'The Edible Garden' starts at 8pm on BBC 2 on April the 7th

[Shirley]

old men's codgers

Thankfully nobody picked up on this cos I meant old codgers' todgers! Oh well it was early and I hadn't slept enough.

I was just too polite to mention it M3 xx

[contadino]

It doesn't do tarmac a lot of good and I really don't want to see old men's codgers on display thank you! They could at least have the decency to go behind a bush, or use the bloody public toilets!

Oh, now I'm confused. It's somehow indecent to have a pee? There was me thinking that it wasn't just natural, it's a necessity.

What do you think happens to that pee on the tarmac next time it rains?

No, you're getting in a flap about nothing. Cool your jets, for heavens sake.

[contadina]

No, you're getting in a flap about nothing. Cool your jets, for heavens sake.

As we're discussing peeing alfresco there's not one, but two, unfortunate turn of phrases

Pretty much all our male visitors ask if they can water a tree whenever they need a pee. Seems a better option than going indoors to me.

[Big Al]

Big Al wrote:
I think you are being hyper critical. My garden in a town is 45 ft by 52 ft and in many of the "town gardens" in the likes of Birmingham et al are long and narrow rather than balcony sizes in the likes of London. People whinge about garden programmes being shot in London and catering for city folk with lots of disposable income so they shoot one in Birmingham and they still get slagged off.

Yes, I take your point that average garden size varies across the country (UK). I will admit I was thinking London.

However, I still think Citizentwiglet hit it on the head when she said, "…the underlying messages of which are 'jolly good smashing fun if you have pots of money in the bank to fripper about with; particularly if you have a lot of invisible background chums to help you out, but stay conveniently out of shot for most of it, giving the impression that I have 56 hours in every sun-drenched day to potter in my garden'.” However much Alys recycles and makes-her-own, I think she does this as a choice, probably an ethical choice, and not a necessity.

Big Al wrote:
I didn't see any gardening paraphenallia on the last programme, in fact she made a few plant stakes etc out of salvaged willow trigs admittedly with a "knowledgeble friend"

Paraphenalia (sic) was the wrong word (sorry). I must clarify that I was thinking about people who haven't even got a fork and spade, and who would view the cost of buying them as a significant expense. I'd really like to see a prog called "The £1 Garden", where, starting from scratch, nothing could cost more than £1 and nothing more than £5 could be spent in any one week.

The idea for me is to take what the programme offers and utilise it in a scale that suits your own situation.

I agree.

I seem to think there was something on the telly or in the press pre computers so must be pre 92 for me where there was the £1 / £5 limits but I can't for the life of me think what it was about.

I appreciate the fact that many people, me included are on the poverty line[I went to the credit union today for a loan {having waited 5 weeks for the appointment}only to be told I'd have to wait a week for an approval and cheque when my mortgage is due in two days] but if people are a bit ingenious then they can get by. I'm not shy in coming forward in any way and so if I need something i'll ask my neighbours if I can borrow soething of theirs knowing they won't refuse but then I help them out in other ways. It's got to the stage now that before they order a skip or throw things out they knock and ask me if I can use it.... whatever it is and most times I can find a good home for it either myself or from some one I know is "looking" for such items, lol.

[Millymollymandy]

It doesn't do tarmac a lot of good and I really don't want to see old men's codgers on display thank you! They could at least have the decency to go behind a bush, or use the bloody public toilets!

Oh, now I'm confused. It's somehow indecent to have a pee? There was me thinking that it wasn't just natural, it's a necessity.

What do you think happens to that pee on the tarmac next time it rains?

No, you're getting in a flap about nothing. Cool your jets, for heavens sake.

Unlike you, I'm not an aspiring peasant. Yes, to me, it is as indecent to get your willy out and pee in front of people as it is to pick your nose and eat it, poo, scratch your balls and any other bodily function that should be done in private. Funnily enough, it's always men who like to do things like that in public. I don't see women scratching their fannies or picking their noses.

[contadino]

It doesn't do tarmac a lot of good and I really don't want to see old men's codgers on display thank you! They could at least have the decency to go behind a bush, or use the bloody public toilets!

Oh, now I'm confused. It's somehow indecent to have a pee? There was me thinking that it wasn't just natural, it's a necessity.

What do you think happens to that pee on the tarmac next time it rains?

No, you're getting in a flap about nothing. Cool your jets, for heavens sake.

Unlike you, I'm not an aspiring peasant. Yes, to me, it is as indecent to get your willy out and pee in front of people as it is to pick your nose and eat it, poo, scratch your balls and any other bodily function that should be done in private. Funnily enough, it's always men who like to do things like that in public. I don't see women scratching their fannies or picking their noses.

I'm a perfectly accomplished peasant, TYVM, whereas you clearly are not an accomplished isher...

"Selfsufficientish prides itself on being friendly and welcoming."

As a mod/admin, I'd have thought you understand the site rules.

[Millymollymandy]

Then I suggest you look back at any of your postings and tell me where you have ever been friendly? Look at your post to me Cool your jets, for heavens sake - arrogant and condescending as usual and absolutely uncalled for. If you can't take it don't give it out Contadino. Why not try smiling for a change? It doesn't take much to make the tone of your postings friendly, like your wife's postings. There, see, that wasn't hard to do, was it?

[contadino]

Then I suggest you look back at any of your postings and tell me where you have ever been friendly? Look at your post to me Cool your jets, for heavens sake - arrogant and condescending as usual and absolutely uncalled for. If you can't take it don't give it out Contadino. Why not try smiling for a change? It doesn't take much to make the tone of your postings friendly, like your wife's postings. There, see, that wasn't hard to do, was it?

Oh, so your inability to understand simple English without smilies means that I'm arrogant and condescending? Clearly you've never read a funny book. Clearly, you've never laughed at a sitcom without piped laughter. Clearly you've never understood anything that wasn't written on an internet forum.

Well, I doubt you'll care, but this will be my last post on this forum. Fortunately, SSish is just one of many forums about self-sufficiency, but others have mods/admins without such a chip on their shoulders.

Even if you are unable to understand what someone writes, that is no excuse for spouting insults. Maybe you're so thick that you haven't twigged that 'mod' is short for 'moderator.' There is nothing moderate about your behaviour.

[Odsox]

I'm not an aspiring peasant.

I don't for one moment want to join this argument on either side, but ....

It just goes to show the difference between the English and the French.
In English "peasant" is a derogatory term, as is farmer in the big business and finance oriented English culture.
The word "peasant" comes from the French word "paysan" which simply means "countryman" or farmer, or just a person that lives in the countryside as opposed to an urban dweller.
In France peasant or paysan is far from derogatory as it just means what most of us on this forum aspire to.
So MMM are you sure about your quote above ?

[the.fee.fairy]

It could be worse...it could be like India where its not just pee done freely in the streets, or like here where small children (up to the age of about 10 it seems) crap in the street while their mums hold a bit of tissue under them...

However...in the interests of equality, what about women using shewees? You don't half get some funny looks from men when you line up next to them at the bushes!

I do agree with M3 though, it is impolite to pee in public. Find a toilet! Most of the time it is easier for men, they don't have to touch the thing when they go, so why do they have to pee in the street? It's like they;'re saying 'hey! Look at me, i have a cock, watch me pee!'. Not everyone wants to see your bodily emissions (this also includes those who spit in the streets, or even worse, like here where they spit anywhere, including inside restaurants, school buildings and corridors).

[red]

hmm different cultures thing

When i went to Hong Kong, my son had a cold, and i remember a local man pointing and pulling a face to indicate my son (in forward facing pushchair so i had not noticed), had a snotty nose. Clearly it was disgusting enough to this man that despite no mutual language, it had to be pointed out.

however, we were in a fishing village, where they dry the fish to make fish sauce.. can you imagine what this place smelt like? and it was the rainy season, and there was sewerage on the paths.. and, the locals thought nothing of clearing a blocked nose by holding the other nostril closed with a finger and snorting the other one onto the path....!

I guess what is bad etiquette for one culture isn't to another.
Men peeing in garden etc, doesn't bother me at all, though lack of hand washing is a thought...

[grahamhobbs]

Even I was shocked when I first went to France, you could be talking to someone outside and they would simply turn round and start peeing. This was not a close chum but just anybody. You could be in their own garden, it wouldn't matter. In fact, I remember visiting a chateau, a semi-private one, and an old guy, who I assumed was the owner, stepped out from these french windows and just peed on the flower bed, in front of a load of visiting tourists.

[Millymollymandy]

In fact, I remember visiting a chateau, a semi-private one, and an old guy, who I assumed was the owner, stepped out from these french windows and just peed on the flower bed, in front of a load of visiting tourists.

Then perhaps it wasn't so bad for my neighbour to have a pee at a wedding reception, which was in the gardens of a chateau! I do wonder what people would think if we women just pulled our pants down and squatted down right there and then in front of them. However I'm not about to test that one out.

[red]

fairly common practice on boats.. French yachts often don't come with loos.. and yes, I've witnessed women hanging over the railing for a pee..

[pelmetman]

When we first got together we lived on a boat and had a loo, can't believe French boats don't.