Sue

Someone just tweeted disturbances now in W11. Man apparently shot in Croydon. Woolwich on BBC News. Things are getting worse, not better.

Perhaps the shift key has jammed on his typewriter :))

It wasn't that long ago he was sticking stuff up near the station - between the station and the park. At least it's type written and not green ink :)

Outside the FIRE STATION?????

Thomas Micklewright Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > a question re basil. > > I have a few small basil plants on my window sill > - they were doing superbly for the past month but > now seem to be dying, could it be overwatering / > rain or too much sun burning them? xxxxxxx When you say they are dying, what exactly do you mean? Drooping, brown areas on the leaves, something else? Window sill inside or outside? As you mention rain, I presume outside? Have you checked for pests?

lousmith Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Chaffinch doing a rain call? bizarre though it > sounds > > =related > > Thrush song usually varied and beautiful. xxxxxx Yes, thanks, that sounds like it. You mean they do weather forecasting? How weird!

Can't help re the sparrows, but can anybody tell me what bird has a call which sounds like "sweep sweep" with the words quite long drawn out? I remember learning it in school but I can't remember, and haven't found anything by googling. Is it a thrush? Heard it yesterday in ED but never before round here so far as I recall.

Yes you can freeze runner beans, I think you might have to blanch (sp?) them first.

DrinkingBuddy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There are some great green tomato recipes around > if your tomatoes don't ripen, made a few jars of > it last year and it was delicious. xxxxxxx I didn't go to all this trouble to make green tomato chutney :))

I gave all my veg growing books to my daughter, but depending on the weather conditions I believe outdoor grown tomatoes may not ripen until September sometimes?

I believe you can ripen tomatoes indoors on a sunny windowsill, if the worst comes to the worst?

Marlene Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Has anybody had trouble with tomatoes this year? xxxxxx Mine are still green, but I haven't grown them for many years so I can't remember when they are supposed to ripen :)) Also it's a new variety which is supposed to have tomatoes the size of redcurrants, but mine are much bigger than that!

I really don't think these personal details about a young girl should be being posted here where anybody can read them, please could the posters delete them and use the PM system? ETA: If you don't know how to delete them, click the "edit" button and then delete or amend the text.

That's a great idea, Monica - good if something positive comes out of the Dulwich Hospital saga :)

There's quite a few Zoe Popes on Facebook, plus if you google it 39 come up on the electoral register. If you don't get any joy from here you could try that. Though of course she might be registered somewhere else. But lesson to everyone to put a return address on parcels! I guess you could open the parcel and see if someone has put a return address inside. Alternatively, if you haven't been at your address long, either the previous resident or the estate agent/letting agent might be able to help, if she did actually live there once?

LadyDeliah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I usually let some nettles grow in my garden and > make nettle tea with the fresh nettles using a > cafatiere. You need to use rubber gloves to > harvest and chop the nettles up, but it tastes > really nice. > > I'm loving my garden at the moment. I have 2 > grapevines with loads of bunches of grapes, my 5 > year old apple tree has produced loads of apples > for the first time and I have a nectarine tree, > about the same age which is weighed down with > fruit. > > I also have cob nut bushes which I planted at the > same time as the two trees, and they have produced > nuts for the first time this year. I want to put > a bit more time into the veg though because I have > been a bit slack this year. Got some stuff out but > not much. I might make some raised beds and deep > fill them with soil for next year, so that it's > easier to plant without getting loads of weeds. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx You are so lucky to have a garden with space for all that! My veg consist of a hanging basket/three pots of micro tomatoes, a couple of pots of salad leaves, a bay tree in a pot and some herbs! But then that's partly because I don't want the whole of my very small garden filled up with veg, as I like to sit and see flowers. Next year I'm aiming to compromise and plant some picturesque veg like ruby chard (though I think it tastes pretty horrible) and French beans with nice flowers (but then you don't get the sweet pea smell). Can't have everything I suppose :-S

I am wondering whether it was a Bank Vole as it looked more this colour .....

Hey yes it looked just like that, that's amazing! Thanks, Minkey! I looked in a garden wildlife book I have earlier today, and I did think it looked like a dormouse, but the only one there was a pic of was what they called a garden dormouse, and it said they weren't found in the British Isles, so I assumed it couldn't be that. And by a weird coincidence, I just went up the road, and going down a hole in the pavement (Ulverscroft Road - sorry to break the news, folks) was the back end of a rat - and the thing on my birdfeeder was very definitely not a rat :)) I also have a tiny mouse living in my garden which seems to come and eat the bits dropped off the birdfeeder, from the ground. Haven't got close enough to see if it's a wood mouse or a house mouse, but I think it might be a baby, as it's light enough to run over leaves without bending them too much.

I'll contact him and tell him to pick up his PMs !!!

I've just seen drop off my birdfeeder (fat balls) a small animal which was bigger than a mouse but smaller than a squirrel, about hamster sized and a sort of tan-brown colour. Couldn't see a tail. Didn't look like a rat. It disappeared into ground cover. Any ideas what it might be? Anyone lost a hamster?

Quote from the Aquarius Festival thread (see link above) "There will be a big craft fayre on site, with about 20 traders already signed up" So if you want a stall at a local festival/craft fair, get in touch with Brian now!

maxtedc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I happened to notice there were a lot of orange > butterflies around on Sunday. By orange they > weren't gatekeepers, more like tortoiseshell. I've > never seen them before (alas I don't have a > garden) so when I saw half a dozen in various, > distant corners of ED and Peckham on the same day > it stood out. xxxxxxx I think they might have been these, maxtedc? There's loads of them around at the moment. They are orange when they fly, but when they come to rest they are black and white. See these pictures: Tiger Moth

ClareC Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I had my phone snatched from me in Camberwell a > few years back, I said to the police at the time I > was silly to use it, to which they told me in no > uncertain terms why shouldn't I, people should be > able to use their phones in public otherwise why > have them in the first place! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx That's interesting, because I know of somebody who got mugged near the Elephant and was told by the police that they shouldn't have been using their phone there, the implication being that it was their own fault that they were mugged.

aalisam Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yes please!!! xxxxxx As I say, you will need to contact Brian Towell (posting on the EDF as Brian Tee), I suggest by a PM as he is highly unlikely to see this thread ..... I know there will be stalls, including I understand craft stalls, at the Aquarius Festival (link above). :)-D

You could always have a stall at the Aquarius Festival in East Dulwich on 20 August, craft stalls would be excellent :) The Aquarius Festival thread Contact Brian Towell (originator of the thread) for details!