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Hi elle
Not ferns especially, though we did see lots. Chalk grassland flowers in particular - brilliant, though we were a bit late for most of the orchids.

The fern expert was manning a fern display at Wisley on Sunday, so we spent the day there. It's ages since I was there last, and I was very impressed with the garden as it has developed.

Hello, Elle,
The whole thing about Lizzie stinks.
Why was her ban kept secret?
What kind of set up is she in that she can miss THREE tests?
I refuse to believe it is incompetence.
I was wondering why she was not racing.
Apparently, British Cycling has/had Dani King on standby to replace Lizzie.
I really do not see the point of her racing at Rio.
She is second favourite behind Anna van der Breggen to win.
What if Lizzie wins? (She has been winning all year)
Do we celebrate a gold?
Nicole Cooke missed one test in 14 years at the top.
The top French rider, Pauline Ferrand Prevot, has tweeted about Lizzie, "Just shameful".
I think I agree.

Hi, Rusty!
I'm sorry for the delay in answering.........I fell asleep!
(this freezer hunting is a tiring activity!)
Re Lizzie et al.....
You can join me in my disillusionment!
I am no longer looking forward to these Olympics!
They have become way too tainted!
I feel sorry for those competitors who (so far as we know) are still "clean", but these are apparently becoming fewer and fewer......
It is sad that we no longer know whom to trust or believe in.....especially sad for those team members who are genuinely "honest", as each of them will gradually become regarded with the same suspicion, the way things are going.......
What is the expression..."tarred with same brush"...... whether guilty or not?

Good morning, Elle!
Bit cooler today.
The Games are spoiled for me.
My highlight was to be the women's road race, cheering Lizzie.
No longer.
There is something not quite right in bringing in highly paid lawyers to argue the case of missing a dope test.
Emma Pooley was brought into the GB road team, specifically to help Lizzie win.
Wonder how Emma feels now, or team mate Nikki Harris?
There is a piece in today's paper that 6 GB athletes (don't know which sports) have missed two tests. Some of these athletes are in Rio.
And they call it sport!

Good morning Elle/Rusty,

I agree that the whole thing (re athletes/Rio) stinks - and I remain sure that the same applies to many other sports.

Why isn't there a rule by which if an athlete/sport competitor misses one test, he/she is automatically disqualified for that particular event, and if it occurs more than once then she has a ban? Surely that would be a deterrent?

Good morning, Pigale!
Some athletes (including Lizzie) say they are not tested often enough.
I hoped to hear what Lizzie's team (Boels Dolman) had to say, but nothing so far.
Lizzie is very intelligent and it is hard to imagine her missing tests by not paying attention, or forgetfulness.
The testing has to cover the thickest athletes too and I find it very difficult to swallow the reasons for missing them.
But, she has been cleared.
Other high profile athletes have missed tests in the past, including Mo Farah, Chris Froome, Mark Cavendish, but they certainly did not miss three!
I think Lizzie was fortunate.

If the police suspect you of drunk driving and you fail to blow into the machine or provide a blood test, you are deemed guilty. Seems fair enough to me. Perhaps one may be forgiveable if there is a good reason.
Why does someone want to run faster/jump higher/box harder than anyone else is quite beyond me. "Sport" seems to cause great injury (a lot unseen, to emerge as damaged joints later, splint fractures of leg bones etc), damage from drugs, other deliberate cheating (like that poor judo girl whose weighing machine had been doctored by a rival so she was too heavy for her class, even after having her long hair cut off, or motorised bikes). I suppose it's the great gods money and prestige.
And now I will duck.

Good morning, Rusty!
Warm and dry here today! A good early walk.
I honestly do not know what to think- or what action ought to have been taken against Lizzie?
She says she was guilty of "being naive".
I cannot accept that...no one in the current anti-drug climate could remain unaware of the implications of not responding to the very first drug test request.
Look how hard everyone came down on Maria.
Granted Lizzie has not been found positive....but could the delays have allowed time for a particular drug to "wear off"?
Now, changing the subject (but only slightly)........did you know that there is to be a first-ever Refugee Olympics Athletics team competing at Rio?
A team of "displaced" athletes forced to flee their homelands with (quote) "no home, no flag and no national anthem" will compete against the 200+ teams taking part in the Games.
They will be competing without representing a nation.
I didn't know this? although I suppose it isn't "recent" news?
I must now go and consult with Hill's Hoist........back shortly........

Good morning, Rosalind!
No need to duck!
We all have opinions on various things.
Makes the world go round, so they say!

Hello, Elle!
There was a Homeless World Cup for football held in Glasgow last month. In George Square.
It seemed to go very well.
Lizzie is anything but naive.
She is intelligent and very articulate.
Your point about drugs wearing off has much pertinence.
Hours can make a difference to the "glow" period in which drugs can be detected. That is why even if you are tested the next day after a "missed" test, the missed test still counts as a "miss".
The latest I have heard is that UKADA have asked CAS why one of Lizzies tests was overturned by them.
Even the thickest athletes who have only a notion of what two and two make, manage to comply with the test requirements.
No excuses for Lizzie. Three "misses"???!!!
I hope Dani King has her bag packed!

Remember, Ros, that you are arguing from the viewpoint of someone who absolutely detests sport!
Some of us enjoy it - if not all, then certain disciplines - and our concern is that the sport be kept "clean" for such athletes as want to compete as such , and so that we as spectators can enjoy the event in the spirit in which it SHOULD be played!
We want "fair play" and "justice" for all on a level playing field.
I for one would not like to see "sport" as such dismissed - I just want to see it well regulated.