Richard and his tomato

Richard may be gone but his tomato lives on.

Richard Davies lived in Birchip, my town. He was a little fellow, eccentric, entertaining and most of all loyal to his friends.

Richard was famous for his extemporaneous lectures on existentialism, clearly memorised for any occasion when he wanted to make people laugh. There is a video on YouTube of Richard’s monologue but I could not find it before writing this.

Richard was a victim of brutality at the Salvation Army Boy’s home in Bayswater. The floggings, the rapes, the general abuse were shocking but Richard survived it all. (He received a payout in the end from the Salvos of a miserable $28,000).

The one positive thing that the Boys Home did for Richard is that they taught him some songs and hymns of faith. His favourite hymn was “Were you there when they crucified my Lord”.

We had a cup of tea together every day and talked about anything. For all his lack of education Richard was very well informed.

Unfortunately Richard had a serious chain smoking habit and all too soon he developed cancer and died at the age of 72, but he left behind a fabulous tomato variety that he grew for a few years.

To honour Richard’s memory I decided to keep that variety going. I have no idea what its original name was so I have called it “Richard’s Tomato”. This tomato has proved to be one of the best tomatoes you could grow. The plants grow large tomatoes on trusses, perhaps a dozen on each plant, each about 200gm. They need no encouragement to set fruit. The fruit is ideal for sandwiches with a taste and texture that you will never find in the supermarket.

If you leave your details below I will send you a packet of 20 seeds for $6 including postage)