Kitchen Garden Forum

Having watched the first two programs of this years Springwatch, I have to say how good it was, not to have to suffer Bill Oddie's strange antics. The whole of the last two series were entirely spoiled for me, by Bills' increasingly risque remarks/flirting with Kate and general weirdo behaviour. He really irritated me. I eventually stopped watching last years series due to not being able to bear to see him making such an idiot of himself. Chris Packham is just what the program needed and he is soooo much easier on the eye than Bill Oddie!! Mmmm very nice! It is great to be able to concentrate on the wildlife and listen to well presented information,( without dreading what was coming next) with just the right amount of humorous banter between the presenters. I understand that Bill is unwell and hope he makes a good recovery. He is a brilliant birdwatcher and very knowledgeable but I hope the powers that be,keep the new line up. Cheers.

Thanks for reminding us Springwatch is back on - especially without Bill Oddie.

I must say I'd stopped watching it because he was so irritating, but do I pick up a little sexism in your message Elaine?

Same here. I can watch it now that Bill's not on. He drives me mad! He was even horrid when on Saturday Kitchen with the sainted James. How dare he.

I thought it was just me; I have always found Bill Oddie exceedingly tiresome and irritating and that was when he was in the Goodies. One must question the minds of the producers and directors of the BBC if they think people find Oddie's banal witterings as appropriate when fronting an otherwise interesting show.

As a naturalist maybe Bill has much to be proud of but presenting Springwatch in his childish, ridiculous, tasteless manner is something he should be thoroughly ashamed of.

Harsh but fair.

Barney

Hi Plumpudding. Sexism?? If you mean, do I think Chris Packham is definitely a hunk.....then yes! Guilty as charged! Cheers!

But why does he look so like Michael Portillo

Probably a bit of in-breeding been going on over the years.

Morning Johnboy, i always think of you when they are filming the Badgers.

Wasn't all bad - showed badgers killing rabbits!

Hi Alan.....Michael Portillo indeed......absolutely not! couldn't you have posted a picture of Chris????? Cheers.

Elain

Just for you



...and the other one

>drooooooooool<
Thankyou dear Alan, for that pic of Chris. Saying nowt about t'other one........

I can never make up my mind what the target audience for Springwatch is supposed to be - children or adults. Sometimes it is so banal and at one point I feared that Chris Packam is trying to be a younger version of Bill Oddie although thankfully his quips are far less outrageous. I would welcome a little more gravitas to the programme. It's still a little like watching Blue Peter.

I think the presenters are still trying to emulate Johnny Morris, personifying all the creatures with silly voices.

One thing I couldn't believe was someone who said there weren't any slugs about this year. I've had four slug hunts this year and caught bucket fulls. This week after the programme I got 938 slugs and snails in an hour and a half and last night I caught 408 before I got fed up and left them to it. The garden has lots of hedgehogs and frogs and song thrushes etc, so they aren't doing a very good job, although they would probably find the golf ball sized snails and 9 inch slugs a bit of a challenge.

Out of all the slugs I've caught this week not one was a leopard slug. There were numerous other varieties, but no nice stripey ones which shows how things change as they were the predominant kind when I was a little girl. Dad told me they were the good slugs because they didn't usually eat seedlings.