Of the loss of a bonk-buster queen, floral vibrators, a radio legend, reincarnated Daleks, snake oil, a cuddly rat and wife-carrying

I'm very sad to discover that the very lovely Lauren Henderson aka "Rebecca Chance", doyenne of the "bonk-buster", Polari stalwart, raconteur and very funny lady has departed for Fabulon, aged just 59. A great loss. RIP.

It's another snippets post, dear reader:

• Catch that buzz news: Attendees at this year's Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show (from 19th to 23rd May) may be in for a double shock - there will be a sex-themed garden on show sponsored by a company that sells vibrators(!) and the "ban on garden gnomes" has been lifted. Not sure which is going to cause the most uproar amongst the blue-rinse brigade!
• Another sad departure news: The utterly faboo Liza Tarbuck, host of our absolute favourite Radio 2 show every Saturday, is leaving after 14 years at the helm. Nobody understands quite why, least of all Michael Hogan in The Telegraph, who wrote:

  The funniest show on British radio is no more. News that the unfailingly hilarious Liza Tarbuck has left her Saturday evening programme on Radio 2 after 14 glorious years has left listeners distraught and colleagues stunned. The talent exodus from BBC radio in recent years has been worrying enough. Tarbuck’s exit represents another nail in the coffin... there remains an air of mystery around the reasons for Tarbuck’s typically unconventional departure, which seems to have blind-sided bosses. Had the 61-year-old broadcaster fallen foul of BBC management? Are rumblings of ageism relevant? Does that enigmatic line, “imagine what else we could do”, tease a surprise new chapter for this maverick talent? There are few clues at this stage.

  ... Since 2012, Tarbuck’s joyous blend of eclectic songs and freewheeling chat sound-tracked listeners’ Saturday sundowners, supper-making or domestic pottering... So how did a weekly gossip session, helmed by a self-effacing midlife woman, become appointment listening for so many? It was all down to the riotous brand of mayhem and mirth that Tarbuck created. It’s not hyperbole to describe her as one of our last radio geniuses. This is why her loss to the national airwaves is so deeply sad. If the Corporation can’t retain such one-off broadcasters, we all suffer.

• Exterminate!? - not quite - news: Two lost episodes of Doctor Who featuring old foes the Daleks, unseen since airing in the 1960s have been discovered in a cardboard box belonging to a deceased film aficionado - and one of the co-stars (alongside the First Doctor William Hartnell) of that early series, the [gulp!] 87-year-old Peter Purves was treated to a surprise showing at the premiere of the restored archives at a cinema in Leicester, where they were found. Regeneration, indeed.
• Snake oil news: Want to lose weight? Try ingesting extract of python! There's no mention of side-effects. A sudden craving for live mice, perhaps?
• G'Day, Possum! news: A real, live possum startled shop staff when they discovered it hiding amongst the stuffed toys on display at the main airport in Tasmania, Australia. Beats bloody Labubu dolls, hands down!
• And finally: A Finnish couple won a barrel of local ale after finishing first in the the annual UK Wife Carrying Race! I said Dorking was a strange place...

And the weather? Bloody lovely - just in time for the Spring Equinox tomorrow!