So finally, after ten months of intensive horticultural study with the RHS and a further two months of waiting, chewing my nails down to the knuckle, the results are in.
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow allotmenteers, Agent Ade has… PASSED HIS EXAMS!! WHHOOOOA! HELL, YEAH!
As you can imagine, I couldn’t be happier. 
But enough tomfoolery, it’s down to business.
Who needs a qualified gardener? 
As many of you know, over the past year I’ve been studying at Capel Manor College, Regents Park for my RHS Level 2 certificates in horticulture.
With the courses now finished, I’m nervously waiting to hear whether I’ve qualified or not. However, much to my delight, I was commissioned to write an article for the September issue of The Garden magazine, discussing the challenges of going back to college, juggling work and study, and my experiences of the course itself. 
You can find the article on page 21, and it might be a handy read if you’re considering studying with the RHS, or even if you’re thinking about going back to college to do something else. Who knows, it might inspire you to dust down that old school satchel and study what you love.
I’ll keep you posted on those results. (Gulp!)
That’s right, yesterday was the big one. A whole day of RHS exams, but I survived and lived to tell the tale! 
Over the last few weeks I’ve found myself increasingly removed from the world, locking myself away with nothing more than a stack of RHS books and notepads filled with illegible scribbles which I’ve made in class over recent months. No longer was I the mature adult striding about his plot oozing charm, confidence and panache! (Well, that’s how I like to think of myself.) Instead, the spotty, lanky sixteen-year-old I thought I’d left behind a long time ago had come back to haunt me with his exam anxieties, unusual chest rash and 80s fashion sense.. (For the love of all things holy, not the ‘Flock of Seagulls’ haircut again! My hair can’t handle that much hairspray, it’s not natural!) 
But it’s over, I did my best, so now play can resume. And to officially kick off my summer, this evening after work I stopped by the plot to take some photos, take stock and.. breathe. And after a bit of watering, a little weeding and a smidgeon of pruning, that ‘coming home’ feeling had returned. Over the last month, although I’ve been working on the plot I was always clock-watching, knowing I had to get home and make time to revise. 
However, tonight was the first time in a long while I could just, be.. It was wonderful. And to cap it off, the plot is now rewarding us with all things edible. So not only did I go home with that warm feeling and air in my lungs, but a big bag of freshly-grown veg. Life is good! 
AGENTS OF FIELD 