Aldi Specialbuys update as change coming to every store today
Our website is temporarily delivering an degraded response in your location. We are working hard to get it back online.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Edinburgh Live
29 minutes ago
- Edinburgh Live
Big Brother's only surviving couple who married 16 years ago and share 4 kids
Oops. Our website is temporarily delivering an degraded response in your location. We are working hard to get it back online.
Daily Mirror
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Alan Titchmarsh names 'the only thing that worked for me' in keeping slugs out of garden
Waking up to find your salad crop decimated by slugs and snails is a soul-destroying experience for gardeners, but Love Your Weekend star Alan Titchmarsh has the answer Slugs and snails are the bane of every gardener 's life, especially those who work hard on growing nutritious, tasty-leafed plants such as hostas, dahlias, and delphiniums. The slimy creatures have numerous natural predators, such as thrushes, blackbirds, and starlings, as well as frogs, slow worms, and hedgehogs. But nature doesn't quite do enough to keep the slippery customers down, and gardeners have tried a myriad of solutions to keep them away from their vegetable patches. Some have tried beer-traps, which are fairly effective but entail a grisly clearing-out job every couple of days. Alan Titchmarsh has listed a number of other slug-taming tactics that people have attempted over the years, and he has ruled out a chemical solution. "Like most gardeners,' he told Country Life, 'I have tried just about every slug control known to man. I long ago stopped using metaldehyde-based slug pellets, which left the pests writhing in agony and the birds and the ever-rarer hedgehog facing a poisoned diet.' He also dismisses many of the tried-and-trusted folk remedies such as crushed eggshells, holly leaves, sharp grit, gravel and sheep's wool as 'unreliable'. These methods are believed to deter snails and slugs, as they would be uncomfortable to travel across. He added: 'I do not drink enough Colombian or Arabica to carpet my hosta border in coffee grounds and, anyway, I'm not wild about imbuing my garden with an aroma redolent of Starbucks.' Instead, Alan swears by the copper rings that can be planted around a vulnerable plant, or can be bought as an adhesive tape to protect plant pots: 'They are reputed (if kept clean) to impart a kind of electric shock to any slug or snail attempting to scale their dizzying height,' he says. When slugs or snails try to slither across the copper, their mucus reacts with the metal, causing a mild electric shock. This unpleasant sensation deters them from crossing, encouraging them to turn back and find another route. Alan adds that slugs and snails can sometimes get around the copper barrier, if you plant your plants too close together: 'Avoid placing potted hostas where their leaves can touch a nearby box bush, where snails love to shelter,' he warns. 'At night, they'll hop across the divide and gorge themselves before returning to their customary dorm for their daytime sleep.' He notes that, even among hostas, some varieties seem to be less vulnerable to slug attack than others: 'I was thrilled to have a hosta named for me a few years ago,' he said. ''Alan Titchmarsh' is a variety with rich green leaves that have a creamy yellow streak right down the centre. 'I try not to imagine that it is in any way a reflection of my character. It is, I have noticed, rarely attacked by slugs and snails. Perhaps they have some respect for the gardener after all.'
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ceremony to remember Isle of Man Burma Star veterans
People are being encouraged to join a special service to remember those who fought in East Asia during World War Two, as part of commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of VJ (Victory over Japan) ceremony, at 15:00 BST in the Arboretum in St John's, will see 103-year-old James Fenton - the last surviving Burma Star veteran living on the Isle of Man - lay a wreath at the Burma Campaign was a series of battles fought between December 1941 and September 1945, concluding after the surrender of Japan to the Allied Sheila Healey said it was important to remember the "very brave men" who fought in what was often referred to as a "forgotten army". A former secretary of the Isle of Man Burma Star Association, which folded several years ago, Mrs Healey has continued to organise an annual memorial service, along with social events for the remaining the commemoration had "always been a quiet affair, with just the members and the families of the members of the Burma Star", it was felt there should be greater public awareness around the 80th anniversary, she said. For Mrs Healey the commemorations hold a personal connection because her uncle, Pt James Owen, from Bolton in Lancashire, was killed during the campaign, at the age of 22."He was one of those missing, believed killed, and never came back - so I was brought up with that [and] really, to respect the forgotten army, as they're called."My mum used to get all these letters out and read them to me, and show me his medals."Everyone, they always celebrate VE day - and then we tend to forget VJ, which is actually the end of the Second World War, because these men were still fighting out in the Far East against the Japanese." A ceremony featuring the standards of all the branches of the Royal British Legion on the island, will take place at the Burma Campaign memorial, which is positioned at the top end of the National Arboretum in St John's.A verse at the bottom of the memorial reads: 'When you go home/tell them of us and say/for your tomorrow/we gave our of the wreath-laying, the Lieutenant Governor will give an address, with the service concluding with refreshments in the Methodist Hall. Mrs Healey said, despite eight decades passing by since VJ Day, it remained vital to commemorate those who took part in the campaigns surrounding it."To me going back to how I was brought up, my mum instilling into me that we should never, ever forget these brave me that fought for us."I just think the bravery, the stories that they've told me, particularly the prisoners of war were horrendous stories, and I just don't think we should ever forget that."I still instil in the children that this war happened and we wouldn't be living like we are now but for these very, very brave men."And I just think we shouldn't forget them."Further commemorations will also be held across the island to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on Friday. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
