Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Enjoyed this in the Telegraph today Daniel Hannan quoting Bernard Levin - If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger; if your wish is father to the thought; if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradi...

Joke of the year award: give your verdict - Telegraph “Conjunctivitis.com – that’s a site for sore eyes” – Tim Vine's joke saw off competition from acts including Jimmy Carr and Paul Daniels, the magician.

The National Botanic Garden of Wales has earned another top accolade from a leading garden expert. Tony Russell, writing in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph, has ranked the Carmarthenshire attraction among his top “five best winter gardens in the UK”. He says: “The Great Glasshouse is the perfect place for a midwinter garden outing and offers some exotic escapism from the worst of the weather.” Tony goes on to sing the praises of the Tropical House “bursting at the seams with palms, pineapples, coconuts and orchids” and also gives an honourable mention to the lakes, streams and walks “through the magnificent Regency water park”. The Garden’s head of marketing David Hardy said: “You could be forgiven for thinking that gardens are dormant at this time of year but there’s loads going on here, under glass in the Great Glasshouse particularly and the Tropical House but we also have a fabulous exhibition in the Gallery, another in the restaurant; the witch hazels will be out soon and the magnolia ...