I’ve been having awful problems with my technology to the extent I’ve had to invest in a new laptop and while waiting for it to be set up I’m using my very, very old HP machine. I was browsing through my Word folders and found the VPA news folder for June 2020. This is what I had written then. “Well, has much changed since the last newsletter? Not a lot! A slight improvement on the lockdown, but I do find it strange why only one family member can make a visit?! Let’s hope everyone is still keeping well and safe and staying alert!” Given that in June 2021 the Govt has delayed the full unlock until the end of July, it’s fortunate that the VPA Committee decided to cancel the Summer Show. It would have been such a shame if everyone had worked hard to provide exhibits and then not been able to show them. Hopefully the unlock in July will be successful.
However, the weather wasn’t quite the same. In June 2020 I wrote “The weather wasn’t very kind in May, with a couple of nights with minus-2 degrees of frost in Didcot. We complained about the wet winter and now we’re complaining about the lack of rain. It will be nice to see some rain as it really does make the plants grow better…”.
So, hot and dry in May 2020 but wet and cold in May 2021. My friend in London who usually helps at the Summer Show told me (when I was Skypeing her) that in May they had 15 consecutive days with rain!
So, 12 months on and not a lot has changed – Covid-19, with the added Delta Variant, is still with us and the weather is still as unpredictable as ever. Fortunately we have had a bit of summer in June 2021.
DID YOU KNOW? Grasses and cereals are wind-pollinated plants so they don’t have the colourful flowers or distinctive scents that other plants need in order to attract insects. Grasses and cereals produce an enormous amount of pollen, which explains why pollen allergy has come to be known as HAY FEVER.
Happy Gardening – Keep Safe
Eileen