by James Alexander-Sinclair
Radios are equally essential for greenhouse and potting shed jobs; pricking out or potting up goes much faster with the radio playing.
When I was a contractor fossicking around London laying slabs, building walls and digging holes we usually had a radio. Most of the time this played Radio 4 as it is the perfect way to distract the mind from occasionally very tedious and rather exhausting tasks: for example, digging a long line of fence post holes, pointing between paving stones or even weeding. This was fine most of the time - bar occasional rebellions when a members of my workforce downed tools and refused to listen to The Archers. I think they feared being dragged prematurely into middle age. After complex labour negotiations we compromised with playing Steve Wright in the Afternoon on Radio 1.
Radios are equally essential for potting shed and greenhouse jobs; pricking out or potting up goes much faster with the radio playing. Don't take my word for it - Alys Fowler at Berryfields is almost completely besotted with her radio. And even the mysterious (and very funny) Garden Monkey gardens to speech radio.
However, if we needed serious geeing up then I favoured Wagner (a very loud rendition of Ride of the Valkyries is an excellent way to get a skip filled) or strutting rock (Cadillac Walk by Mink de Ville was good for unloading lorries). I tried the Band of the Scots Guards once but that was considered a step too far. Whatever it was it was unavoidably shared with the rest of the street as personal stereos were rather clumsy in those days and the idea of flipping a cassette or changing a CD with muddy fingers was a definite no-no.
Nowadays one of my great pleasures is weeding while listening to my iPod. So easy to use and no danger of ruining it by squishing soil into the springs or weeds into the woofers. Sometimes I have random music so it can easily flit from Rachmaninov to Radiohead, Gogol Bordello (rather deranged Gypsy Punk Band) to Louis Prima or Patti Smith to Nancy Sinatra (incidentally I have recently discovered Nancy Sinatra with Lee Hazelwood - a triumph even though Lee looks disconcertingly like John Alderton in Upstairs Downstairs).
I also play talking books which are a brilliant way to get you through the weeding. It means that I have read much more than I actually have time for - even though my wife says that having books read to you is cheating!
But, even though all this technology is usually wonderful there are other times when the best background sound for gardening is silence (with the occasional birdsong).
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