If you didn't get to see Elmer the Patchwork Elephant at the library you can at least appreciate the change of weather which has provided such a relief this week-end. Radstock in the spring, providing the weather is temperate, is arguably the best time of the year to enjoy the town and its environs.

On the foraging front, ransoms and St George's mushrooms have come and gone but, in my garden the globe artichokes have emerged phoenix-like after those very late frosts.

Someone gave me the other sort, Jerusalem artichokes, which I planted and already they are pushing through healthy shoots. 'Jerusalem' is a corruption of the Latin 'giri sole' meaning 'turning towards the sun.' Along with their cousin the sunflower the blooms can be observed over the summer before the tubers are unearthed in September. Sweet tasting, they are better for you than potatoes, especially if you are diabetic.

It has been good to note how litter-free Radstock is at the moment. This is mainly due to the efforts of volunteers and the organisational skills of the Town Clerk and her team.

An aspect of this is what should be done about the pockets of land that have been allowed to overgrow and now support colonies of impenetrable brambles which threaten to invade neighbouring gardens.

Some infestations are historic- repeated but failed applications for planning permission being the usual cause. Others because the landowner cannot be traced. However, it is possible to involve the enforcement department at Bathnes: Planning & Enforcement Office Development Management Bath & North East Somerset Council

No-one should have to live with brambles for neighbours and it is good to know that redress through the Local authority is possible.

Rupert Bevan