A Monkey's Revenge - My Blog

Chelsea blues

I've woken up today with a bruised arm and feet like Billy Hayes from that film 'Midnight Express' after he has the soles of his feet beaten by Turkish prison wardens. Yes-my annual visit to The RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London.

Midnight Express is quite relevant actually as that was the deadline for me to wire the photos to The Melbourne Age out in Australia. Fortunately they were delivered well before twelve o'clock and in time for Tuesday's edition. Timing is crucial with Australia being eleven hours ahead, but I have a cunning method to work out the difference-Subtract 1 hour and swap the AM or PM .

So how did I get a bruised arm? Well, that happened in sight of the flower show, but before I even got there! It was very windy yesterday and a branch from a London Plane tree decided to part company just as I walked underneath it in Chelsea Bridge Road! The sore feet are very much a result of the RHS's incompetence when it comes to dealing with the press. Last year I got sent all the way from the Royal Hospital entrance around to Chelsea Embankment entrance. Sod's law dictates that my pre-emptive strike this year meant the same trip in reverse before I finally achieved entry to the grounds!

I'm not writing about my tribulations to have a whinge-really I'm not! Merely pointing out that just to get into the flower show took almost an hour and that whenever people say to me what a smashing job I have they are of course right, but they don't know the half of it. The show is sold out this year and although I only had time to see the two australian gardens and a few quick shots of the ubiquitous Alan Titchmarsh, it looked like another winner to me.

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