The Mad English Gardener

The Mad English Gardener

I've been doing my best to live up to my reputation here. The back garden is essentially done. Friends René and Armelle asked me at the pizza evening yesterday when they could come to see my back garden and I suggested that they wait until the roses are in bloom. I can conceivably get one more clematis in a pot there but there is room only for one or two “fill in” plants at most otherwise. Pictures on this blog will certainly follow then.

Across the road in the front the daffodils and crocus are over but some grape hyacinths are still in flower and the first of the irises is out; Last year the clematis over the wash-house across the road came into flower only when the Banksia rose had finished but this year the clematis, a light lilac in colour, looks to be ahead of the rose. I'm hoping they both come out together. I've also stuck some old nasturtium seeds in the ground around the trees in the hope that they may come up. And I've put some sunflower and morning glory seeds in pots and will find somewhere to put them when they come up.

Nobody has yet come to prune the trees opposite but I'm betting that they will and so bought more petunia surfina and will put up a third hanging basket. I also bought marigolds to go in the pots outside my bedroom window. That's it for the front, barring any casualties. The mad English gardener strikes again!

It was Steve's birthday today and he and Jo invited me to have lunch with them at the Dandelion cafe in Faucon. We sat outside in shirt sleeves gazing up at one of those pale lilac skies we get here and at the snow on the top of Mont Ventoux. Blissful. I got Steve half-a-dozen muscat grape vines, black French grapes and white Italian ones, which je can plant to grow up the fence around their garden. Jo wants some plants climbing up/down the wall on their terrace as I have on mine at the back so I've been building stone “cups” into their terrace wall. It will take a little while to get going, as mine did, but should look good in the end.

Then there is the watering to come………………….

Nationalism

Nationalism

I was born, grew up and, for most of my life, lived happily in England. I regard it as a moderately well run country most of the time, often beautiful, there are many things within it that I love and its people are generally kind; in fact, it's like many other European countries. I can say that it has served me well, and for my part I always tried to act positively while there, but I have never felt any need or desire to claim allegiance to it in any nationalist sense.

If I view Europe, or indeed the world, in terms of human subdivisions, in terms of peoples' language, work habits, aspirations, culture, cherished traditions and so forth rather than in terms of historical wars and fiefdoms, then regions make far more sense to me as subdivisions than do current countries. Countries are just what we're stuck with. Indeed, most European countries as currently constituted have been so only for the last 150 years or so. In that relatively short space of time millions of people have had their nationality changed, sometimes more than once, without any say in the matter. And various sets of genetic testing sessions reported suggest that during that period or very slightly longer we have nearly all become national mongrels.

I therefore regard nationality as essentially arbitrary and of little fundamental importance, a question of having the right piece of paper.

As an aside I find hilarious the millions of ardent American nationalists who are the most mongrel of all.

All this leaves out the question of education. Prior to 1945 and the advent and threat of nuclear weapons, wars were quite frequent events, even if it was just a question of beating up the natives, of whom there were many, often rebellious, in colonial dependencies. There was therefore a need for troops who would be willing to die for country, God, king/queen, whatever, my country right or wrong. Education inculcated that need and fuelled nationalism. Those educated in the 15 or so years after 1945 were fed that propaganda and many still feel that nationalism and have passed it on to their offspring. Leave aside the rights and wrongs of that but how relevant is that to today's world? I venture to suggest that the current nationalist movements in Europe demonstrate how successful that early propagandist education was and how family loyalty, probably, has passed it on. But it is essentially of the past and not of today.

We need to think differently