Everyone who has watched or met Peter Cundall has to admire his infectious enthusiasm for life. The former self taught gardener and self confessed juvenile delinquent from Manchester, soldier, prisoner of war, television broadcaster and communist candidate for parliament and current radio broadcaster, environmental campaigner and gardening guru is not planning to slow down. He is the forefront of the campaign against the Gunns Paper Mill in Tasmania.
"The sheer pleasure of gardening I regard as one of the magnificent luxuries. To be able to sit in the garden, or on your arse looking at it, it's one of the great joys of life."
For Cundall, the real enjoyment in gardening is building it up and watching it develop. "A lot of people are now finding this out and wanting to develop their own gardens and also to grow their own fruit and vegetables."
In postwar Britain, Cundall grew them to feed his family. Now people are more aware of what they're eating and the methods used to create the produce so they're going organic - the only way to garden, he says. Not only is the produce more tasty, but it's better for you.
"Vegetables straight from the ground that have been organically grown - that is with no chemicals or sprays - are fantastic. What you're tasting is not just the flavour but the vitamins and minerals that your body is crying out for. People are discovering the way things should taste."
As well as being a healthy stress reliever, gardening is also a great leveller, according to Cundall, and he wishes it could bridge the gap between politicians of different persuasions to solve the world's ills.
"Imagine if Hitler had done a bit of gardening, things might have turned out differently."
Parliament, he says, is a cesspit, and only a few can go through without being contaminated.
His long term plan?
When I eventually die, I suppose it has to happen, they can shove me into the nearest compost bin where I can at least keep on working. Or cart my corpse in the back of an old ute to the nearest university.
What a great guy. Down to earth and very grounded.
And thats your bloomin lot.
