Have a guess who the new presenter on Beechgrove Garden might be. Then
check out:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...rove-garden-tv

Bet you were wrong!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes
it's raining and sometimes it's not.

"The Original Jake" wrote

Have a guess who the new presenter on Beechgrove Garden might be. Then
check out:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...rove-garden-tv

Bet you were wrong!


Yes I was, but at least he holds an M.A. in Landscape Architecture and also
taught at a Horticultural College if my memory serves me right.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

But I can understand the need to give it a southern content if it's going Nationwide, time will tell.

Yet every night for the last two weeks, three or four times a night we've had the same stupid advert on BBC2 for Top Gear, so much so that I'm sick and tired of it and now wont watch the programme under any circumstances.

On 08/02/2013 22:42, Martin wrote:
On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:45:47 +0000, The Original Jake
wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:07:21 +0100, Martin wrote:


One of the joys of Beechgrove was that it didn't need a front man.

On his web site, Chris says he'll be traveling around Scotland. I hope
this means he won't be a "front man" but will fit in with the team.

And talking about adverts, I do wonder how many people are aware of
the little hidden gem on BBC2 on Sunday mornings - the A-Z of TV
gardening.

I wasn't.
I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.


I get the feeling he'd really like to wear petticoats

On Fri, 8 Feb 2013 Martin wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:45:47 +0000, The Original Jake
wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:07:21 +0100, Martin wrote:


One of the joys of Beechgrove was that it didn't need a front man.

On his web site, Chris says he'll be traveling around Scotland. I hope
this means he won't be a "front man" but will fit in with the team.

And talking about adverts, I do wonder how many people are aware of
the little hidden gem on BBC2 on Sunday mornings - the A-Z of TV
gardening.

I wasn't.
I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.

Actually I enjoyed the programme very much. What on earth was daft about
it?

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

On Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:43:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Fri, 8 Feb 2013 Martin wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:45:47 +0000, The Original Jake
wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:07:21 +0100, Martin wrote:


One of the joys of Beechgrove was that it didn't need a front man.

On his web site, Chris says he'll be traveling around Scotland. I hope
this means he won't be a "front man" but will fit in with the team.

And talking about adverts, I do wonder how many people are aware of the
little hidden gem on BBC2 on Sunday mornings - the A-Z of TV gardening.

I wasn't.
I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.

Actually I enjoyed the programme very much. What on earth was daft about
it?

Lord his French was awful. He was actually quite insulting to several of
the characters. Especially the nice lady with the allotment who was
doing her best to be a really good sport. Not to mention the onion
farmer, where Monty insisted they were the "best" even when the guy said
"the sweetest." I love to cook with Cevennes onions but they don't
exactly replace the classic yellow.

And the end: this guy's hotel and "first garden" is the most beautiful
kitchen garden in France? That's just silly, and we thought it reeked of
sponsorship or kickback.

And all the BS about (mispronounced) paysans, honestly.

We certainly enjoyed the scenery, summer in the south and all that. Good
stuff when you're stuck here in the mud! But that straw hat...

-E



--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

On 2013-02-09 19:42:55 +0000, Emery Davis said:

On Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:43:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Fri, 8 Feb 2013 Martin wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:45:47 +0000, The Original Jake
wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:07:21 +0100, Martin wrote:


One of the joys of Beechgrove was that it didn't need a front man.

On his web site, Chris says he'll be traveling around Scotland. I hope
this means he won't be a "front man" but will fit in with the team.

And talking about adverts, I do wonder how many people are aware of the
little hidden gem on BBC2 on Sunday mornings - the A-Z of TV gardening.

I wasn't.
I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.

Actually I enjoyed the programme very much. What on earth was daft about
it?

Lord his French was awful. He was actually quite insulting to several of
the characters. Especially the nice lady with the allotment who was
doing her best to be a really good sport. Not to mention the onion
farmer, where Monty insisted they were the "best" even when the guy said
"the sweetest." I love to cook with Cevennes onions but they don't
exactly replace the classic yellow.

And the end: this guy's hotel and "first garden" is the most beautiful
kitchen garden in France? That's just silly, and we thought it reeked of
sponsorship or kickback.

And all the BS about (mispronounced) paysans, honestly.

We certainly enjoyed the scenery, summer in the south and all that. Good
stuff when you're stuck here in the mud! But that straw hat...

-E

In the first episode, which is the only one I saw all the way through,
he just said 'Bien' a lot. It would be better for everyone's
credibility if they just did a straightforward programme. He doesn't
speak French, or if he does, they're not allowing him to do so. Take
the programme in which the Italian chef, Giorgio Locatelli and English
art expert, Andrew Graham-Dixon, toured Italy. The Englishman really
could speak Italian well and was allowed to do so. Viewers aren't total
idiots! Chucking in the odd 'oui' and 'merci' really doesn't do it for
anyone! And we're pretty sure the 2CV changed number plates halfway
through! Just cut the gimmicks, programme makers. And the music
PLEASE. Oh - and give us plant names onscreen. Thank you.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On Sat, 9 Feb 2013 Sacha wrote:

In the first episode, which is the only one I saw all the way through,
he just said 'Bien' a lot. It would be better for everyone's
credibility if they just did a straightforward programme. He doesn't
speak French, or if he does, they're not allowing him to do so.

In fact you do hear French from him. I've just looked at the second
programme again and, in both programmes, he does speak quite a bit of
French.

Take the programme in which the Italian chef, Giorgio Locatelli and
English art expert, Andrew Graham-Dixon, toured Italy. The Englishman
really could speak Italian well and was allowed to do so.

Yes, that was a good series.

And we're pretty sure the 2CV changed number plates halfway through!

There are two 2CVs. He uses one when in the north of France and the
other in the south. I suppose that emphasises just how large a country
it is and that it would take too long to actually drive from the north
to the south! They didn't explain that but then why should they?

And the music PLEASE.

The choice of music was very good, I thought. It didn't irritate me as
the music in some television programmes. In additional to the
traditional French accordion-type music (whether played on the accordion
or not) there was some Verdi (La Forza del destino), Fauré and Satie.
Tastefully done and not too repetitive. Some programmes repeat the same
bit of music again and again. While there was a little repetition it
wasn't obtrusive.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

In article ,
David Rance wrote:
On Sat, 9 Feb 2013 Sacha wrote:

And we're pretty sure the 2CV changed number plates halfway through!

There are two 2CVs. He uses one when in the north of France and the
other in the south. I suppose that emphasises just how large a country
it is and that it would take too long to actually drive from the north
to the south! They didn't explain that but then why should they?

pedantry

France is much larger than Britain in area, but the distance between
extreme points in the contiguous homeland is comparable. If you
were having a series on the UK, driving from Cornwall to Caithness
in a CV-like object would be insane. Which doesn't deny your point.

/pedantry


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 2013-02-10 08:27:49 +0000, Martin said:

On Sat, 9 Feb 2013 22:45:01 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 2013-02-09 19:42:55 +0000, Emery Davis said:

On Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:43:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Fri, 8 Feb 2013 Martin wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:45:47 +0000, The Original Jake
wrote:

On Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:07:21 +0100, Martin wrote:


One of the joys of Beechgrove was that it didn't need a front man.

On his web site, Chris says he'll be traveling around Scotland. I hope
this means he won't be a "front man" but will fit in with the team.

And talking about adverts, I do wonder how many people are aware of the
little hidden gem on BBC2 on Sunday mornings - the A-Z of TV gardening.

I wasn't.
I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.

Actually I enjoyed the programme very much. What on earth was daft about
it?

Lord his French was awful. He was actually quite insulting to several of
the characters. Especially the nice lady with the allotment who was
doing her best to be a really good sport. Not to mention the onion
farmer, where Monty insisted they were the "best" even when the guy said
"the sweetest." I love to cook with Cevennes onions but they don't
exactly replace the classic yellow.

And the end: this guy's hotel and "first garden" is the most beautiful
kitchen garden in France? That's just silly, and we thought it reeked of
sponsorship or kickback.

And all the BS about (mispronounced) paysans, honestly.

We certainly enjoyed the scenery, summer in the south and all that. Good
stuff when you're stuck here in the mud! But that straw hat...

-E

In the first episode, which is the only one I saw all the way through,
he just said 'Bien' a lot. It would be better for everyone's
credibility if they just did a straightforward programme. He doesn't
speak French, or if he does, they're not allowing him to do so. Take
the programme in which the Italian chef, Giorgio Locatelli and English
art expert, Andrew Graham-Dixon, toured Italy. The Englishman really
could speak Italian well and was allowed to do so. Viewers aren't total
idiots! Chucking in the odd 'oui' and 'merci' really doesn't do it for
anyone! And we're pretty sure the 2CV changed number plates halfway
through! Just cut the gimmicks, programme makers. And the music
PLEASE. Oh - and give us plant names onscreen. Thank you.

It's 'Allo 'Allo set in French gardens with a touch Delboy French.

Well, as I say, we think he does the big programmes well and his
enthusiasm is rather engaging. But it's the gimmicky stuff that gets to
us, such as the 2CV and the jacket and the hat etc. It's just not
necessary and implies that they don't think the programme is good
enough on its own merits. Just let the man present French gardens
without the props. He knows his subject, it seems to be well-researched
and it isn't necessary to add the nonsense to make us realise he's in
FRANCE looking at FRENCH gardens!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On Sat, 9 Feb 2013 Emery Davis wrote:

On Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:43:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Fri, 8 Feb 2013 Martin wrote:

I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.

I've just watched that programme again and I'm going to disagree with
you.

Lord his French was awful.

No, It wasn't that bad. Don't criticise him for not getting everything
completely right.

He was actually quite insulting to several of
the characters. Especially the nice lady with the allotment who was
doing her best to be a really good sport.

That's not true. He wasn't insulting at all. What made you think that?

Not to mention the onion farmer, where Monty insisted they were
the "best" even when the guy said "the sweetest."

No, Monty started off by saying that he understood they were the best
onions. The guy then corrected him by saying they were the sweetest.

And all the BS about (mispronounced) paysans, honestly.

He pronounced it in two different ways. One was when he was using it as
an English word in an English sentence. The other, which was a correct
pronunciation, was when he was explaining what the French word implied.

We certainly enjoyed the scenery, summer in the south and all that.

I wonder that you didn't criticise the southern accents! "Bieng" for
"bien" and "jardaing" for "jardin!. ;-)

Judging by all the unjustified criticisms I don't think that any of you
really paid full attention to the programme.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

On Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:34:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Sat, 9 Feb 2013 Emery Davis wrote:

On Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:43:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Fri, 8 Feb 2013 Martin wrote:

I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.

I've just watched that programme again and I'm going to disagree with
you.

Lord his French was awful.

No, It wasn't that bad. Don't criticise him for not getting everything
completely right.


It was disgraceful. I don't criticise him for trying -- which most
French really appreciate -- but when he's going to repeat words over and
over, imparting his wisdom, at least he could take the time to get it
right.

What I criticise him for is seemingly not understanding half of what was
said to him, but pretending he did...

He was actually quite insulting to several of
the characters. Especially the nice lady with the allotment who was
doing her best to be a really good sport.

That's not true. He wasn't insulting at all. What made you think that?


.... and that's why he was insulting. He didn't know how to respond, and
so he "talked past" people, with no connection. Culturally, he dissed
her. I'll bet that woman went home and said quel culduc.

Not to mention the onion farmer, where Monty insisted they were
the "best" even when the guy said "the sweetest."

No, Monty started off by saying that he understood they were the best
onions. The guy then corrected him by saying they were the sweetest.


I seem to remember him grunting in response with no apparent
understanding, but I certainly didn't record it!

And all the BS about (mispronounced) paysans, honestly.

He pronounced it in two different ways. One was when he was using it as
an English word in an English sentence. The other, which was a correct
pronunciation, was when he was explaining what the French word implied.


He explained the mythic, dictionary definition of the word. In modern
French "paysan" means farmer, no more or less. Yes there can be a
connotation of deeper culture, but someone who says "je suis paysan" is
_not_ saying "I'm a peasant", he's saying "I'm a farmer." "Peasant" in
the English sense is probably better translated as "plouc."


We certainly enjoyed the scenery, summer in the south and all that.

I wonder that you didn't criticise the southern accents! "Bieng" for
"bien" and "jardaing" for "jardin!. ;-)


Well, I'm told I sound like a Swiss when I speak French, so I certainly
can't fault any regional accents! It's a nice compliment anyway, 10
years ago I sounded like a Belgian!!

Judging by all the unjustified criticisms I don't think that any of you
really paid full attention to the programme.


We watched it, which is probably all they care about. But I won't watch
it again. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and hope you continue to do so. But
for me, too many issues, and Monty came off as an a*se.




--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

On Sun, 10 Feb 2013 Emery Davis wrote:

On Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:34:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Sat, 9 Feb 2013 Emery Davis wrote:

On Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:43:34 +0000, David Rance wrote:

On Fri, 8 Feb 2013 Martin wrote:

I never anything so daft as Monty in a straw hat driving a 2CV between
French gardens on TV this evening.

I've just watched that programme again and I'm going to disagree with
you.

Lord his French was awful.

No, It wasn't that bad. Don't criticise him for not getting everything
completely right.


It was disgraceful. I don't criticise him for trying -- which most
French really appreciate -- but when he's going to repeat words over and
over, imparting his wisdom, at least he could take the time to get it
right.

What I criticise him for is seemingly not understanding half of what was
said to him, but pretending he did...

He was actually quite insulting to several of
the characters. Especially the nice lady with the allotment who was
doing her best to be a really good sport.

That's not true. He wasn't insulting at all. What made you think that?

... and that's why he was insulting. He didn't know how to respond, and
so he "talked past" people, with no connection. Culturally, he dissed
her. I'll bet that woman went home and said quel culduc.

Sorry, that just doesn't describe the conversation I heard. Culduc? That
doesn't appear to have made it into Larousse (and that has all the three
star naughty words). "Cul" I know to be rude but "culduc"? Perhaps it's
in "Le parler normand" but my copy is in Normandy.

Not to mention the onion farmer, where Monty insisted they were
the "best" even when the guy said "the sweetest."

No, Monty started off by saying that he understood they were the best
onions. The guy then corrected him by saying they were the sweetest.

I seem to remember him grunting in response with no apparent
understanding, but I certainly didn't record it!

You can "catch up with it on the iplayer" (as they say!). Er, sorry no,
as you're in France I don't think you can. Pity! Monty's response was
actually to repeat the word "doux" in acceptance of the correction.

And all the BS about (mispronounced) paysans, honestly.

He pronounced it in two different ways. One was when he was using it as
an English word in an English sentence. The other, which was a correct
pronunciation, was when he was explaining what the French word implied.

He explained the mythic, dictionary definition of the word. In modern
French "paysan" means farmer, no more or less. Yes there can be a
connotation of deeper culture, but someone who says "je suis paysan" is
_not_ saying "I'm a peasant", he's saying "I'm a farmer." "Peasant" in
the English sense is probably better translated as "plouc."

There is no strict equivalent in English to "paysan". It is not the same
as the English farmer with his vast acres, nor is it a peasant. The
nearest we have is "small farmer" or "small-holder". We have one such
three doors up the road from us at Le Mesnil Villement with about twenty
head of cattle. In fact our own house belonged to such a person. And our
neighbour who drove his 2CV in a straw hat and bleu de travail was also
a "paysan". (Actually he had to get rid of his 2CV and get a Renault 4L
because he couldn't get a sheep into the 2CV!) He acted as the local
slaughterer of sheep.

When my wife and I were teaching we were asked to find an exchange
family for a Muslim brother and sister and we found some people down in
the village. The family wanted to give them and a few neighbours a kind
of méchoui and Jules was called in to slaughter the sheep. Because the
youngsters were Muslim it had to be done according to Muslim rules which
also included saying a prayer as it was being killed. Fortunately, the
way Jules did the killing was in accordance with halal and the boy was
old enough to say the prayer.

I just can't see that being done in a modern English village.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK
http://rance.org.uk

BBC loves making programmes where a large part of the
programme is filmed in a car. This really irritates me, especially in
gardening programmes

Time to film Top Gear in the garden then

In article ,
lid says...

Judging by all the unjustified criticisms I don't think that any of you
really paid full attention to the programme.


Hardly surprising. Martin's posts have never yet suggested he has any
interest in gardens or gardening.

Janet