Goldhead

Definitely hazelnuts. It seems to be a good year for them - although I haven't checked the contents!

Brooklands Avenue. Long gardens and (still) plenty of trees!

We had 2 visiting our feeders here in Fulwood until we put the squirrel guard on. They are obviously nesting in a tree two or three gardens up the road as there are now 3 of them! They are hideously noisy ...

Try growing French Marigolds among the brassicas (if you can keep the slugs off them). Whitefly don't like the smell.

I fold chicken wire over the top. This also discourages squirrels from digging up bulbs. The temptation to connect the wire to the mains has been resisted!

It is really a bit early to plant out courgettes: cold nights will see them off, and we can't really guarantee frost-free nights until June. You may be OK, but they don't like the cold. I use copper rings to keep slugs at bay on individual plants until they are large enough to manage on their own, but this is an expensive option. You can also try coffee grounds, ground up eggshells or purchase wool pellets at a garden centre (they swell up to a sort of felt). If you go down the slug pellet route, use the environmentally more friendly ferric sulphate ones rather than metaldehyde - and don't use too many, a very thin scattering is adequate. You can catch slugs in beer traps ... yoghurt pots sunk to within 1/2 inch of the rim, with an inch or so of beer in the bottom. The peppers and tomatoes will both be very much happier growing in your greenhouse than outside. Both need warmth, and indoors the tomatoes will have thinner skins and won't get blight. Sow the peas outside now. Broad beans can also be sown outside now, although it is a bit late. French and runner beans can be sown now, but I would sow them in pots in the greenhouse for planting out after all risk of frost is over. Good luck! Slugs are a sad but inevitable part of gardening life, I am afraid.

It's only the top reservoir that is empty - the lower two are full.

Fly fishing gear can be donated to Fishing 4 Schools via the Ladybower fishery office; I dropped off my (now disabled) fishing pal's gear there last year. They may be grateful for coarse fishing equipment too; you could call them and ask - 01433 659712.

It's a bit late - the plants should be about 3-4 feet high by now

Here you go: http://www.floatingbones.co.uk/bankside_vol3.htm

Thanks Tangler, sounds like a brilliant project - but it is a long way away!

Does anyone know of such a group which would be grateful for some old but usable fly fishing tackle?

I agree, too. Puts me in mind of the roadside sign we saw on the way to Norfolk once: "Tame rabbits, oven ready".

..... who found my lost wallet by the Co-op, and personally returned it to me at home (from the address on my driving licence). He wouldn't take anything, so a donation is going to charity. There are some good people around.

I rather like Bowyer's, down in Fulwood village .... and their pork is excellent if you buy the stuff from Whirlow.