Writer and comedian Sandi Toksvig was invited to officially open the Bramshott Open Gardens (BOG) weekend. BOG runs every two years and the best of the village's gardens are on display for everyone to see. All proceeds go to local charities and causes.
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00:00Welcome here for once again the Open Gardens, a noble event that good causes benefit from.
00:07So, now we have sunshine, let us open the event.
00:11Would you please pray silence for Miss Sandy Toxford.
00:20I mean I'm up here, I'm never getting down again.
00:24Less of a stage, more of a Sandy extender.
00:26Thank you very much. How lovely. I have to tell you I come here as a garden enthusiast,
00:33but also as your neighbour. So today is a day of celebration, I woke up this morning pouring with
00:36rain. I thought, oh no, what are we going to do? But you know what I thought, I thought we
00:40will dance today. If it rains, shall we just dance in the rain? Do you not think this is to celebrate?
00:44And actually the rain made me feel good, because this is the reason why we don't live in a city,
00:48we live out here, breathing this fresh and clean air. And apparently, I don't know if you know,
00:54this is one of my sort of QI facts, we burn more calories in the rain.
00:59I know, I know, this is a good reason to have a cream tea, I think.
01:06But also, I'm obsessed with the English language, and today we can bask in something called
01:11petrichor. And petrichor is just one of the great, we have a word for everything in Britain,
01:17Dacipygle is a medical condition of having hairy buttocks, so there's a word for everything.
01:24Petrichor is a word, it's derived from the ancient Greek, it combines the word
01:27rockpetra and ichor, which was the sort of ethereal fluid, the blood, if you like,
01:31of the ancient gods of Greece. And it's used to describe that unique smell, which if we all take
01:37a big breath in now, we can smell it, it's that unique smell that rain brings when it hits the
01:42earth. And what it does, it's a combination of the chemicals that are released from the good
01:46bacteria in the soil, the oil in the plants, and the specific mix of ozone that we get when it
01:53rains. And this heaven-scent smell soothes the mind and makes us all feel good. So I am thrilled
02:01to be out, even in the rain. I am so impressed by what's happening here. I'm so impressed by
02:06all the money that is raised, by the community spirit, by the fact that money will go to cancer
02:12care, to palliative care, to the Lip Hook food bank, to education, and also, can I say, absolutely
02:18obsessed with the Bramshott Sunken Lanes project. Now, yes, I think this is a marvellous thing.
02:24Can I just say that I know that you get professional tree surgeons out to help trim and so on. I am
02:29currently, a lot of us are, currently rewilding 40 acres of ancient woodland in Greyshott,
02:35and every time I called out the people to come and do this, it cost 500 pounds,
02:38so I went on a chainsaw course. If you need me,
02:46I have discovered a passion for chainsawing. I absolutely love it, and I love the regeneration
02:52that you see when the light suddenly comes down through the trees. I'm free. That's the other
02:58thing, completely free. I won't charge you a penny, although I do like a cream tea.
03:02I think this is wonderful. I think you should be proud. I think this is the best of Britain,
03:07to get together like this and enjoy the gardens, but also to make new friends,
03:12and that's what I'm doing today. Please come and say hi. I'm absolutely delighted to have
03:17been asked and delighted to declare officially. Oh, it's our poet. You're our poet, aren't you?
03:25What would you like me to do? Yes, tell me. I shall cut the ribbon and declare things
03:28officially open, and then I need 12 people to get me down.
03:33Right, are we ready? We have to do a big cheer when it's done. Okay,
03:36officially declare Bramshott Open Gardens Day open!
03:49What, have you signed it?
03:52Angela, this is thrilling. Everybody should get a copy of this. I think it's five pounds,
03:55is that right? And the money will also, some of the money will go, it's all going to charity.
03:59Our poet laureate, our London poet laureate. Fiona, Fiona comes up here. Wait, we're doing
04:08a handover. You all right? I know, right? I'm going to just stand here and pretend I can get
04:13down. Tell everyone how wonderful these postcards are. Okay, these postcards are wonderful.
04:21Yes, these have all been designed by both Michael Furl in the village, basically.
04:28Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I'm here to help. I know. So yes, these postcards are for sale on
04:33the plant set, on the plant stall, and they are absolutely beautiful, and they've all been made
04:38by people in the village, and we think they're rather stunning. So please do buy those. You've
04:45already done a wonderful sale for Angela's poems, so those are for sale. They will be here, I think.
04:54You're going to stand on stage as well. And also they are for sale as well on the ticket
04:59tent. Hopefully most of you have got your tickets already, but please head over to the
05:03ticket tent if you haven't. We've got a barbecue over here, we've got a bar, we have the wonderful
05:07tea tent full of lovely, lovely cakes, cream teas included, I'm sure. We have a tombola,
05:13we have a lego mosaic where you can help us build a wonderful lego picture of Bramshott,
05:19which we're very happy about. Now what have I forgotten? The beekeeper Brad is over here next
05:24to the plant. He is selling local honey, but he will also give you a lovely demonstration and
05:29discussion of bees, which is fantastic. In the church we have a wonderful flower display,
05:36which you've seen already, haven't you? Very nice. And also the scroll of remembrances in there,
05:41and oh, and there are also gnomes hidden in some of the gardens. If you manage to find them all...
05:52Wow, it's a really strange way to tell me. It sounds like my whole family's here.
06:01And if you find all the gnomes, you can get applied at the ticket tent. Have I forgotten
06:07anything? I think we've covered everything. So in the programme, it's a map, all the gardens are
06:16marked on there, the toilets are marked on there. If you need first aid, which hopefully you won't,
06:21there's a first aid kit on the bar. So yeah, I think that's it. Have fun.