"Yule never steal our mistletoe"

Yes, the silly season is definitely here - today's mistletoe news includes a press release from Lambeth Council revealing a "secret mistletoe database" for the Borough that ensures local mistletoe is safe from Mistletoe Rustlers. Hmm... I think most informed mistletoe rustlers will probably be working outside of Lambeth - the borough's probably fairly safe as there's only one mistletoe location there anyway... But it's a good news story - convincing enough to make it to the South London Press

Other mistletoe news today includes a revelation in the Norwich Evening News that the late great Ronnie Barker always wanted to grow mistletoe, and that he obtained the necessary know-how from Maureen Larkin of Loddon.

Meanwhile, I spent much of the day with Sustain (the alliance for better food and farming) at an inaugural meeting of a steering group for a new national orchard conservation initiative. Can't give details yet - can say more once things, especially funding, have settled - but it looks like good news for traditional orchard conservation, which includes, of course, mistletoe on orchard apple trees.

All a distraction from what I should be doing - completing my input to an overdue £11.3 million lottery bid - now due to be submitted next week, and the Open University course on complementary medicine I've been studying this year - for mistletoey reasons naturally. That's due next week too. A bit of bad planning coming together...

Will post other news on mistletoe bugs, balls, and other mistletoe matters soon.