[shaun]

well if you put it like that karl  
lets have a vote then
who likes her voice
text your answers to 055856589723

[muntjac]

the num,bers wrong ,,,,,, i dont want a ready made funeral casket ya wassuck

[Aidy]

Sounds nowt my lass and she is from Yorkshire, for one she dont swear unlike the firebreathing dragon downstairs, and another thing I could for the most part understand her again not always the case here at home, apart from that screaching she kept doing, sorry chaps and lasses I for one will not be bothered this week as I really cant see this going any better.

[supersprout]

There's more to this than just the TV programme. The accompanying book (which I haven't seen yet) promises more detailed info. The RHS are having a series of Open Days around the closing date of the series, offering free seed and information packs at various sites around the country. Local newspapers where peeps' allotments are featured haven't been slow to piggyback with their own local 'Grow your Own' campaigns.

I think that GYOV is the wide neck of a funnel that aims to catch the interest of a wide variety of people who haven't yet taken their first step into growing. That's a huge shift to take if you've never grown your own veg or been fortunate enough to be around veggie growing as a youngster. Any mass media encouragement is better than none IMO. By aligning other stepping stones - links to forums, via the RHS - the Beeb seem genuinely to be trying to attract completely new growers AND to help them take their first steps. And to show it's fun by using a fiesty and well thought of gardening celeb and presenting as entertainment :twisted: This may not be to everyone's taste - how could it be?

The Beeb will research response to the programme, both viewing figures and more qualitative response. And they do read these forums too. It'll be interesting to see how they judge the programme and associated campaign to have gone. If even a few people get growing, and encourage their friends and families to grow too, I'd consider the programme will have been of benefit.

I haven't seen the first episode yet :cry: but someone told me that the Jerusalem Artichoke feature was a short 'vox pop' from a real grower. I'm sitting here surrounded by seven bags of JA tubers requested by chums on other forums and wondering, if the prog was so bad, why so many forum members are wanting suddenly to get their hands on some of my tubers? :roll:

... although I like shouting at the experts on TV too, I'm only human :oops:

oh, has anyone spotted there's be a new Pauline Pears book out shortly?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/185675278X/ref=ord_cart_shr/202-1970606-0279044?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

[Flower]

They want a wind break?

[ted_woodley]

Agree GYOV is poor. It seems they don't have confidence in their material and tried any way they could to spice it up with fancy graphics and music. They also chose a selection of the most irritating people they could find to follow through the series, where on earth did they find them - firends of the producers ? - although the Swedish bird last week was easy on the eye and ear it did not make up for the sight of that weightlifter woman parading around in shorts in the middle of Winter.

As a result of all this the information content was low - I learnt a little I didn't know about artichokes in the first episode and nothing in the second and did not watch the third. A pity, an opportunity missed.

That seed swapping event looked hopelessly staged - I'd like to see a real fly-on-the-wall documentary series about an allotment covering all the petty internecine squabbles between the plotholders !

[Axe Victim]

Watched it for the first time tonight....mixed bag wasn't it?  There was not enough of the technicalities...when was she sowing, what, where? Having said that, there was a hint of allotment porn...oooh, arrr, feel the size of these thingummies...etc.

Best thing for me was the accompanying music...the (amazing) bit with the blind allotmenteer (what a brilliant gardener) had Nick Drake as the back-ground music and, later on, there was the wonderful chiming 12 string of Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin...marvellous.

   

[GrannieAnnie]

That blind allotmenteer was amazing, I felt quite humbled by him!!

[supersprout]

inspiring wasn't he, I could have watched him all day!

[Annie]

I`m begining to think that it`s the fussy camera doesn`t help,Carol fills modules with compost and plants seeds-slow shot of top of bench and bottom of module,shot o f scoop scooping compost,shot of scoop droping compost into modules,shot of Carols hands putting in seeds with(permanent)cup of tea in foreground and only then does the camera pull back so that you can see Carol and modules.With apologies to those with a better memory who noticed more shots for a quick and easy job which only needed one camera angle.Felt sorry for her family trying to be enthused over a plate of cabbage,especially as you suspect with the camera work needed that it was cold!
  Blind chap inspirational,if this doesn`t encourage beginners nothing will.

[ted_woodley]

I find the music choice odd - Nick Drake, Led Zep, Genesis, Yes - seems to be aimed at those who are 40-50 - odd if it is supposed to encourage "new" veg growers (of the age of the people they are following through the series)