To have artificial grass is a turf decision

A former colleague was rather surprised to receive a strange delivery through the letter box of her Ashford home – a lump of imitation grass.

And no, it wasn’t a veiled threat from a criminal who’d been “grassed up” to the police, or a hint from a neighbour that her dog (she doesn’t have one) had fouled on their lawn.

It was actually a sample from a company called Trulawn, who described themselves on the accompanying flyer as “artificial grass experts”.

And, as hopefully this picture illustrates, their product looks very realistic and, as we can testify, feels quite like grass.

Coincidentally, a member of the Nuts and Bolts team had (earlier this summer) attended a barbecue at his daughter’s home and she and her boyfriend have turfed their lawn with artificial grass, which looked very neat and tidy and obviously has the major benefit of not having to be mowed or weeded.

This same Nut and Bolter also knew someone who did some maintenance work for a Premiership footballer that included laying fake grass over the chap’s entire back garden (and being a well-paid striker he had an awfully big garden). fluorescent bright green look to it, so much so that if he and his family ever sat on their patio they’d have to wear sunglasses to cut out the glare.

So will artificial grass catch on in Ashford? For small gardens we can’t see why not but we don’t fancy the idea of somewhere like the Memorial Gardens being turfed with the stuff.

To tip or not to tip? It’s the ques- tion everyone faces when they eat out. Apparently in France, where critics argue waiters are renowned for their rudeness, a recent survey by web travel guide TripAdvisor reckons that the number of non-tippers has doubled over the past year.

Now, 15% of French customers never tip, up from 7% last year, and over a third say they leave less than previously.

In Japan tipping does not exist and is even considered rude.

French waiters are paid, on average, 1,495 euros (£1,200), only a shade more than the statutory minimum wage, and usually expect some sort of tip.

So what about us? A quick poll among the N & B team reveals that most of us tip (mostly a couple of pounds) in restaurants but don’t usually leave anything in pubs where food is served.

On a good day a waiter in a busy restaurant in Paris can be left 200 euros in tips, so no wonder they’re not liking the rise in non-tipping customers.

What do you think? Write to Kentish Express, 34-36 North Street, Ashford, TN24 8JR or email kentishexpress@ thekmgroup.co.uk