A few weeks ago on Gardeners' World it was announced that Monty Don would not be presenting for six weeks. Carol Klein took over, ably assisted by Joe Swift, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one to wonder what the reason for Monty's absence was.
Well, I was sad to read that he suffered a minor stroke and has stood down from presenting, it would seem permanently. I am sorry to hear this - it was a bolt out of the blue for us viewers so I should think even more of a horrible shock for Monty and his family. I wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.
Of course, this leaves the producers with the need to choose a new lead presenter, and sadly this is not the first time they've had to suddenly find a new presenter. Twelve years ago Geoff Hamilton died suddenly. That was very sad too - even though I was only 16 (and I gather on a Friday night I should have been out on a street corner sniffing glue and knocking back a two litre bottle of White Lightning) I loved watching Gardeners' World, and Geoff first got me interested in gardening, in tandem with my own grandfather and his prize-winning rose garden (and the sweet peas, and the ponds, and the kitchen garden over the road, and the tennis court, and the field of rabid, man-eating geese).
So for me, there's only one person who can take on such a role - the woman who, along with her doppelganger, my own mother, has reawakened my enthusiasm for gardening. The presenter who makes me smile back at her, who makes me think that maybe I can grow vegetables and that they won't taste like poo, that I can put all my lovely exotic plants in containers, that I can take cuttings and propagate them and have hundreds of new plants ready to give away to friends.
Carol Klein gets my vote. She is friendly, down to earth, loves the plants with every fibre of her being, and has something in her personality that makes one want to get out of the armchair and go and plant something. Just like Geoff Hamilton did. And that has to be the most important quality in a gardening presenter!
PS - Chelsea was awesome. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow but thought this was more important.
Well, I was sad to read that he suffered a minor stroke and has stood down from presenting, it would seem permanently. I am sorry to hear this - it was a bolt out of the blue for us viewers so I should think even more of a horrible shock for Monty and his family. I wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.
Of course, this leaves the producers with the need to choose a new lead presenter, and sadly this is not the first time they've had to suddenly find a new presenter. Twelve years ago Geoff Hamilton died suddenly. That was very sad too - even though I was only 16 (and I gather on a Friday night I should have been out on a street corner sniffing glue and knocking back a two litre bottle of White Lightning) I loved watching Gardeners' World, and Geoff first got me interested in gardening, in tandem with my own grandfather and his prize-winning rose garden (and the sweet peas, and the ponds, and the kitchen garden over the road, and the tennis court, and the field of rabid, man-eating geese).
So for me, there's only one person who can take on such a role - the woman who, along with her doppelganger, my own mother, has reawakened my enthusiasm for gardening. The presenter who makes me smile back at her, who makes me think that maybe I can grow vegetables and that they won't taste like poo, that I can put all my lovely exotic plants in containers, that I can take cuttings and propagate them and have hundreds of new plants ready to give away to friends.
Carol Klein gets my vote. She is friendly, down to earth, loves the plants with every fibre of her being, and has something in her personality that makes one want to get out of the armchair and go and plant something. Just like Geoff Hamilton did. And that has to be the most important quality in a gardening presenter!
PS - Chelsea was awesome. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow but thought this was more important.
0 comments:
Post a Comment