MNers who have made policywonk cry today:

[policywonk]

JeremyVile, Threadwworm, IorekByrnison, KayHarker, Swedes, Habbibu, Desiderata, MonkeyTrousers and OBM.

What a load of bitches bloody lovely women you are.

oooh the fuckers

Seriously, what a lovely thing to do. MN is brill isnt it?

I hope you are doing okay PW. x

Ah, yes ...a greek villa sounds good..

or cement them!

Is it likely they'll get knicked?

Sorry for your loss pw.

oh pw I'm sorry about your mum honey pir. Glad some lovely lasses have made such a gesture
sweethearts!

you put a heavy weight chain through the botom of the pot and concrete that into the ground

also put concrete in bottom of pot but leave drainage

worra lovely bunch of ladeez

glad they have made you feel better PW

aw, aren't they lovely? i'm very sorry to hear about your mum, PW, i didn't know.

Me neither, I'm so sorry PW.

best wishes (and yes they are a load of you know whats)!

Thank you all

It's funny, but condolences do actually make you feel better in a way, don't they?

Zippi, that sounds exactly the ticket, thank you. I'd have to work out how to put holes into our hardstanding though (or would I?)

Awww, see, they do have a warm cuddly side. Don't let it get out in public though, their hard image will be damaged for ever (esp that Desi and JV...)

So sorry to hear about your mum, PW, I hope the little trees will give you space to ponder each day...

Or, you could smear them in Vaseline PW...

That was supposed to be a rather than a

I didnt mean to inject levity here, and I wasnt suggesting you do things with Vaseline

I'm rubbish at condolences I think

and sorry how awful of me, i am sorry for your loss

Enjoy your trees

Sorry for your loss

Ah, that's lovely, PW.

May they thrive under your care

I like the Vaseline idea, although I suspect that the Great British Thief might find a way around it eventually.

Olive trees were a particularly appropriate choice, as there were few things Mam liked more than rocking up to a deserted Greek island (she insisted on arriving by boat). My brother chose the Cavafy poem 'Ithaca' to be read at her funeral.

you might have to give them some proetction in winter if it is at all exposed like a blanket

PW, i'm no expert, but, I think the sort who nick pots of plants outside houses are more the opportunist sort. If they stroll up, go to pick up a grease soaked pot that'll leave lovely paw prints everywhere and find the heavy thing too slippery to handle, they'll not bother.

That's my theory anyway!

Zippi - yes, the care card thing suggests gardener's fleece. I take it that this is not a fleece that has been worn by a gardener.

Really? How fab. The more I hear about her, the more cracking she sounds, pw. I do love "insisted on arriving by boat"!

are you gerald durrell's wee sister by any chance, PW?

Aitch - Greek wine? Are you sure? My mother insisted that she once found a corn (you know, a foot-corn) in a glass of retsina.

tuesday is my gardening hat day