Apart from mentions of Stonehenge at solstice time, we think this is a first for Weeds! Here are some brilliant photographs from Rich up in the Lake District of a stone circle very local to him called Castlerigg. More on the stone circle hereand here. This looks like a brilliant place. Cheers Rich!
Any of our readers got any good standing stone pictures? Or have one around the corner from where they live. If so, send them over to one deck pete at gee mail dot come and we’re post them up.
More pics and info of Castlerigg on Julian Cope’s Modern Antiquarian here.
Want to see the Sun rise over the heel stone at 04.52 am tomorrow and enjoy some true solstice vibes from the comfort of your own home/bed?
Feeling a bit too long in the tooth for standing in the cold all night, and listening to the sound of early morning drumming workshops with no sleep is not the aural delight it used to be? Tune into the above youtube for some genuine solstice vibes piped to you via the internet. Put on your best Stonehenge slippers, have some tea and toast ready and watch that magic moment when the sun rises.
A Happy Solstice to you all, whatever time it is where you are and wherever you’ll be celebrating the solstice.
We love the stories of the good old days when Ken Barlow used to turn up at a Stonehenge solstice and you could sit on top of the stones and watch whilst Hawkwind played “Silver Machine” as the sun came up. All for Free! Unfortunately we didn’t go to any of the festivals there but attempted it once and missed it by one day. The convoy was driving off when we got there.
Big up Wally Hope by the way, organiser of the Stonehenge Festival. Without him there would be no Crass and without Crass there would be no Crass-like Anarchic seed sowing method that we use.
Here’s the fourth episode in the Downbeat on Shortwave series with Jesse Yuen and One Deck Pete that was broadcast this weekend on Imaginary Stations via Shortwave Gold.
Jesse and Pete bring you two 15-minute downtempo mixes each over the hour-long show. We’ve posted up two recordings, the above the clean studio version. The recorded off the radio, mono version complete with atmospheric sounds literally, is below. Enjoy the tunes!
Jesse Yuen Mix 1 Stress Assassin – Me We Pugilist – introspect Ft. Tamen Drug Free America – Baby Doll and the Dolphin Burger (video edit)
One Deck Pete Mix 1 Deadbeats – Got it going on (Space Hopper original) Stereo Total Vs Mad Professor – Das erste Mal dub trip 2 Transglobal Underground – Templehead – Burundi Beat mix Madtone – It is AI but WE created it
Jesse Yuen Mix 2 Leslie Winer – King of sleep 99 Cents – Adrenalin Spaceboy (Dub Boy Extended mix)
One Deck Pete Mix 2 変化への恐れ – Shinogi シノギ Mad Professor – Boombox version 2 Kuna – Decade Dub Space To Crash – Holding Hands
This weekend Imaginary Stations bring you the fourth episode in the Downbeat on Shortwave series with Jesse Yuen (from Perth, Australia) and One Deck Pete (from Catford Village, Londres).
Jesse and Pete bring you two 15-minute downtempo mixes each over the hour-long show. Expect some ambient, dub, reggae and downtempo tunes for a chilled-out weekend.
The show is broadcast on Saturday 13th June at 1100 hrs UTC (12 noon in the UK) on 6160 kHz and then again on Sunday 14th June at 1300 hrs UTC (2pm in the UK) on 6160 kHz and 2000 hrs UTC (9pm in the UK) on 3975 kHz/6160 kHz. Thanks to the great Shortwave Gold for beaming those radio waves skywards.
Don’t worry if you haven’t a shortwave radio you can tune in via an online Software Defined Radio here (pre-tuned into 6160 kHz). Just plug in at the right time(s) and experience that shortwave mono sound with all the fading and cross channel interference live.
Here’s the older shows for your listening pleasure!
Here’s a few pictures from around the Weeds HQ garden.
We’ve had the above for a few years now and it pops up every year in the wild bit at the bottom of the garden. It’s quaking grass and we’re not sure who we got it off, but it was off a gardening mate somewhere (if it’s you, do remind us!) from 2023. It’s only small but it’s interesting stuff. Original post here.
The above is also in the wild part of the garden. Nigella or love in a mist is a great plant and as soon as the seed pods are ready, it’s a seed to chuck around the garden in an anarchic Crass-like sowing style. You’ll get results and it’s a great plant to cover a large area.
One of the great poppies that are just popping up all around the garden. They can seed where-ever they want in our garden, as we love them so much.
And finally, the mad plant that is the teasel. Bought off the internet (post here) and then moved from its original location. The wind blew it over last week and we’ve staked it up but before we did, it tried to straighten itself up hence the mad angles. Unless they always are like that!
Let’s hope the weather is better where you are tomorrow and you can get out in the garden!
Great to hear from Debby H in north London this morning, she sent us pictures of her phormium tenax before she goes away for a while and here’s the how the flowers are developing.
She also sent us pictures of her Peonies (below), as she said “Not so many flowers this year but still pretty!” They look great Debby, hope all’s good with you and ta for the pictures.
We’ve a couple of weeks off work so we’re trying to get some jobs done around the garden, weather permitting. The first job was done on Monday, which was getting rid of a load of roots of a climber that had taken over a large Belfast sink. Once they were taken out and transferred by a B&Q quid bucket to the wild area at the bottom of the garden, the massive sink was moved by hand using some bits of wood, a garden fork and spade.
The sink is now in its new position and we’re using all the space to the maximum. It now contains three tomato plants (complete with canes found in the street), a couple of Defender marigolds and some freshly sowed free herb seeds (thanks to Penny Golightly for the marigolds and passing on the information of the free seeds from the Wildlife Trust as part of their 30 Days Wild initiative. By the way, the offer is still on here.)
And now after years of not doing so, we are finally getting to realise that taking cuttings isn’t that hard, all you have to do is keep your fingers crossed that they take. Here’s some cat mint (nepeta)that has now taken and even flowering.
This evening going to hit the sack early as we’re off to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show tomorrow, we’ve never been before and have no idea what to expect. We’ll be bringing you a report as soon as we can. We’ll be the ones walking around the site with the large framed rucksack on our backs.
Cheers to Spike from Morschen43 in Le Puy-en-Velay, France for sending over these great gardening ideas. We love the use of tiles as frost protection (above and below), an old trick learned off his grandfather. All you do is leave the tiles in sun all day beside the plant and in the late afternoon before the sun sets, put them over the plant for some great protection from the cold.
And another great idea, using a part of an old staircase to put window boxes on. Picture below of Annette and human. Great stuff Spike, some useful ideas here!
Cheers to Gerry Hectic also in Dorset for sending us a picture of his potato plants, he said “think I might have got a bit enthusiastic about the spuds, I’ve some in an old water butt and a big plastic pot; got a bean growing up the fence too!”. We think they look great Gerry, you can never have enough potatoes!
Cheers to Alan in South East Dorset for getting in touch last week and sending us a report of his allotment activities. We initially heard from him last year when he passed on that valuable tip about adding some home-made compost to peat-free compost “to help germination and early growth”. As he added when he reminded us “I still mix in garden compost and the growth of seedlings this year have been mostly excellent, much better than previously.” We’re with you on that Alan, we now use it all the time.
He kindly sent us a couple of pictures of the spuds (a variety called Lady Christl, first earlies) doing well in tubs (24 of them in total!) The reason he puts them in tubs is “having learnt my lesson that you can never dig up all of them if they are in the ground and end with volunteers everywhere the following year.” That is so true, no matter how careful you are with taking potatoes out, they’ll always be one sneakily left in.
“I hadn’t heard of the variety before last year, but it gives really good new potatoes. Personally, I don’t bother with other types, but first earlies are really much nicer fresh from the ground.” “We don’t store them, just tip out a tub the day that we intend to eat them.” Brilliant, you can’t beat the taste of freshly pulled-up potatoes.
“You will also see behind them my polytunnel, which has tomatoes, cucumbers,
aubergines and peppers all coming on in small pots. Potted up a few
tomatoes this morning into tubs. Also, a few purple beans, peas, beetroot
and dahlias in there too.” “There is also my fruit cage (still a work-in-progress) with 2 grapevines and some blueberries in the large red-brown tubs.”
And finally, he sent us this great tune by Dub Syndicate featuring the late great Lee Scratch Perry with the dub master Adrian Sherwood at the controls. Brilliant, cheers for sending the report Alan and do keep us updated as the season keeps on and send us more tunes too.
Here’s a few pictures from around the Weeds HQ garden.
One of the great poppies that are just popping up all around the garden. They can seed where-ever they want in our garden, as we love them so much.
And finally, the mad plant that is the 
Cheers to Spike from 
“You will also see behind them my polytunnel, which has tomatoes, cucumbers,
Weeds up to me knees 