Gardenamateur

LATEST ARTICLES ( 569 )

• Big Wheels at the Conference

  

  Hot on the heels of my big Russian Zil III Limousine which I recently blogged about here, an even longer limousine, the Mercedes 600 Pullman, has taken up... Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• MG Magnette

  

  I was always going to have an MG Magnette in my collection, just because I liked them and more importantly knew some people who owned them and loved them. Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Plugging the Gaps

  

  Well, hello everyone. I've been away from blogging about gardens for a month and a day, although I don't think anyone actually noticed. Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Sorry, It Has to Be THAT Colour

  

  Sometimes, with collecting diecast cars, I'm not too fussy about colours, other times I am a fanatic. This post is about collecting down the 'fanatic' end of th... Read more

  Posted on 16 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Vincent Black Shadow

  

  As well as mostly collecting diecast cars, I have a small collection of assorted motorcycles, most of them in 1:24 scale, and one of my favourite models is... Read more

  Posted on 15 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Swinging Sidecars

  

  Whoever whispered in my ear when I was much younger that: "It's better to regret the things you've done, than to end up regretting even more things that you... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Classic GP Cars at Reims

  

  If only this line-up of Classic GP cars, pictured outside the pits at the historic circuit at Reims, in France, were real. I'd like to be there to hear each... Read more

  Posted on 11 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Horsing Around with Jaguars

  

  That old saying about watching out for getting "more than you bargained for" happened to me the other week, but in a good way. Read more

  Posted on 10 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• To the Kremlin, Boris

  

  The Zil 111, or if you read Russian, ЗИЛ-111. If you were a Politburo member or a very senior official in the KGB, you'd be pleased to see one, as it's... Read more

  Posted on 09 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Life's a Picnic

  

  Car buyers don't buy cabriolets and convertibles to commute to work in. They buy them to have fun in, on sunny days. They'e optimists' cars. Read more

  Posted on 05 February 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Little Italians

  

  If you think your city has parking problems, wait till you visit Rome. So it doesn't need a lot of imagination to answer the question: why do the Italians make... Read more

  Posted on 31 January 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• The Grocer's Son

  

  Lots of diecast model collectors have probably watched a movie and noticed some kind of car that pokes the little devil inside them who says "I want one of... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• The Old Family Car

  

  Most diecast car collectors have a little bit of personal history in their cabinets, and I'm no exception. One car that ended up being quite hard to find and... Read more

  Posted on 26 January 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Wind in Your Hair

  

  If you want that four-wheeled blend of carefree freedom and style, you can't beat a convertible with its top down. I've always been very attracted to these... Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2011 MOTO, SPORTS

• Tall, Dark and Handsome

  

  My latest cunning plan occurred to me many years ago, and it only came to fruition last Wednesday. Patience rewards those who wait. Read more

  Posted on 18 January 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Too Much Basil

  

  It was just one lousy punnet of the stuff I bought, about three bucks' worth of laziness. And now I've got an almighty great glut of basil to deal with. In... Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• Holiday Snapz

  

  I'm not sure what the official definition of a holiday is. One possible one is that if you're not sleeping in your usual bed, but you've got your usual partner... Read more

  Posted on 09 January 2011 GARDENING, HOME

• 2010 - the Best of

  

  Well, this is going to be my last posting for 2010, and so as a way of signing off for the year, I thought I'd hand out some 'Best Of The Year' type awards for... Read more

  Posted on 17 December 2010 GARDENING, HOME

• The Things You Bring Home Sometimes

  

  There's something about going to garden shows which a visit to a local nursery can never quite match. For one thing I love the crowds of people at a garden show. Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2010 GARDENING, HOME

• Lebanese Eggplants

  

  "That's a nice plant to grow in the garden just for its own sake. I think I might do a painting of that one," said my wife Pam this morning. Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2010 GARDENING, HOME