ON a balmy evening last Wednesday, Trish and I enjoyed a barn-storming concert  performance by Sir Tom Jones in the idyllic setting of the Larmer Tree Gardens. Set in the countryside where Wiltshire meets Dorset, the lawns and surrounding woodlands of the privately-owned gardens with their free-flying Macaws and roaming peacocks were a suitable setting for Tom’s anthem, Green, Green Grass Of Home.

The following day, off to Lord's for the start of the Second Test against India, where again the press and the England team would have been taking up the Green, Green Grass Of Home theme, hoping that Mick Hunt, the head groundsman, would produce a green-tinged, sporty wicket after the Trent Bridge version resembled 22yards of the nearby M1 motorway during the previous Test Match.

Funny that the general indifference to lawnmowers by a large proportion of the population is suddenly turned into scientific analysis and comment at certain times of the year. Whether it is the state of the Centre Court, the bounce of a Test Wicket, the speed of the Open Championship greens or the condition of the pitch at Murrayfield, Wembley or the Millennium Stadium – everyone suddenly becomes an expert.

Yet, has there ever been a year when lawns, parks, open spaces have looked so good, for so long?  Here we are in mid-July, and most garden machinery dealerships up and down the land are still selling and servicing madly.  Much of it down to the winter rains, warm spring and an on-off summer.

British lawns and parks are a defining feature of our nation, but they don’t happen by accident. Woe betide local authorities who slip behind on their grass cutting responsibilities, the chorus of disapproval from residents can be deafening.

Maybe this is a year when our little recognised industry sector gets its mojo back, regains its chutzpah (not a word I’d ever thought I’d use in relation to lawnmowers!) – and fully appreciates and realises the contribution it can make to the nation’s enjoyment of a summer such as this.

Finally, on the same theme, well done to Brian Radam for authoring a major new book on lawnmowers and lawnmowing, recently published by Haynes. A huge amount of work has gone into the publication, which demystifies and explains with clarity, virtually every aspect of choosing, owning and maintaining a lawnmower.