Guess, the blogospheres must irritating gardening quiz. If you’ve never played before, let me quickly explain the rules. I post a close-up picture and ask you to guess what it is. Simple. There are no prizes, medals or fanfares for winning, just the opportunity to crowned Mystery Guess Champion of the World. I usually post pics of plants, but this time around it’s an item/thing/object that you commonly find in the garden. If you think you know what it is, or even if you don’t, post your answer below and I’ll reveal what the item/thing/object is tomorrow. Over to you. Let guessing commence.

What did you do on Sunday 27 June? Well, if you’re English, German or a fan of football/soccer/the beautiful game etc etc, you probably spent the afternoon watching England crashing out of the World Cup in such a dismal fashion that at 5pm, millions of vuvuzelas emblazoned with the cross of St George were snapped in two by disgruntled fans, a collective sound that could be heard as far away as Soccer City in Johannesburg.

Sadly I was unable to witness such a pathetic last stand in its entirety. Like many other footie loving romantics I had expected England to finish top spot in their group, a position that would have seen them play on Saturday 26 June. However, due to our heroic team’s performance against the might of the USA, Slovenia and Algeria, they ended up finishing second in the group – a spot that meant their game with Germany would take place on the Sunday, a date that would clash with…MY SECOND EVER OPEN DAY FOR THE NATIONAL GARDENS SCHEME!!

Well thank you very much Robert Green, Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey et al – I was expecting hundreds, nay thousands of garden lovers to make the sojourn to East London, but your earlier shennanigans on the pitch meant they stayed away in droves to watch your pitiful kick about with Germany. Perhaps you’d like to donate a fraction of your wages to the National Gardens Scheme to make up for the shortfall that I and others opening their gardens took on the gate?

Good, I’ve got that off my chest. Despite the football, I had a great day. Opening at 11am and closing at 5.30pm, almost 100 people paid £2.50 each to squeeze into my garden, eat cake, buy plants and chin wag. There was also the added attraction of a lovely Japanese film crew, who were spending their second day in the garden collecting material for a documentary about the NGS that will air on the Japanese NHK channel in the autumn. Apart from capturing me sweating, swearing and shouting at the kids before opening the doors to visitors, they caught me acting as a courteous host, welcoming all who crossed the threshold into my house. They also questioned some of those who had paid the entry fee, asking them what they thought of my 30ft by 15ft space.

Almost 100 paying visitors and many non-paying kids came from far and wide. Among them were some eminent writers/bloggers; the divine Michelle Wheeler, the ravishing Laetitia Maklouf and the dishy Rob Stacewitz. Many thought Rob was an actor and asked what films he’d appeared in – Mutterings in the Shrubbery, I replied.

Other VIPs to step foot in the garden were Sensei Rod Butler and his wife Lucy. Rod runs Shotokan Karate England – if you didn’t know, my son Louis and I attend a karate club in Walthamstow that belongs to the organisation. After spotting Rod and Lucy at the gate, Louis ran down the garden path to tell me, snapping off a branch from a gorgeous Nicotiana mutablis in his haste. Fortunately, apart from a ceramic pot holding a spider plant being knocked off its perch and cracking in half, this was the only damage I have to report.

All in all a great, but tiring day. Many thanks to all who came and helped raise over £300 for charity. And many, many thanks to those who helped out -Theresa, Helen, Alis, Liz and Sarah, you are all stars. Oh, and if you fancy seeing some more pictures, especially of all the wonderful cakes baked by Sarah and Liz, head over to Sarah’s blog.

I’ve never posted anything about my cats, so thought it was about time I remedied such an oversight. Here is Purdey squashing a rare Digitalis dubia in my alpine sink, and Poppy, the feline goddess of summertime, sensuously exposing her magnificent tum to the rays of the sun. Meowver and out.

“These people are among the greatest quiz players in Britain. Together they make up the Eggheads – arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country. The question is…can they be beaten? Taking on the awesome might of our quiz goliaths today are…The Hardy Perennials.”
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