Well, everything in my garden is rosy. I mean it, the courgette plants are sprouting courgettes (now there s a thing), the tomato plants and the runner beans are getting bigger each day and everything else I planted from seeds is sprouting and showing sig

Well, everything in my garden is rosy. I mean it, the courgette plants are sprouting courgettes (now there's a thing), the tomato plants and the runner beans are getting bigger each day and everything else I planted from seeds is sprouting and showing signs of life. I do have a theory about my success (yes I know tomato fertilizer and watering helps) but I honestly think that now my sons have flown the nest that I have transferred my nurturing to my seedlings and plants and they really appreciate all the attention. And, yes, I do talk to my plants. I offer them daily encouragement and apologise about the nasty black fly that must be making their poor little lives miserable. Now, I am going to do something that I promise not to do too often in this column, I am going to name-drop. A few years ago, I was invited to John Major's house in Great Stukeley, near Huntingdon, for tea. While Norma was preparing the tea, Mr Major (sorry he's a former prime minister and I just can't bring myself to call him John, and anyway, my mum would be very upset at my rudeness) showed me round his garden. This was during the heady days of the Back to Basics campaign, for which he was getting a daily roasting in the media, and the Spitting Image cariticuture of him as the grey man who was very fond of peas. So, it's fair to say he wasn't having a good time of it, but he told me that one of the things that settled his mind and made him feel stronger at the end of a difficult day was wandering round his garden and tending to his plants, and he had a lovely garden. I really do think there is something in that. I think we all need to switch off at the end of the day and the garden offers peace and something positive when perhaps the working day has been all about problems and challenges.

In case, you're wondering, everyone always asks me, no Mr Major never mentioned Edwina Currie in the any of the interviews that I did with him, but he did tell me he didn't particularly like peas.

I was invited to watch a classic showing of Phantom of the Opera at Ely Cathedral on Monday night, which was delightful. It was the original black and white starring Lon Chaney, with musical accompaniment by David Briggs on the organ, which gave the whole thing a really eerie feel.

Hopefully, lots of you will be down at Aquafest on Sunday. It should be a fantastic day out for all the family and the raft race is always great fun to watch. The Ely Standard will have a team taking part in the race and I will be running a stall giving away balloons and other goodies. If you want to come and say 'hello' or tick me off for something that hasn't appeared in the paper, then please feel free to do so.

Don't forget there's a blood donor session today (Thursday) at the Ely Beet Club. Sessions are 1pm till 3.30pm and 4.30pm till 7pm.