Blue Peter Hat

There is a very famous UK children's programme called Blue Peter. I haven't seen it for years, as my children are all growed up, but I grew up on Blue Peter and so did they. It's sort of a kids' magazine programme, very informative, animal friendly, with outgoing presenters and ways of getting children involved and interested in what's going on. One of the things BP was always famous for was the 'makes'.

Blue Peter presenters would show you how to make a dolls house out of shoeboxes and pipe cleaners, or a jungle from old tights and egg cartons. Those makes were great for recycling before recycling was thought of. No BP home ever threw out an empty washing up liquid bottle. My sister and I fought for those bottles. With one of those, an egg box, your old Christmas cards and some sticky-back plastic you could build your own internal combustion engine. When Thunderbirds was huge, BP showed the nation how to build Tracy Island out of papier mache.

After the previous post, I thought about Apple's hat with the bluebells, and I had the best idea ever. It out-Blue-Peters Blue Peter. It's Grow Your Own Hat. Plan well ahead, because it will take time to grow. To start with you need a wide brimmed hat, but you can buy these very cheaply from charity shops. Line the brim with old supermarket plastic carrier bags. Fill with compost, or you can just use soil out of the garden. If there are worms in it, all the better.

Plan your colour scheme and remember to be seasonal. Do you want an Easter bonnet or a hat for summer weddings? For Easter, plant primulas, daffodils and muscari. Nasturtiums are easy to grow and make a beautiful trailing effect, or you could train a honeysuckle or clematis over the crown. Cherry tomatoes are most effective and you've always got something to snack on. Remember to water your hat. And if you go out on a rainy day, no problem.