This week sees the 2012 BRIT Awards take centre stage and the show is set to be a resounding success. Behind all the smiles, glitz and camera flashes what merit do these awards actually hold?

There are numerous forums and Facebook pages rallying for the awards to be renamed 'The Sh$! Awards' and I have to admit that I'm full of skepticism for the awards that are meant to represent the 'Best of British Music'.

This country has more gardens, covering a greater proportion of the land than almost anywhere else. If an Englishman's home is his castle, his garden is his estate. Between us we have 19 million gardens, which together occupy more space than all of our nature reserves put together.

No wonder then that organisations like the Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) are encouraging people to make their gardens more wildlife-friendly. Their top tips include putting up birdfeeders, nesting boxes (for birds, insects and small animals like hedgehogs) planting nectar-rich flowers and building a pond. The RHS even has a 'Perfect for Pollinators' logo to look out for when you are at the garden centre.

Gardeners who want to help the wider environment can do so by not using water worn limestone quarried from our diminishing limestone pavements, using peat-free composts and being very careful when disposing of potentially invasive plants like water fern when carrying out major work in their gardens.

To encourage more people to think about and help wildlife the two organisations are running the 'Big Wildlife Garden' competition. The competition - a little-noticed commitment in the Government's Natural Environment White Paper - is being funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Anyone can participate, including individual householders, community groups, businesses and schools, and anything from a window box to a playing field or retail park is eligible. There are six categories: small, large and new residential, educational, community and business. Entry is free and full details can be found at http://www.bigwildlifegarden.org.uk/wildlife-garden-competition

More help is available from the British Trust for Ornithology which is organising National Nest Box Week starting on 14 February. Go to http://www.bto.org/nnbw/index.htm to learn where, when and how to put up nest boxes, and to order a free information pack.

You have plenty of time to make your entry, the competition closes on Sunday 20 May 2012. Prizes include a wildlife gardening master class at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, where the prize-giving ceremony will take place, along with membership of The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society.

Launching the competition, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman, said: "No matter how big or small, every garden is a home for wildlife, and this competition gives gardeners the chance to be recognised for what their hard work has achieved, inspiring others to do what they can to make their gardens more wildlife-friendly."

Paul Wilkinson, Head of Living Landscape for The Wildlife Trusts, said: "The UK's wildlife is under pressure from loss of habitat. But, we can all make a difference by gardening with wildlife in mind. We want to see nature reserves around the UK being connected through pockets of healthy habitat within the wider landscape, in both urban and rural areas. Clearly, gardens are an essential part of this vision."

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Blue skies are a rarity for us Beijingers. So rising on a Saturday morning to a view like this is the ultimate way to shake off those city blues. I guess the best things in life really do come for free!

If you have been living under a musical rock lately you probably aren't aware that recently it was the 30th anniversary of Kraftwerk's 'The Model' reaching number 1 in the UK charts.

I'm aware that not everyone shows the same cultural appreciation of Kraftwerk as I do, but what better time to have an introduction to this unique and intense band as now? I love all bands electronic, but it was Kraftwerk that sparked my obsession. Their ability to sound like a strange computer game whilst looking quite robotic provoked my interest early on.

I'm a bit on the fence in general about Valentines' Day. I don't like feeling obliged to go out for a ludicrously overpriced meal at a table just 4 inches away from the next table with a host of other couples, most of whom aren't speaking to each other and are only out due to the sheer obligation of it all. I'd much rather get some nice food in and spend some of the money you've saved on a nice bottle of wine. With the wife of course.... I probably should have added that sooner. So, with that in mind I've set out some ideas below:

Midwinter is a very revealing time. With most trees and shrubs stripped of their leaves it is easier to see birds, the shape and architecture of the trees and various other things which are obscured at other times of the year.

Often prominent now are marble galls on oaks, especially young and scrub oaks.

As their name suggests marble galls are hard, round and about two centimetres in diameter.

They are brown and have a generally smooth surface. They are very easy to spot on small branches, sometimes singly but often in groups of three, four or more.

So, I might not be the most knowledgeable being on planet earth when it comes to music, in fact I don't even profess to be an nth of that.

However, music is the thing that keeps me going. It's the one indulgence I can rely on to bring me happiness on a bad day, to make me cry, dance, scream and even daydream.

Some girls remember places or moments by what perfume they wear but for me it will always be what soundtrack was the accompaniment.

My blogs will be mostly about music; whether that's new bands, the local scene, music tech or just general musical chatter.

My first subject is the music documentaries:

This week, the news has been inundated with footage of people all around the world celebrating the Chinese New Year.

Today, I saw images of dragon dances and kung fu acts on the streets of London, Ontario, and Madrid.

The first thing that stuck me was how these celebrations seemed far more stereotypically 'Chinese' than celebrating New Year in the Chinese capital has ever been for me!

I've spent my fair share of Spring festivals in China, but i'm yet to see a dragon or lion dance parade through the streets of the city.