The Gardeners' World Blog

Unless a non-league team gets a plum home Cup draw in the New Year, this coming Sunday marks the end of an era for Match of the Day. Our cameras will be at Station View for live coverage of Harrogate Railway's second round FA Cup tie with Mansfield, the last of 14 first and second round ties we have covered live since we regained the FA Cup contract in 2001.

Of those 14, 13 have featured our preferred formula of a non-league team at home to a league team. Strangely enough, the only exception - a derby between Oxford and Swindon in 2002 when the second round draw conspired against us - featured a home team who subsequently became a non-league team. Two of the remaining 13 - Hereford (2-1 winners over Wrexham in our first ever live game in 2001) and Accrington Stanley (1-0 winners over Huddersfield the folowing season) - have subsequently regained their Football League place. And our most recent live game - Torquay 4 Yeovil 1 the other week - may be the prelude to another promotion from the Conference, or Blue Square Premier as it's now known.

What or who do you think of when you hear the name of Woking?

I'll give you three for starters - Paul Weller, Tim Buzaglo and Ross Archer.

Weller? The town called Malice's most famous son. Like Mozart, did almost all his best work before he was 25.

Buzaglo? Scored a hat-trick as the town's non-league footy team knocked West Brom out of the FA Cup and then turned up on Match of the Day with the match ball.

Archer? That's a tough one. He's one of BBC TV's finest ever VT editors and lifelong fan of the aforementioned footy team!

Well this week the Surrey town has become the centre of the universe for rugby union with the game's great and good at a three-day conference in the town to debate the future.