Has anyone seen the picture of the castor oil plant in the Independent?

POLITICS

I am pretty certain that they were asked to print something else so as
not to give terrorists ideas - ignoring the fact that any terrorist
clued up enough to extract ricin won't be getting ideas from there.
Why does the government regard the British public as its number one
enemy?

This has been done more than once before, and admitted in public, so
I am not merely hypothesising conspiracies.

END POLITICS - I wish!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

Has anyone seen the picture of the castor oil plant in the Independent?

POLITICS

I am pretty certain that they were asked to print something else so as
not to give terrorists ideas - ignoring the fact that any terrorist
clued up enough to extract ricin won't be getting ideas from there.
Why does the government regard the British public as its number one
enemy?

This has been done more than once before, and admitted in public, so
I am not merely hypothesising conspiracies.

END POLITICS - I wish!


Nah, just journalistic ignorance and incompetence. A google image search
shows the proper plant first time round.

what is the piccie in the independent? Pittosporum tobira?

pk

Nick wrote in message
..
Why does the government regard the British public as its number one
enemy?

and the Police, Civil Service, Local Councils, Doctors/Consultants and
associated health workers........ I don't think they consider us the enemy,
just thick. (which just proves how thick they are) I speak from experience
re the above.

Having worked in a Service Industry for over 30 years I do know how stupid
some of the public are but then there are the ultra intelligent ones too,
often difficult to differentiate the two when trying to have a sensible
discussion. :-)

Also the lovely ones, the total pratts, the considerate ones, the ignorant
ones, the always happy ones, the always miserable ones, the thieves, etc.,
rarely two are the same.
--
Regards
Bob

Use a useful Screen Saver...
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
and find intelligent life amongst the stars, there's bugger all down here.

In article ,
"PaulK" writes:
|
| Has anyone seen the picture of the castor oil plant in the Independent?
|
| what is the piccie in the independent? Pittosporum tobira?

Dunno. It could still be one of the Euphorbiaceae.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:


Has anyone seen the picture of the castor oil plant in the Independent?

POLITICS

I am pretty certain that they were asked to print something else so as
not to give terrorists ideas -

Nobody told the editor of the Herald. Oh dear!

Just think, Nick, all over the country, feckless people are trying to
kill off their unloved ones, with a tiny spot of castor oil..or an
umbrella...

Janet.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

Has anyone seen the picture of the castor oil plant in the Independent?

POLITICS

I am pretty certain that they were asked to print something else so as
not to give terrorists ideas - ignoring the fact that any terrorist
clued up enough to extract ricin won't be getting ideas from there.
Why does the government regard the British public as its number one
enemy?


A step too far, I dont think terrorists would be trying to grow their own,
far easier to go and buy the beans! Do they even grow here? I thought they
were tropical?

--
Tumbleweed

Remove my socks before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups)

"Tumbleweed" wrote in message
...
government regard the British public as its number one
enemy?

Do they even grow here? I thought they
were tropical?



Grown here as a tender annual. Sow in march and (depending on variety) you
can have 2m tall flowering and fruiting plant in September with leaves 60+cm
across!

NOT recommended for a garden with small children unless fully trained but is
a stunning plant for tropical effect.

Used by many parks as summer bedding.

Chiltern sell the seed

pk

In article ,
"PaulK" writes:
|
| Grown here as a tender annual. Sow in march and (depending on variety) you
| can have 2m tall flowering and fruiting plant in September with leaves 60+cm
| across!
|
| NOT recommended for a garden with small children unless fully trained but is
| a stunning plant for tropical effect.
|
| Used by many parks as summer bedding.
|
| Chiltern sell the seed

And fairly widely available in garden centres as house plants.
As with many such plants, they will grow in the UK but probably
not ripen viable seed.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...


And fairly widely available in garden centres as house plants.
As with many such plants, they will grow in the UK but probably
not ripen viable seed.


I've never tried sowing my own seed as I grow named varieties but the seed
certainly looks like the seed frompackets when it sets!

pk

In article ,
"PaulK" writes:
| "Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
| ...
|
| And fairly widely available in garden centres as house plants.
| As with many such plants, they will grow in the UK but probably
| not ripen viable seed.
|
| I've never tried sowing my own seed as I grow named varieties but the seed
| certainly looks like the seed frompackets when it sets!

Yes. There are a lot of plants that set seed, but not necessarily
viable seed. I think that Ricinus communis is one, or else it
would be a more widespread casual - it is a casual, but not very
widespread.

Japanese privet is one of the classics.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
"PaulK" writes:
|
| Grown here as a tender annual. Sow in march and (depending on variety) you
| can have 2m tall flowering and fruiting plant in September with leaves 60+cm
| across!
|
| NOT recommended for a garden with small children unless fully trained but is
| a stunning plant for tropical effect.
|
| Used by many parks as summer bedding.
|
| Chiltern sell the seed

And fairly widely available in garden centres as house plants.
As with many such plants, they will grow in the UK but probably
not ripen viable seed.

Yes they do. And fairly easily in a good year. The cultivars with the deep bronze
red foliage make very handsome specimen plants in the border and will grow to 8-10
feet by August if started early. They are very tender though so must be planted out
after last frost. And obviously seriously poisonous.

That aside they are common in continental village borders as municipal plantings.

Fatsia japonica is a safer alternative semi hardy that looks similarly exotic and
is evergreen.

Regards,
Martin Brown

It is a lot less tropical in its requirements than some would have you
believe. It can and will germinate at relatively low temperatures and
in a half decent summer, seed is set profusely. I bought a mall,
rather attractively coloured form from a local market 2 years ago. It
was plonked in a bit of spare soil and immediately took off,
developing into a massive plant some 7 feet high, 5 feet across with
stunningly handsome leaves to well over 18" in diameter.

Heavy flowering commenced in late July followed by masses of ripe (and
for a while, attractive) seed pods. The resultant strewn seeds came
up in their droves during this past spring and for a while, were the
most commonly weeded out plants. The 'beans' remain viable at
temperatures down to minus 2C even if they are damp and will readily
germinate once temperatures rise above 14C.

Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK

In article ,
(Nick Maclaren) wrote:

Why does the government regard the British public as its number one
enemy?

Because they have to get SOMETHING right :-)

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

In article ,
wrote:

Heavy flowering commenced in late July followed by masses of ripe (and
for a while, attractive) seed pods. The resultant strewn seeds came
up in their droves during this past spring and for a while, were the
most commonly weeded out plants. The 'beans' remain viable at
temperatures down to minus 2C even if they are damp and will readily
germinate once temperatures rise above 14C.

So the reason that it is only an occasional casual is that the seeds
are seriously sensitive to frost rather than not ripening?

I thought that it was the latter. I know that they are occasional
casuals, but not even to the level of Datura.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

Two examples of thick people, both happened on trains:

1: Coming up to a station I got up from my seat and walked towards a door.
Shortly after, a woman came up to me and said, "is that a door or a window?"

2: A train was travelling along and there was an announcement about the
buffet which was "towards the front of the train", and Irish woman sitting
opposite turned to me and asked, "which end is the fron of the train?"

Sorry for the off topic-ness of this posting but you may find it amusing.


John