MAY is such a lovely month. Everything in the garden is sprouting and people seem generally more relaxed and happy after the long winter months. Almost everything in my garden is sprouting. My poppy seeds have failed to materialise, but I have had some re

MAY is such a lovely month. Everything in the garden is sprouting and people seem generally more relaxed and happy after the long winter months. Almost everything in my garden is sprouting. My poppy seeds have failed to materialise, but I have had some real successes. My rhubarb is going crazy and the courgettes are looking very healthy. I grew the courgettes from seed, so am particularly proud of them, although also a bit perplexed. I was looking round a garden centre the other day and noticed some courgette plants in pots were labelled 'female'. Right, so that must mean you need male and female plants to have any success. So, how on earth do I tell what sex my courgette plants are? Should I stand males and females next to each other? Do I need an equal number or is it okay to have more males or more females? I decided to look it up on the internet, but sitting at my desk at the Ely Standard on Monday afternoon I quickly came to the conclusion that putting the words 'courgettes' and 'sex' into Google was probably a very bad idea! I can just see the headlines now 'editor in courgette computer porn shocker'.

The courgettes look happy enough in the vegetable patch so perhaps I should leave it to the bees and nature.

I was at a bit of a loose end the other day and decided to pop along to the Ely Museum. I hope no-one takes offence, but I was expecting to see a few bits and bobs in a fairly dull building, but I hang my head in shame. The museum is much, much more than that and it is obvious that the staff have worked very hard to put the exhibits together in a way that is informative and easy to understand.

The courtyard at the front of the building is beautifully laid out and welcoming and the staff are happy to talk you through the exhibits or leave you to wander. My favourite part was The Cells. The building itself is the old Ely Gaol and I guarantee you will be fascinated at the recreated condemned prisoner's cell where they kept prisoners until they were hanged or transported to the colonies. It's as good as anything you will see at the London Dungeon and done on a much smaller budget I suspect.

You can see a mammoth's tooth, a Saxon gold ring (for a very dainty finger) Viking pots and lots of other interesting exhibits that will tell you all you need to know about the history of Ely. An absolutely fascinating journey through historic Ely with an extremely impressive selection of artefacts. A little gem of a place that is a credit to all involved.

I did think that it was quite amusing that we used to send people to Australia for punishment, whereas our youngsters now work their little socks off to save enough money for the flight and visa.

I will definitely be visiting the French market in Ely at the weekend. The market runs from 10am till 5pm on Saturday and 10am till 4pm on Sunday and there will, of course, be lots of French fare on offer as well as crafts.