Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Gardening Diary 123: Having a stall at The Edible Garden Show (April) | Trewsbury Allotment Year 8

-Hello.

Welcome back to another episode.

This week is not getting off to the best start.

Let's go in the greenhouse, and I'll bring you up to date.

[THEME MUSIC]

This week, as you know, I'm taking

part in the Edible Garden Show at Alexandra Palace

in North London.

Now, today is Tuesday.

And the plan was to go and collect the hire car

and start driving around collecting up all the bits

and bobs that I need and drive up to Alexandra Palace tonight.

But we've hit the first problem.

I went to go and collect the hire car this morning

and realized that my driving license was attached

to a previous address of about four years ago.

And therefore I haven't been able to hire the van

that I wanted to hire.

So at the moment, it's a wasted day.

Whether I actually get to go to the show tomorrow

is a bit up in the air at the moment,

because what's happened now is they have frozen my driving

license for three weeks.

And I have to re-apply to change the address,

and because my license was a paper license,

I'm also going to have to get one of the new electronic--

like credit card licenses.

So me driving to the show isn't an option at the moment.

The only option that I do have is Graham

was going to help me tomorrow anyway.

Now, Graham's car is in the garage-- it's being fixed.

So the plan on the table at the moment

is for me to give Graham the money

and for him to hire the car or the van that we need.

Now we've only got two days to build this garden,

and tomorrow looks like-- if we can pull this off.

One of the problems is I can't get hold of Graham.

I've given him a call, but he hasn't a mobile phone.

So I've had to leave a message in his house

and just wait for him to get back tonight.

So it's all a bit up in the air whether or not

this show garden is going to be pulled off.

So we just have to sit around and wait for developments

to happen and see what happens tomorrow.

Who knows?

We could still be sat here in the shed on the plot.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Well it's the next day.

We finally got hold of a car, and Graham's come down

to give me a hand.

So we're going to pop down to the plot

now and dismantle everything.

And pack the car up and then pop to the garden center

to pick up some plants.

And then it's off to the show.

-Hello, Rusty.

-Here we are, Graham.

-Looks a bit different without the fence, doesn't it.

-Course, yeah, it does.

Yeah.

Where's the gate?

-So we're just filling the van up.

Looks like we might have to do two trips, which is something

I didn't want to do because Alexandra Palace is about

an hour and a half away from the allotment.

But we just got to do it.

Rusty's just about to pack his bags and come with us.

I'm taking this with me-- this is

some the swiss chard I've been growing.

And this, yes, mache [INAUDIBLE] and grass.

So there it is.

That is the allotment in the van.

All the plants are ready.

The fence, and there's Graham, just

through the fence somewhere.

So let's hit the road.

-Yep, absolutely.

-Just going to put that up.

-And we're off.

-And we're off.

-We're about an hour away from the actual venue,

and we're going to stop off and have a bit of food.

But it looks like we're going to have to drive home this evening

and then drive back up tomorrow, because the car is just full.

So we're going to have some food,

and we'll see you at the venue.

Well, Graham, we've got here at last.

Now we're just waiting to go into the show,

and then we can start to unload our things.

And then it's time for a cup of tea, I think.

-I think so as well, yeah.

Ask him if we can get in here.

-How do you think it's gone so far?

-Terrific.

We had problems getting the van, first of all,

because it needed servicing.

But eventually when we got it, now we're at [? Ally ?]

[? Pally ?].

Only taken us about a hour--

-About an hour, yeah.

-Hour to get here, and we're having trouble getting into it.

-So now we're just waiting for security to allow us in.

So hopefully we won't be too long.

And we're in.

She hasn't told us where to go.

Looks like we're driving in folks.

-We might be able to go just right onto it.

-Well we've driven into the venue,

but nobody's told us where we need to go.

Hold on.

Graham's just calling me forward.

-We're going to enjoy ourselves, yeah.

-Nice bit of stained glass over there.

So we're just waiting for somebody in charge

to come over and tell us where our little stall is.

-Here he is.

He's coming.

-There he is.

The boss is coming.

-Do you know which area you're in?

You in the capital garden section?

-I'm not sure because they moved us last week.

-Did they?

Do you want to come and have a look?

We'll find the markings for you.

-Yeah.

-You got this area here.

-Oh, so we're here.

-So you got five meters by five meters.

-Graham, we're here.

-That's you, isn't it?

-Yes.

-There you go.

-OK.

-That's quite close to the main door.

How's it going so far?

It all seem nice and calm here.

-Yes, it's all going fine so far, thank you.

-So this it, then?

-This is our spot.

-This is you.

Just make sure-- You've got five meters by five meters,

so you might just want to check where your mark-out lines are.

-All right, then.

Let's start building a garden.

-Hello, dear.

-So we got to turn this into a garden, then, Graham.

-Magic, yeah.

-So that's the space we've got.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So we've dumped everything off, and before we

do any bit of work, time for food.

-Cup of tea.

-Cup of tea and an all day breakfast.

-That's right.

-Or maybe a Sunday lunch.

It's a nice day, anyway.

-Beautiful.

-Nice day for being stuck indoors.

-You can't see [? Ally ?] [? Pally ?] from here.

-No, can't see it.

So we've come back.

We found some food, and now we're

going to start building the garden.

It's quite strange because it's very quiet and eerie.

There's nobody else around, whereas, in 48 hours

this place is going to be heaving, packed with people.

So I'm just heading back from the toilet

to go and see Graham, and we'll start building.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We've come to the end of day one,

and we've been building for hours with these two

little elves over here, been helping out.

And Graham's been on the barrow.

Graham's off down the pub now because he's

going to roll out the barrow.

-Yes, definitely.

-So we're going to close the garden gate,

and we'll come back tomorrow for day two, when

we'll be putting the plants in and making the garden look

a bit more presentable for the public,

because they're coming in on Friday.

So I'll catch up with you tomorrow.

-And it's bye from me.

And it's bye from you.

-It's goodbye from me.

-Graham's finished doing the build.

It's going a bit-- a bit according to plan.

It's gone smooth.

-Yeah, yeah, not bad at all.

-So now we're putting the plants in,

and we're working out where everything

is going to go now, where the plants are.

-Hopefully it goes in the right place.

-So we're on the last stretch now.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So this is where we are so far.

Just over there in the corner, you'll

see that's the royal protocol party.

They're going through the steps of where Prince Charles

and Camilla will go.

So they will be walking past our stall.

So Graham's just doing a quick tidy-up,

and then we can do this side.

Then, it's time for a well-earned cup of tea,

because we haven't had a cup of tea since about 8

o'clock this morning.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So there we have it.

That is the completed Sean's Allotment Garden.

I think it looks like the allotment.

It's even got weeds as well, which

every good allotment must have.

So this is Graham, off to make-- to make a cup of tea

in the shed.

So that's it.

That's the end of day two.

We're all exhausted, so we're going

to go home, have a nice cup of tea, and then have a nice sleep

and come back.

Now, Graham's not coming back tomorrow,

so I'll be here by myself.

But the show opens for three days,

and it's a perfect opportunity for me

to catch up with quite a few of you who tune in.

So that's all from the garden.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Well it's the first day of the show today.

Day three to me-- day one to them.

There it is.

I can just see it out of the window, shrouded in mist.

So I'm just going to jump on the bus and head up.

Feeling a bit tired, so I think a cup of tea is in order.

The show opened at 9:30 AM, with a royal visit from His Royal

Highness the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall.

So then you're just about to meet the prince.

How do you feel?

-How do you feel then?

Getting ready to meet the prince.

I'm not meeting the prince.

-Who's the person who's going to talk?

-That would be me.

-Do you know what you're going to say?

-I have no idea yet.

But it'll be fine.

What's the worst that can happen?

-You could not say anything at all.

I suppose that's the worst that can happen.

-Well the special visitor has turned up.

Prince Charles is just coming to have

a quick little look at the gardens.

-There's Prince Charles.

-So there's Prince Charles over there.

But now back to reality and real life.

And let's get on and do a bit of allotment gardening.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

One of the highlights was to meet up

with so many of the viewers and listen

to stories about their gardens.

So what did you think of the garden?

-Pretty authentic.

It's not too far off.

-And the weeds.

-And the weeds, yeah.

You have to have those-- otherwise it wouldn't be real,

would it?

-So what do you think of the garden?

-Brilliant.

-It's really good.

-Inspirational.

-Very good.

Very tidy at the moment.

Lots of things coming up.

-At the moment it's tidy.

-Yes, it is.

Yes.

-I think the garden's fantastic, and I recognize it

from the YouTube channel.

It looks exactly like I imagined it would look like.

-Where have you come from, and what do you

think of the garden?

-I've come from southwest France,

and I think the garden's amazing.

It's really pretty.

-How did it feel to be in it?

-It feels like a taste of things to come.

-I think the garden looked really nice.

I'm impressed by your raised beds, and your trugs,

and I'm particularly impressed by the [? wild naturals ?]

down there.

Very good indeed.

-I think it's lovely.

It's a bit neater than your garden,

because what I love about your show is

you're always tidying up.

And then two shows later, you have to tidy up again

if you are returning, But no, I love it.

I love your show as well.

It's been great.

-I think it's absolutely brilliant, you know.

It looks like yours.

-Plant what we'd like to eat, as opposed

to growing what we think we should grow.

-It can germinate within that water

and you can have problems.

That is true.

You can actually make the soil seal on the surface

because the individual silt particles come out

of suspension.

It then sets like concrete, and the vast majority of the water

is just running off the surface.

-Well I haven't seen too much because I just

wanted to come and see you straightaway.

-Good.

Good That's it.

-No, it's really good.

Got some great chicken advice.

Because that's my next--

-Are you going to build a hen-- hen house.

-I'm going to get some chickens.

-Oh that's what we love to do.

-This lady comes from Greenwich.

-[INAUDIBLE]

-We're having a cup of tea in the makeshift shed.

-Hello.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Well it's the end of the show, and Graham's turned up

to help pack everything up.

And here it is.

That is the allotment in a van.

We've just about managed to get it all in,

and now we're going to go home.

And the space is all empty there, so.

-Graham.

-Yeah.

-How do you feel with this experience?

-I would definitely do it again, but I'd want a bit more time.

It was really fun.

-A bigger van.

-Yeah, a bigger van.

It was all fun, truthfully.

-A bigger van we need, but now we're going to head home.

-And have a cup of tea.

-And have a cup of tea.

We'll catch up with you next week

when we're back on the allotment to do a bit of gardening

and a bit of tidying up.

See you then.

[MUSIC PLAYING]