Lynne Allbutt

Is Dave Spikey 'chickening' out?

Comedy writer and comedian Dave Spikey, has recently turned his garden back into a garden.  It was like a zoo,” he explains.  “I have a natural pull toward animals and I can’t help rescuing them all the time.”
The fabulous funny man confesses, “One of my biggest joys was the ex-battery chickens.  I picked them up from the farm which was upsetting as they were really anaemic looking and scared with really big wide eyes; you could see them thinking, ‘what’s going on?’  But when I got them home they  just got more and more confident and developed little personalities all of their own. There were confident ones who would watch me do the weeding and help themselves to worms and there were timid ones who would huddle up and whisper about how brave the others were; a real ‘pecking order’. He laughs.  “ I didn’t realise they’re kept in artificial light all the time to keep them laying eggs so the very first time they  saw it get dark they just stopped what they were doing and stood absolutely still; they didn’t know what to do.  It was so funny, I had to go around the garden picking them all up and putting them on the perch in the hut.  All 36 of them.” 
“I had a visit from the Environmental Health Officer saying he’d had a complaint about my chickens.” Dave  continues, “I couldn’t understand why; they were clean, quiet and were no trouble.  The guy said, ‘er, it’s all a bit embarrassing, we can we go indoors to talk?’  Then he explained that next door had complained because the hens were lining up at the fence and staring at them when they were in the garden. They said they hadn’t paid a fortune having their garden landscaped only to be made to feel uncomfortable by my chickens watching them and their guests. !” He laughs.  “I had to tell my chickens it was rude to stare!”  He exclaims.
“I also rescued a turkey last year.  There was a sign saying ‘Get your Xmas turkey Here’,  so I drove up to the farm and said, ‘I’ll have that one.’  They picked him up and said ‘we’ll kill him now, won’t be long’,  so I said ‘NO – I’ll take him as he is.’  It was a real impulse thing and the boot of the car was full so I had to put him on the front seat to take him home.  We had some funny looks at the traffic lights.”  He recalls.
“I’ve rescued goats, sheep, dogs, everything ,” he explains,  “but as I’m travelling so much now I’m back on Tour it was getting tough to ask people to care for them while I’m away.  I’ve re-homed them all and had the garden landscaped but I’m sure it’ll go back to being a zoo at some stage.” He confides.
“I love pottering in the garden.  I don’t know what I’m doing but I love pruning and cutting back.   I sort of do it instinctively and hope for the best.  We’ve also got a house in Spain and there’s always loads to cut back there.  We’ve got loads of oranges this year so I must have done something right,” he claims proudly. 
“I discovered gardening late in life. The front of the garden at home is flagged with some stones left out for flowerbeds.  It’s so gratifying to see all the flowers when you go out in the morning.  The back garden has been planted really well and there is always something new and interesting to see. Especially now, with all the changing colours.  We’ve got a big pond too and were having problems with herons.  My wife had an ornamental heron sculpture for her birthday; it was supposed to scare the real ones away.  Typically, she insisted I put it out in the garden straight away even though it was misty and raining and I slipped on the rockery and broke a rib.  It’s was the most painful thing.” he grimaces.  “We also had a problem with moles but we put those electronic scarers down the holes.  It worked.  They’re all in next doors garden now,” he laughs.
Pop into www.davespikey.co.uk to find out Dave’s ‘Best Medicine’ Autumn Tour dates and details of his latest book, ‘He Took My Kidney then Broke My Heart’.  It’s as hilarious as the man himself.

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's column Green Scene for Western Mail (Media Wales) 24th October 09

Hiking beats Housework

I am not happy; I have been forced into doing housework.  Not my favourite pastime and even though it is said that ‘God gives us rain so that gardeners can do the housework’, personally I’d rather get wet!  Nonetheless, I have been forced to dust off the dusters and ferret around at the back of the cupboard under the sink for that awful feather duster on a stick that moults more than Tippy in August and all because of the bloomin’ cobwebs.  I only left the computer for a couple for hours and there were even silky strands between the keyboard and the screen – it had hardly cooled down!  But, I’m not alone.  It is apparently, a bumper year for spiders and there are all heading indoors at this time of year.  I wouldn’t mind so much but why then do I still have so many flies smashing themselves against the inside of my windows. 
And yes, I have put conkers in the corner of every room, (they are supposed to give off a gas that sends spiders packing).  Oh, the irony when hubby picked one up and asked if it wasn’t time I did a little housework! 

As you can see by the photo above - I ditched the feather duster for fresh air and Tippy and I hiked over Llangynidr Moors to find the Chartist's cave.  Well worth a visit ....... and a housework free zone!  Woo Hoo!

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column in the Western Mail 10.10.09

Wonderful Weekend Walks

Woodland Walks
Sunday 11th October is officially Seed Gathering Sunday, even though the Tree Council have actually extended this ‘day’ to be a month long event (23rd Sept- 23rd October) as seasons are changing and to give people more of an opportunity to go out for walks, gather seeds and plant trees for the future.   There are numerous organised events, with Walk Leaders and lots of information available.  Visit  www.treecouncil.org.uk, or call infoline: 020 7940 8180 for more details or visit www.treecouncil.org.uk where you can download tips and a helpful Seed Gathering Chart. 

Tree-mendous
There are some great quotes about planting trees.  Author,  Nelson Henderson said, “The true meaning of life is to plant a tree under whose shade you never expect to sit”;  A  Chinese proverb advices, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is now.”  And a lovely Welsh proverb teaches, “ A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.”

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene for the Western Mail 10.10.09    Tippy pictured above

I'm A Celebrity, Get me Out of the Garden!

Popular Comedian and presenter Joe Pasquale, credits being crowned King of the Jungle in ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ a couple of years ago, as the catalyst for his return to the spotlight.   
“I enjoy being outdoors in Nature and with wildlife,” he explains, “the two emu’s were the easiest to make friends with in the Jungle.” He laughs.  “And it was being in that outdoors environment that also made me determined to get in shape.  I hated the gym, the only machine I liked was the vending machine,” he jokes.  “So I started boxing and running outdoors.  I love running around here (Kent).  We have lovely countryside, great parks and lakes.” 
The squeaky voiced, funny man admits he loves his own garden too but to look at, not to work in.  “It’s a great garden, about half an acre,” he explains. “I’ve got a big fish pond, as I inherited my Dad’s Coi carp; there’s a lovely big oak tree and the kids have got a trampoline.  That’s about it.” He tails off.  “I don’t know a weed from a flower and never have.  I never helped out in the garden as a kid either, I just wasn’t interested.  I have got a great guy, John, who looks after the garden for me now.   He does a good job.”
One of Joe’s favourites views of his garden is a bird’s eye one. “I took up flying a few years ago, got my pilot’s licence and now I fly my own 40 year old PA28 Piper Warrior,” he says proudly.  “It’s fantastic looking down, flying over Kent.  It’s so green and you wouldn’t believe how many people have got swimming pools.” He shrieks. “I wouldn’t want one.” He adds quickly.
Joe continues,  “I do have a couple of Bonsai trees in the house which I like and my favourite plant is the Venus Fly Trap; just because of what it can do,” he laughs.
As he is just about to fly out to Argentina to film a celebrity version of Total Wipeout, Joe admits to having a few nerves. “ I’m with Sally Gunnell, Mark Foster and Fatima Whitbread,” he explains, “I’m not an athlete like these guys and I’m the oldest too.”
I explain gardening is a good way to keep fit and flexible but he’s still not convinced.  So if he’s not green fingered, how green is he environmentally? 
“I do as much recycling and all of that stuff as I can,” he says.  “Not that I think it makes a lot of difference.  I think the Human Race will die out anyway.  The World is ill; we are like a virus on this planet and the World will eventually heal itself by getting rid of us all.  Maybe that’s a bit deep,” he shrugs, “ but the dinosaurs were here for 65 million years and they died out, we’ve only been here 2 million years and we’re already on the way out.  There could be a few velociraptors (dinosaurs) hiding  in my garden,” he laughs,  “if they were in the woods, I’d never know.” 
And whilst the funny man admits he ‘can’t promise a solution to the Global meltdown’ he does offer two hours of fun and escapism on his 34 date Autumn Tour.  See him in Wales at The Pavilion at Rhyl on 1st November   For more details and dates, contact debbie@debbiebennettpr.co.uk or call her on 0203379912

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's column Green Scene for the Western Mail (Media Wales) 10.10.09 

Berry Good for the Birds

To provide natural food for the birds, plant honeysuckle, ivy and hawthorn in your garden or hedgerow.  The adult birds will enjoy the berries whilst the plants also attract insects that will provide food for the young chicks too.
I have noticed Clients are choosing more and more shrubs with decorative orange and yellow berries (instead of red) as the birds don’t take them.  This means that the berries can be enjoyed well into the Winter months. Ironically, however, it is because the birds don’t like these berries that they leave them alone which means they are more likely to go hungry.  By all means keep your beautiful berries but don’t forget to give the birds an alternative too.

Taken from Lynne Allbutt's Green Scene column in the Western Mail (Media Wales) 3rd October 09

Getting a 'Wiggle On' in the Garden

Entrepreneur Heather Gorringe founded Wiggly Wigglers, the Really Rural Store, as a result of her father heaping manure outside her kitchen window.   An unusual motivation maybe but she explains, “Years ago I used to help Dad with his flock of pedigree Suffolk sheep; they pooed a lot and Dad used to put it all by my kitchen window.  In his direct manner he simply told me ‘to deal with it’, so I began researching ways of reducing the manure heap.  I found out that worms could actually reduce the equivalent of 8 bins of waste to just one bin so decided to peruse that method.  That was in 1989 and only old men were composting then; it wasn’t a trendy thing to do at all.  But I tried it and it worked so I kept going.”