Happy Hedgehogs

weeks old and will be independent by about eight weeks old.

Hibernation usually takes place between November and mid­March. The exact timings will depend on the weather and in mild years, hedgehogs have been active as late as December.

Hedgehogs will often wake up from hibernation and forage for food or move their nest site at least once, before they go back to sleep.

BALCONIES, terraces, and front and backyard gardens have one thing in common: space is scarce. Therefore, instead of large trees, lowmaintenance plants that cope well with confined spaces can be used.

To make it bloom richly in the dream garden, plant selection is based on factors such as soil conditions, location, amount of rainfall and the number of hours of sunlight that the plants receive.

On a shady north­facing balcony, plants that are sun­worshippers will weaken. The same is true if ferns, ivy or funkias are to grow in a southfacing bed.

The nest they build to hibernate in is called a hibernaculum, which helps to keep them warm when their body temperature drops during hibernation.

Balcony gardens

In concrete terms, this means that plant selection depends on how much sunlight the balcony or garden receives and its climatic region.

The structure of the soil ­ loamy or more sandy ­ and its pH are also decisive factors.

In addition, there is water. While bamboo has a high moisture requirement, evening primrose and oxeye like it rather dry.

It is therefore important to combine plants with similar water requirements and to irrigate according to the requirements in a resource­saving way.

to be many very funny and very clever comedians and comedy sketches. From the respectable Two Ronnies and the saucy Benny Hill to Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and from Monty Python to Spitting Image and the situation comedy of Fawlty Towers, they were very amusing. And we had unique stand­up comedians ranging from Bob Monkhouse to Les Dawson and from Spike Milligan to Jasper Carrott. And we should

Sally Underwood Political Animal

IT seems appropriate that in Parliament the alarm that goes off when a vote is called in the House of Commons is named the ‘division bell’.

From slanging matches at Prime Ministers Questions to battles on Question

Time, we know that politicians are normally divided on… well pretty much everything.

What we’re not so used to though is the public being quite so politically at odds with itself.

From old to young, rich to poor, Brexiteers to remainers, and pro to anti vaxxers (and don’t even get us started on the immigration issue), I can genuinely say I’ve never seen us this… divided.

Apart from being simply wearing though, history tells us that internal fighting is an ultimately fruitless task.

Surely then the answer is something we can all get behind. A new national holiday (I suggest something both heartwarming

Recently, a sitcom from the 70s ‘Rising Damp’ may be edited to be rerun for modern audiences on the grounds of racial slurs. Likewise a proposed resuscitation of Fawlty Towers is to be scrutinised for gratuitous violence (against Manuel)!

If shown again unedited, it would be an interesting test of how far we have come ­ up or down ­ since the 70s.

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