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I have one tip: don't park yer cars under lime trees. The sap is a bu££er to remove.

On a visit to Thornbridge Hall & Brewery, I spoke to one of the lads, who was raking the tilth, how he managed to get such friable soil and achieve great results in the gardens. Ah, one needs a lot of money, three full time gardeners and the hop 'sludge' from the brewery.

Like the American tourist that was visiting an English stately home.

He was admiring the 2 and a half acre lawn, and asked how it was achieved.

The ever helpful gardener says, 'Well zur, yer cuts it and rolls it every day, and then after about a 'undred and fifty yers, its about right!

Planning to use husks and spent grains for mulching, but perhaps a bit of it dug in as compost to keep the soil loose will help as well.

Been researching lime pickle for the Ploughman's platter. Reckon it might be better sold in wire lock jars in the shop and stick to the faux Branston pickle on the platter. Needs a curry to really make lime pickle stand out. Perhaps curry pies would do the trick. Kashmiri beef curry with a bit of a south Indian touch, crusty pastry on top and lime pickle and cucumber/tomato/onion sambal on the side.

Tall Bird wrote:I have one tip: don't park yer cars under lime trees. The sap is a bu££er to remove.

Remember a similar tip not to park under trees In Longreach, Qld, Oz. Many out-of-towners do, and return to their cars to find two or three feral goats standing on the roof to get at the leaves. Goat hooves don't half make a mess of the duco whilst also leaving an impressive collection of dimples throughout.

Can't be worse than the Bobs at Cape Point mugging tourists for sandwiches and wrecking their vehicles for non compliance.

OK, ALC I give up, what is a 'Bob'?

Final touch to our small grove tomorrow. Two more Clementine going in. That will make 4 lemon, 4 orange and 3 Clementine. Trouble is we are clean out of compost and no brewery nearby for used hops. Loads of goat and cattle droppings though.

I do believe that ALC is referring the to the indigent baboons.

They are a bl**dy nuisance at Cape Point. They are constantly on the scrounge for food and can open car doors.

Once inside, they can do major damage.

They are also dangerous to humans as they have a very nasty bite.

Residents in the area live in fear of them getting into their houses. It put our monkey problem, here in KZN into perspective.

Thanks Ian. Yes, thank goodness we don't have them in our area. There is a troop on the edge of town which causes havoc with traffic.

Had one in our tent In the Delta once when the housekeeper left the door open. Fortunately only one. Heard stories of half a troop breaking in and destroying everything. Very nasty aggressive things with bloody big teeth. Have had a few encounters.

We were at a camp where an Islander was night stopping. Following morning it was full of baboons. Those that couldn't fit in were bouncing up and down on the wings. As it was not one of our favoured air charter companies I thought it was hilarious. The pilot did not.

Bob, known formally as Mr Jahn. Seen them strip a thatch roof in 20 minutes. Destructive buggers. They'll pick an ear of corn from a mielie field, take one bite, drop it and strip the next one off the stem as they pass through. Drive the farmers crazy.

Lime, the scourge of scurvy and gout. A civilised drink all on its own in water and maybe with just a touch of something sweet to taste but even nicer with lager (if one drinks that kind of thing). Talking of lime and alcohol, does anybody remember the old myth that drinking an alcoholic beverage with lime reduces inebriation due to the chemical reaction between the acid and the ethanol creating an ester? A load of baloney, in the sense that the reaction is so small that it doesn't have a significant effect on the alcohol content, a chemist friend tells me but that fact doesn't make lime any less efficacious with respect to taste in combination with a variety of drinks.

As for the trees, our old house in Johannesburg had a variety of citrus trees in the front garden including lime trees. I remember my mother, who tended the trees, fondly, making sure that the ground was well drained but that the tree was always well watered in a sunny spot. Happy sunny daze indeed while they lasted.

Cue a Trinnie Lopez song about bitter citrus trees...

[bbvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek2NucwOOvs[/bbvideo]

Couldn't find any limes at the veg place so made a spiced lemon pickle instead. No bad but will shove in a few fresh chilis next time.

Blew the lid off the bucket a couple of times while festering gently to soften the fruit.

Never did plant any limes in the end. I asked the boys what they preferred, lemon, lime, orange or clementine. The latter won. Heathens have probably never heard of gin and lime. For goodness sake they fall down in a drunken stupor at the sniff of alcinfrol. Never make aircrew.