Sunday, May 29, 2005

Garden Centre

I swear, every time I get in a car with my dad, it's like comedy gold. I'd get him to drive me everywhere if it wasn't for the fact that it would MAKE ME GO MENTAL.

Got back to Cornwall, settled in (i.e. bought a copy of White Dwarf and a pasty), and discovered that the seed potatoes I had planted just before leaving have now grown into Actual Proper Potato Plants. It's like some kind of magic, and tonight I will be eating potatoes that twenty minutes ago were in the ground. I'll probably ring someone and tell them. 'I'm eating potatoes that twenty minutes ago were in the ground!' I shall say.

Popped over to my parents today, ostensibly to pick up some post, but in fact (it turned out) to help my dad to get an enormous sack of compost from the garden centre.

As we reversed out of the spot and made to leave the parking area, another car drove towards us, driven by a bearded man. My dad waved warmly at the man, made a sort of fingers-as-guns powpowpow gesture over the remaining car space, The other drover was now staring at us with eyebrows slightly higher than his head, which only got higher as my father continued winking and going 'tuh' like an electrocuted cockney. My father then pulled up parallel to the other man's car, wound his window down, looked the other man in the eyes for the briefest of moments, then wound the window back up and drove off without a word.

About a minute later:

ME: That wasn't who you thought it was, was it?
DAD: No.

On another note, while I've been gone, the cannon on Penryn roundabout have had brightly-coloured flowers painted all over then (very neatly and certainly very attractively). Cornwall, I missed you.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does he do steering wheel drumming as well?

James Henry said...

Actually no. But I do.

Anonymous said...

I thought it was just a dad thing, it seems that the demographic has spread! Although in retrospect, doesn't guy do some steering wheel drumming in the last ep of GW. I'm sure he does, with some llama style head movements as well.

Anonymous said...

this easd my hangover. thank you.

Jane said...

You would make some of your devoted readers SOOO happy if you were to be kind enough to post a photograph of those cannon painted with flowers. Oh, please?

cello said...

Yes, it's embarrasing how much smug self-satisfaction you can exude by growing your own food. But it's still very cool. Are these spuds in your own garden or your parents'?

Izzy said...

bad news on the flower power cannon - some bugger's painted 'em back black. and I never got to see them in all their glory, boo.

Anonymous said...

I had to look up ostensible on 'dictionary google' to find out it's true meaning. Your blog teaches me a new word every day, it's like reading 'word of the day' toilet paper. Very handy.

James Henry said...

Potatoes (does the plural have an 'e'?) grown under instruction from my parents, but are on all other grounds mine. Only one was larger than a 2p coin though, so may leave the second pot a while.

Damn, really should have got a photo of those flowery cannon. Although I suspect the flowers will be back soon, cornish bloody-mindedness being what it is.

James Henry said...

Potatoes (does the plural have an 'e'?) grown under instruction from my parents, but are on all other grounds mine. Only one was larger than a 2p coin though, so may leave the second pot a while.

Damn, really should have got a photo of those flowery cannon. Although I suspect the flowers will be back soon, cornish bloody-mindedness being what it is.