Colm O'Regan: A tour of the botanical gardens made me all emotional

'Some tree species like to grow with others of their ilk, as their root systems sort of work together. So the tree died because it was all alone. Sorry, it’s just got very dusty in here, all of a sudden'

Comedian and Irish Examiner columnist Colm O'Regan pictured in Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Surprising bits of knowledge from primary school that stuck for some reason: Minotaurs, labyrinths, and lengths of string; Grace Darling rowing from a lighthouse; Art O’Neill limping through the snow in Wicklow, escaping from perfidious English and their Irish lackeys; Helen Keller (we called her Kelliher, obviously) and Anne Sullivan. They all pop up and your new brain’s processor, not slowed by too much software (busy) or a virus (worry), stores them and never forgets.

And sequoias. The giant Californian redwoods. Somewhere (Ladybird/Look and Learn/Sonas) you saw an illustration of a car driving through one.