Mistletoe Diary 2005/6

Blog Migration

2010-08-26T22:31:00.001+01:00

A new consolidated mistletoe blog, with all the versions going back to 2004 (there was some in 2003 too, but that's in the wrong format) are being combined for 2010 onwards at;

http://mistletoematters.wordpress.com/

All updates for 2010/11 winter season will be there...

2008/9 Mistletoe blogging

2008-09-11T20:58:00.002+01:00

Hi,

If you've dropped by looking for news about mistletoe for the 2008/09 mistletoe season you're in the wrong place.

I'm using the typepad site again this season (don't know why - I have to pay them and Blogger is free, so maybe I'll return here soon). But for now point your browser thisaway for mistletoe news...

Need info on UK mistletoe for 2007/8?

2007-09-23T18:48:00.000+01:00

Looking for news on mistletoe for winter 2007/8?

Have a look at the blog on the Typepad site - (one day I'll consolidate all these blogs into one site/thread - but I'm waiting for a few rainy days...)

New Blog! Mistletoe Travels 2006/7

2006-10-26T20:09:00.000+01:00

October 2006

Announcing the arrival of the new Mistletoe Travels blog (and podcast) - which is hosted by Typepad.

You can get to it by clicking here.

Flat-pack Mistletoe Table - yours for about £3,500

2006-08-22T12:04:00.000+01:00

Forget Ikea - go for quality flat-packs! This little table is selling for £'000s!.

A recent Ebay auction caught my attention - a Louis Majorelle Gui pattern table for about £3500, and from a dealer just up the road in Gloucester!. What’s a Louis Majorelle Gui pattern? Well, as all mistletoe enthusiasts surely already know Majorelle (1859-1926) was one of the masters of art nouveau wood inlay furniture, operating out of Nancy, France from the 1880s. And Gui (Mistletoe, in French) was one of his regular themes.

I’ve seen examples of his work in Germany, and in books, but never on Ebay, or in a local antique dealers. So I had to know more… The online pictures told me most of the story – this is a two tier étagère, identical to one I've seen in the collection of Hans Becker in Germany, and similar to another I’ve seen illustrated – so that makes three in existence. The inlay, of darker wood mistletoe stems, leaves and berries, set in a lighter background looked identical to these others

Not being in a position to invest this much cash I was slightly embarrassed to make enquiries but Trevor, the dealer, was happy to send more information. The table wasn’t sold online, and could still be seen in his shop within Upstairs Downstairs, an antique warehouse in the Docks at Gloucester. This was even better than I had hoped – as I know the Docks well (used to work there until 2 months ago) So I toddled along to have a look – and here are my pics.

The étagère didn’t disappoint in the flesh – the inlay comprised mistletoe, plus butterflies, the French New Year mistletoe slogan Au Gui L’An Neuf (To the Mistletoe the New Year) and Majorelle’s signature. The pattern, like all Majorelle I’ve seen, was very Art Nouveau in style. (One peculiarity of this particular period of inlay is that I think it can look almost naïve to the uninitiated - but other opinions are most welcome - see the pics).

I had been particularly intrigued by the online promise that the table could be delivered flat-packed. How, I wondered? But, to my surprise the top and base were secured via finger screws to discreet brackets on the legs – the piece was obviously designed for easy transport.

A quick internet search on Majorelle shows that the asking price is reasonable (and be reassured that LM products are always considered genuine) – so, if you’re interested get on down to Upstairs Downstairs, 2 Severn Road, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL1 2LE, Tel: (+44) 1452 421170.

Mistletoe Festival and Mistletoe Sales News

2006-08-20T14:45:00.000+01:00

New info on this year's Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival is now online - take a look at the new website at www.tenbury-mistletoe-festival.co.uk.

And there's new info on buying mistletoe online at the Tenbury English Mistletoe Enterprise Mistletoe website:
http://www.teme-mistletoe.co.uk/.

Foreign mistletoe in Gloucestershire! Whatever next?

2006-07-13T21:18:00.000+01:00

Don't panic! There’s no mistletoe crisis yet. But I have a small confession to make. I’ve got North American mistletoe seedlings in my garden. Yesirree, they’re a-growing nicely.

Well, actually, they’re just a millimetre or so big, and I’m not yet sure whether they’ve linked to the host cambial tissues – but they look ok. Each one has grown from some Phoradendron seeds I planted back in February. And no I don’t know which species of Phoradendron, they came mail-order and without a name. Maybe P. flavescens, or P. serotinum or one of that there group of Phoradendrons.

What are Phoradendrons? They’re the American equivalent of our own Viscum album – similar in being an evergreen mistletoe with white berries, but very different in appearance. Take a look at this webpage to see the difference.

So why am I making such a fuss? Two reasons, one good and one bad. The good one is that it's such fun (in an anoraky mistletoey way) to grow a foreign species. The bad one is that we don’t want foreign mistletoe species to naturalise in Britain – they could become a major tree pest – so I’m going to have to keep an eye on these, just in case they turn out to be pesky critters. (Mind you, Kew Gardens have a foreign mistletoe already – see blogs passim – so maybe I’m just following their example…)

I don’t think I’ve got anything to worry about just yet though – take a look at these pics – the pesky critters are darn small…

The first pic shows one seedling on willow, the second has several on Robinia. Dedicated mistletoe growers should immediately spot the difference from Viscum - only one shoot per seed, not two! (the shoot is at the pointy end, you can just see the green seedling through the split end of the seed case - click the pic to enlarge it).

It's so exciting!!!

let's try podcasting

2006-07-03T22:30:00.000+01:00

Mistletoe Diary is going audio - though not just yet. But here's a link to the feed to where the podcast will be... Check back soon!

A TEME meeting

2006-06-30T21:05:00.000+01:00

A TEME meeting at Tenbury to discuss mistletoe products matters for December 2006 – largely variants of the wholesale and retail mistletoe packs we produced last year, based on customer feedback and suggestions.

But also to review other ideas, including mistletoe tea (and no it’s NOT poisonous – see Blogs passim), Spode and Royal Worcester mistletoe mugs etc etc.

The Grow-Your-Own kit is due to be taken off the website for now – getting too late in the season to plant it – but I’m hoping to report on some particularly interesting sowings of my own soon.

Yesterday I had some news about this year’s Mistletoe Festival – more on that soon as well.

(I've just re-read this blog, and it's a bit uneventful isn't it! Must try harder next time...)

Dr Who, Mistletoe and werewolves...

2006-04-23T20:10:00.000+01:00

"Omigod!!!" Mistletoe has just featured in Dr Who!!

Sorry about the OmiGod, I know it's getting a bit passe now*. But Dr Who and Mistletoe - what more could one ask for??

Ok, so it wasn't exactly explained why european mistletoe kept an alien werewolf (more correctly a 'lupine wavelength human variform') at bay, but it did seem to work. The Doc and his companions (including Queen Victoria) survived unharmed for a while in a panelled room varnished with 'Oil of Mistletoe'. And it wasn't quite technically perfect - the Doc seemed to think Viscum album was the name for 'Oil of Mistletoe' rather than the plant itself - but he did accurately point out it was full of Lectins and Viscotoxins - so perhaps these Time Lords do know what they're on about after all. Must try this myself next werewolf season...

For a full plot synopsis try the Wikipedia site. I may have missed a bit - as I was watching the repeat on BBC3 - a digital channel we still don't get here in densely populated Gloucestershire - a scandal the Beeb and/or the Government must sort out soon or I'll be taking them to court for breach of contract on the TV licence. We can only watch it whilst holding the aerial lead and with a specially boosted signal - and even then it conks out every minute or two. But the cricked neck from holding the aerial was worth it.

Er, that's it for now, mostly relatively quiet on the mistletoe front (apart from the ongoing grow your own enquiries, more mistletoe initiatives in London, the Royal Worcester Mistletoe mug initiative etc etc... keeps me busy, even out of season)

*For non-UK readers, or those in the UK who've spent the last few months in solitary, Omigod became the (rather tedious) catchphrase of Chantelle, the, er, non-celebrity who won the recent UK Celebrity Big Brother - if you really really want to know what that's about you could try clicking here...)

The Darwinian Expedition

2006-02-25T21:30:00.000Z

The day of the Darwin mistletoe workshop (see blog 13th Feb) . So off to north Kent/south London first thing.

We start off with my mistletoe briefing - in Down House. Which is nice - 'cos we're in one of Darwin's own rooms... So I feel obliged to quote, at appropriate moments, from Origin of Species.

Then it's off to plant some mistletoe, pausing only for the obligatory press pics.

This is my version of the press picture - the group may look a bit worried (click to enlarge) but there is a lot of mistletoe being handled... and it can make people nervous...

Plus it's a b****dy cold day (there's snow in the lane), which accounts for why these lovely ladies are all sporting cosy hats.

But we're soon at work - starting at Great Pucklands field (where Darwin did his earthworm studies - click here for more info on Down House geography ). Here we plant mistletoe on hawthorn...

Then a quick bit of planting on some limes on the Sand Walk... before a light lunch at the Down House tearoom.

After lunch, we go mistletoe planting on Apples in the recently established Downe Village community orchard.

Every planting gets labelled, and some get a chicken-wire guard to deter seed-eating birds.

Last site is at Downe Bank - a woodland/ grassland hillside site now managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. This is Darwin's Orchis Bank - where he did his orchid studies in prep for the writing of Origin.

Here we plant on hawthorn, maple and whitebeam. The dominant tree is hazel, complete with dormouse boxes, but this isn't a suitable host.

An interesting site - still with many of the orchids Darwin knew here - though this is hard to appreciate in February!

A good mistletoe day. Certainly Judy John (Bromley's 'Darwin at Downe' World Heritage Site Officer) seems happy enough!

Loughborough's mistletoe

2006-02-21T23:10:00.000Z

Thorpe Acre, Loughborough, 7.30pm Gorse Covert Community Centre

Thorpe Acre is now a suburb of Loughborough town, but was once an area of apple orchards - and mistletoe.

Recent initiatives by Roy Campsell and Mark Graham have shown that some of this mistletoe survives - on former orchard apple trees now 'stranded' in house gardens etc.

So why not resuscitate the old mistletoe colony? Collect berries from surviving mistletoe-infected trees and hand 'em out to the community to grow on on new trees.

This is where I come in. Mark (wildlife officer with Charnwood Borough) has organised a berry exchange - at the Community Centre. I give the background talk, and info (slides and handouts) on how to grow your own - and at the end of the evening local berrries are handed out to attendees.

And it is very good session - lots of interest, loads of enthusiasm. A proper mistletoe conservation event. It feels good. And Mark even provides fresh mistletoe tea to round it off.

But I'll have to come back next year to hear about results...

Walking with mistletoe nearly makes the news

2006-02-15T07:13:00.000Z

The annual Mistletoe Walk at Hampton Court Palace takes place this weekend, led by the Palace Estates Team and Tyrrell Marris, who heads up the Richmond Mistletoe Action Plan. Hampton Court has one of the best mistletoe colonies in London, known for at least 200 years, mostly in the Lime Avenues.

The walk was very nearly publicised on ITV's regional London News programme yesterday evening - but the satellite link for the live broadcast failed just as the piece began. So, in lieu of TV coverage, here's the gen:

Saturday 18th February, meet at the Lion Gate entrance on Hampton Court road (opposite the entrance to Bushy Park) at 11.00am. As well as seeing the mistletoe there will be a special visit to the Palace's 17th century Ice House.

Charles Darwin's mistletoe

2006-02-13T22:33:00.000Z

To Down House, Kent (actually London Borough of Bromley these days). This is Charles Darwin's place, and I'm here with Judy John of Bromley Council and Toby Beasley of English Heritage to discuss planting mistletoe in the grounds and nearby. Down House and garden are owned by EH.

The whole area has been proposed as a World Heritage Site - to be known as "Darwin at Downe" by the Government (Downe village has an E, Down House doesn't). Judy is the Bromley's WHS Project Officer and is promoting Darwin's association with a range of nearby sites - the field where he undertook his famous earthworm studies, and the grassland bank where he investigated orchids etc. Darwin also studied mistletoe - and that's where I come in.

We're running a mistletoe workshop (Magical Mistletoe) here on Saturday 25th where I'll be outlining mistletoe biology and then taking groups out to try and re-establish mistletoe in the great man's old haunts. These will include areas adjoining the garden but also some sites futher afield. Lots of links to the Greater London Mistletoe Plan - but also to Darwin himself. The event starts at High Elms Nature Centre at 11.00 - but booking is essential; phone 020 8461 7646 or email conservation@bromley.gov.uk

Today's visit is just a recce - but a very satisfying one for me, as I've always been a Darwin fan.

Later I have a quick trip into Hounslow- to suss out other potential mistletoe sites at Bedfont Lakes Country Park, just off the A30. A very different sort of site, but just as impressive in its own way. But more on this site another time....

The TEME Mistletoe Kit: Grow-your-own

2006-02-11T19:11:00.000Z

The TEME mistletoe shop is back in buisness - but the Valentine Mistletoe isn't moving very fast. That's not really surprising - as there are a lot of valentine products out there and TEME haven't really advertised. The exercise is more about seeing people's reaction and feedback than making a profit (this year). And there's not much time left for new orders now.

There is more interest in the TEME Grow-your-own Mistletoe Kit - and as this will be available for another 6 or 7 weeks there could be quite a run on these. The kit content was only finalised this week - with a colour 'how to grow it' leaflet compiled (by me) for inclusion.

The whole package, pictured left, is shoe-horned into a plastic pillow-pack - originally conceived for the valentine's gift but surprisingly suitable for the kit as well.

Love that mistletoe! And those canals!

2006-02-05T17:49:00.000Z

Lots on the to-do list today, so have just spent a happy few hours ignoring it and browsing the web instead.

Amongst other distractions I ran a search on Mistletoe Diary - just to see whether there are many refs to it. The most prominent was at Granny Buttons, a "narrowboat blog about the English cut" by canal enthusiast Andrew Denny.

According to Andrew I "love" mistletoe. I'll forgive him the exaggeration, but I'm concerned that he's worried that I might "try to stop a canal being restored because of some rare species of mistletoe. Or bat."

This may seem an odd remark, bearing in mind my job is, er, restoring canals. Hmm... Actually there's a long (and to me somewhat tedious) story, based on many examples, and the work and research of many people, stretching back years, behind that kind of remark and that concern. There are some very real issues, like them or not, but unfortunately these are very misunderstood, and often ignored (in a head-in-the-sand kind of way) by both the canal and wildlife lobbies. It can lead to conflict - often unnecessarily. Even when there are 'show-stoppers', a compromise of some sort can usually be reached - but of course one person's compromise is another person's sell-out....

I should know, sifting and forging ways forward through these issues has been my job for 20 years. It aint simple, and a lot depends on what one means by 'restoring a canal'. But that's all another story. If you really want to know more you could try reading my review of the issues in the Wildlife Trusts' Wetland Restoration Manual - the Canals Chapter appeared in the second edition a few months ago - you can buy a copy by clicking here (though I think it'll set you back £45 - extracts may be available on request...).

Talking of canal restorations - we've got our money! For the first Phase of the Cotswold Canals project - 3 years of planning and prevaricating - and at last we have the budget - £11.9M from Heritage Lottery Fund, and £6M from South-West RDA - which with other commitments brings us a total of £22M towards the £24M needed. Digging will start in late summer - we hope... More on this at the British Waterways website. And if you're really interested, take a look at our Project Atlas - detailing all the Cotswold Canal Phase 1 plans (including those for rare plants and bats) and open for comments now.

Enough about canals! Back to Mistletoe Diary - and I see there are also refs in two organic gardening Blogs: Amy Stewart's Dirt, and Andrew Skinner's Lavendon Garden. Amy is in northern California - must drop her a line about mistletoe over there - there's a long-established colony of European mistletoe in Sonoma County - just to the south of her, which I hope to visit later this year.

Wye Valley mistletoe

2006-01-29T21:56:00.000Z

To Redbrook, on the banks of the Wye, just south of Monmouth. One foot in England, the other in Welsh Wales.

Yes, its another winter walk, with the usual mistletoe flavour. Not the main purpose - that's more to do with exercise, fresh air, and checking out the estate agents' windows. We walk a circular route, on Offa's Dyke Path from Redbrook to Monmouth, and back via the Wye Valley Walk. Last time I did the first part of this walk was 1979, as a spotty student building self-confidence before going off to University. I did about half the whole Dyke path then - 70-odd miles, before admitting my boots needed more walking-in first.

Looks just the same on the ascent up the Kymin, a hill between Redbrook and Monmouth. But the noises are different - a angry wasp sound gets louder as we ascend, soon to reveal itself as a Moto-X track, with loads of kiddies with expensive toys going round and round in pointless noisy circles in the mud. Hmm! Haven't they got anything better to do?

We soon leave them behind though, and reach the Naval Temple on the Kymin, erected c 1810 to commemorate British victories over the French, Spanish and Dutch. Not v PC these days - but gripping stuff!

Lots of names and dates of battles, mostly in the 1790s. These battles are largely forgotten now - but judging by this monument you'd think we had nothing better to do back then.

(We did do better things of course - the Ind Rev was then in full swing, and the canals were all getting their Acts of Parliament).

Some good mistletoe on the way up... on field boundary hawthorns and whitebeams etc... Looking very yellow in the winter light.

Then down to Monmouth, quick comfort stop in town, checking out estate agents, and watching the police break up a minor street brawl - then off down the river...

There's mistletoe here too. No surprise there - as the Wye and Usk are corridors of mistletoe colonies right into the mountains...

But the plants are few and far between. Here's Caroline demonstrating how difficult it is to photograph when it's at the top of a tall tree...

The river has a few surprises - these two old railway viaducts recall the industrial days of the Wye Valley - when there were mills of all sorts on the tributary streams, and the rivers ran red with the rust colour from the local ironworks (hence "Redbrook"). One is, obviously, defunct, the other is in use as a footpath.

Lots of wildlife on the Wye - swans, ducks, moorhen, heron etc etc. And such a change from our usual canals - this is proper moving water - and lots of it.

Get your Valentine's Day Mistletoe here!

2006-01-28T18:32:00.000Z

A TEME team meeting, to discuss Valentine's Day!!

Mostly to discuss another mistletoe marketing experiment - mistletoe for your valentine. Soon to be available at www.tenbury-mistletoe.co.uk.

Not to mention the grow-your-own mistletoe kit.

More details soon.

London Mistletoe Matters, and a visit to Kew

2006-01-26T22:28:00.000Z

A trip to Kew Gardens, to attend a meeting of the London Biodiversity Plan Mistletoe Group. As regular (!) Mistletoe Diary followers know, this is a group endeavouring to conserve London's mistletoe, and create new colonies.

I won't bore you with details of the discussions - more on those some other time. But you might be interested in our mistletoe-filled walk around the grounds...

Now you must first understand that Kew Gardens have no mistletoe - at least not live specimens - there are plenty of international mistletoe species represented in the Herbarium building, but they're all dried-up...

In the grounds, and as part of the London mistletoe project, we've been trying to establish mistletoe anew. This has now been achieved, through the efforts of Masaya Tatebayashi, a horticultural student. And (this is good bit) we've discovered that despite expectations there IS mistletoe living at Kew, just not the UK species... As part of today's meeting we went to look for both Masaya's new seedlings, and the mystery non-native mistletoe... A few pics showing our efforts:

This is the mystery mistletoe... growing on a Black Oak, and looking suspiciously like Loranthus europaeus - a deciduous species of central Europe. What it's doing here no-one seems to know. Note that the immediate clue is just a swollen branch - no evergreen leaves here. Close inspection shows that the branches differ markedly from the host.

And then the search for those seedlings... We know they're on this tree somewhere.

Definitely, somewhere on this tree...

And at last, here they are... tiny, 2-year-old mistletoe seedlings... More on these in due course.

Mistletoe Plans 2006

2006-01-07T17:36:00.000Z

Seems a long time since Christmas already - but mistletoe business is looming again already.

The TEME mistletoe initiative had a review meeting this week - with outline planning already for Christmas 2006 but also new immedaite ideas - including a Valentine's Day mistletoe gift initiative and marketing of a new 'grow-your-own' mistletoe kit. Details of both on the TEME website. Exact details and prices not quite worked out yet but will be soon...

Meanwhile I'm reviewing what needs to be done in London this season - where the London Biodiversity Plan is encouraging establishment of new mistletoe populations. February and March are the best planting season - and a meeting has just been arranged later this month to plan activities this season. It'll be at Kew, where some new mistletoe plants have already been established.

More on this, and other mistletoe plantings, in due course.

Happy New Year!!

It's Christmas!!

2005-12-25T22:29:00.000Z

Well, here we are, Christmas Day. Mistletoe season over for another 12 months (well, not really - am anticipating a lot of mistletoe activity with TEME for Feb/March - marketing mistletoe seeds etc - and also for the London Mistletoe Action Plan, also in Feb/March planting new mistletoe colonies.

But it seems like the beginning of a bit of a rest at least. Blog regulars may be disappointed not to have found that picture in the Times in the last few days - either I missed it or it wasn't in - but no matter, there was good coverage in the Independent's magazine yesterday (Christmas Eve) which covered the establishment of mistrletoe seedlings at Kew. This is all due to the work of a Kew student - Masaya Tatebayashi, who has been establishing a new mistletoe colony at Kew as part of the London Mistletoe work (see above).

Er, that's all for now. Happy Christmas!!

In the Guardian again... and up another tree...

2005-12-21T17:04:00.000Z

Good mistletoe feature covering all the Tenbury Wells mistletoe issues today - you can read it by clicking here. Refreshingly accurate on most points - and not too scare-mongering. Thank you Paul Kingsnorth. Beats a lot of other mistletoe coverage (though the Independent faeture on 5th? December was good too).

And then yes its back to Tenbury again to go up a ladder for some more pics! Andrew Fox, a freelancer who's already covered the mistletoe and druids for the Times, and who also took the mistletoe auction pic that accompanies today's Guardian feature, is back again for the Times.

So it's up a tree again for me. Overcast but bright - and some good pics - at least we think so. Watch out for a pic in the Times over the next couple of days...

Up a tree again

2005-12-19T21:56:00.000Z

Back to Tenbury again - or nearby anyway. This time to pose for some pics showing how to harvest, and grow, mistletoe.

Photographer is Jason Ingram - a garden and landscape photographer who's done mistletoe before - but is keen to get some more shots for a new portfolio of mistletoe pictures. Jason specialises in gardens, plants, environmental portraiture, architecture, landscapes - so mistletoe harvesting and growing ticks a lot of boxes. Click the link to go to his website.

What this means is that I go round a mistletoe-rich apple orchard, up and down a ladder, with my mistletoe-harvesting hook on a pole etc etc. All good stuff, and a beautiful sunny day too.

But all over by early afternoon - so its back to canal restoration lottery bids again...

Three men in a van (and three women selling mistletoe)

2005-12-17T23:21:00.000Z

Saturday 17th December, Rathbone Market, Canning Town, London...

A TEME expedition to the capital...

On the basis that ladies are more likely to sell mistletoe than men, Reg, Alec and I sit in the van (and it's warmer there too).

Meanwhile Caroline, Doreen and Jill try to woo the punters of the East End with hand-picked Worcestershire Mistletoe...

We're here at the invitation of Newham Borough, who are trying to revive the flagging fortunes of Rathbone Market with a mini ice-rink, Christmas carols, Father Christmas etc etc.

A big operation for us, coming over from Tenbury early this morning with a hired van full of mistletoe - and a bit of an eye-opener.

This area is relatively poor, and we don't get many customers, even after reducing our basic range to 50p.

But if you take a walk to the edge of the pitch there's Canary Wharf and affluent Docklands, just a stone's throw (ok, several stone's throws) away. What a difference a bit of water can make.

Barking Road is full of buses, and ethnic restaurants. But not people.

They seem to be going elsewhere (check out the pic) for their 'last Saturday before Christmas' shopping (and why not - they've got the whole of London and a working public transport system to use, better than the rest of the UK! But maybe not much cash...).

A few probs during the day - which is not only bitterly cold, but subject to the occasional breeze... here's the carol-singers' marquee in it's new upsidedown position above the market stalls.

The cone had a good day, not sure about Doreen...

Britain's smallest commercial radio station and final plans for Saturday....

2005-12-15T21:02:00.000Z

Another day, another radio station. But this time it's Two Lochs Radio, "Britain's smallest commercial radio station and community broadcaster for the Gairloch and Lochewe areas of Wester Ross, Scotland on 106 and 106.6 FM. "

Now that's different! Hardly any mistletoe (actually none at all) in their broadcast area, and a station so small it could be mistaken for a shed (or so I'm told).

Arranged through my good friend Liz Forrest, one of their volunteer presenters. And a refreshing change from all these big stations darn sarf. Must get up there soon - haven't seen Liz or Tom for years... will arrange a visit in the new year (and yes Liz, I know I say that every year!).

Meanwhile back darn sarf, we're finalising arrangements for Saturday's trip to London. It means I have to miss the office party tomorrow night (sorry Derek) 'cos I have to drive the van down to London. We'll be at Rathbone Street Market, off Barking Road E16 - naerest tube Canning Town. Newham Borough have warned us that several local florists are likely to visit - so come along early to get your mistletoe before it's all sold!

New Zealand - the evening show

2005-12-14T21:43:00.000Z

10 mins live on National Radio New Zealand this morning - the evening show there.

Bit odd really, talking about mistletoe crises here when they've got their own, albeit different mistletoe crises down there (see previous blogs).

Not my best radio interview ever - was not sure what they wanted to cover, and so it a was bit unstructured (sorry New Zealand - will do better next time).

Last market 2005 - where next year???

2005-12-13T20:49:00.000Z

Last mistletoe and holly auction for this year at Tenbury today. Lots of worries about next year and the future of the site.

Media out in force (again) - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation have been here since yesterday and now Reuters are here witha film crew - with coincidentally a Canadian reporter. Went off with Reuters to an orchard up the road to talk mistletoe and mistletoe crises. Took the man from the Guardian with us too (talking of the Guardian, Jane Perrone has added a link to Mistletoe Diary 2005 from the Guardian News blog and her own horticultural blog - thank you Jane).

Lots of planning for forthcoming mistletoe selling trip to London this weekend (we'll be at Rathbone Market, Newham, E16, on Saturday... - buy your Tenbury Mistletoe there).

Roadside sales, more Radio and the Dursley birders

2005-12-12T23:35:00.000Z

Monday! Off to work again. But via Standish Churchyard, for yet another local radio interview (pretending to be in another county - that's the great thing about radio - you can get away with more than on TV). I chose Standish for the mistletoe in the churchyard lime trees - one needs to have some reality even if in the wrong county (wouldn't do to pretend we're looking at mistletoe - that would be a pretend too far).

Anyway, that all went ok and I was v pleased to find an adjoining roadside mistletoe stall with an honesty box - collecting mistletoe money for charity - £2 per sprig. Not much sign of any customers yet - and I've already got lots in the back of the car. But hope it does well this week.

In the evening off to Dursley - to do one of my "mistletoe miscellany" talks to the local bird club. A good turn out - but that might have been for the hot punch and mince pies not me. Recently revamped the talk - to cover the Mistletoe Festival at Tenbury - which adds more to the "miscellany" - now covering:

• What is Mistletoe?
• Mistletoes worldwide
• Mistletoe legends and myths
• Mistletoe in Britain and Europe
• Mistletoe Biology
• Mistletoe distribution UK
• Where do get yours?
• Mistletoe in Art
• Mistletoe in Medicine
• Current UK Mistletoe initiatives

Seems a lot to cover - but no-one went to sleep so it must have been ok!

Weekend off ( sort of)

2005-12-11T23:00:00.001Z

A canal and mistletoe-free weekend down in Dorset - did nothing all day on Saturday except sift through the backlog of mail - and resolve to deal with it next week (but probably won't).

Sunday (today) heading back home via Mary's (my sister) house where Harriet (a niece but not one of Mary's) is over for the weekend. She was 18 last week. Doesn't time fly... makes me feel old.

Anyway, en route we decide to take a walk through the estate at Melbury Sampford - where there is a big estate aroundMelbury House (canal enthusiasts note: this is nothing to do with the old British Waterways HQ called Melbury House - that was at Marylebone in London, and anyway we moved out of it years ago...). A nice, pleasant walk in the gathering gloom of a December afternoon.

Caroline suspects an ulterior motive - I often suggest walks in country house estates to, er, spot whether they have mistletoes in their lime avenues. And she was right to suspect but to my dismay there's no mistletoe here - not many limes actually, mostly oaks and horse chestnuts.

Amazing cobwebs in the grass though - am inserting pic but it doesn't do justice at this size - all those wavy bits in the grass between and in front of the sheep are spiders webs. (Do the sheep eat the webs? Do the webs tickle their nostrils?)

We realise after we chose the location that we're right next to Evershot village, which is (i think) where Lesley Waters, my chef in Ready Steady Cook (see previous blogs) resides. Bit of an odd coincidence - but at least don't meet her in the street - which would have been embarrassing... Maybe next time!

Ready and Steady (but a bit fidgetty)

2005-12-09T21:52:00.000Z

Well, today saw the broadcast of that Mistletoe v Christmas tree Ready Steady Cook on BBC2 television. I thought it went well, not least 'cos I (well, Lesley Waters and I) won. Green Peppers forever!!

But it was a bit trying watching it. I've done TV before but not like this. My TV work as an environmental rep for British Waterways or as a mistletoe expert chap has largely been short interviews for news or magazine programmes - and usually on site. A few studio experiences but only behind a news counter.

R S Cook is totally different - a live audience, fixed format, fixed timetable (that 20 minutes cooking time is real). But I did have the sexier subject (you can't kiss under a Christmas tree) and the more appealing food bag (can't go wrong with chocolate and whisky) so I did perhaps have an unfair advantage. Sorry Stephen (a reminder - you can buy Stephen's Christmas trees online here and mistletoe online here).

I seem to be fidgetting a lot. That Ainsley Harriot got a bit friendly at times - but why not camp it up for the cameras??? (actually already geting a lot of stick on this from friends and colleagues - might take some time to live this one down)

Busy, busy, busy

2005-12-08T22:00:00.000Z

Still v busy - lots of mistletoe stuff going on - mostly media and other enquiries - and too tired to report it all just now. Apols to those who've not yet had replies to emails.

Some recent headings below:

Newspaper coverage
Good mistletoe coverage in the Independent on Monday and in smaller article, mostly about plastic holly berries but with a pic of the druid blessing, in the Times on Wednesday.

Online orders
Lots of these coming into TEME - www.tenbury-mistletoe.co.uk - including some from abroad - seem to come in waves following media coverage - which isn't surprising. Some bulk orders too.

TV coverage
Loadsa TV for the druids - GMTV on site all through their breakfast show (incl live national weather... again) plus regional TV, radio etc. Covered on regional TV BBC and ITV on Tuesday evening.

Radio coverage
Lots of this too - including requests from Canadian and New Zealand stations. Did BBC R4 Your and Yours prog today - you can hear it at the BBC listen again service - but it won't be there for long...

Druid mistletoe blessing - Tuesday 6th

2005-12-06T22:12:00.000Z

In a rush just now - so just some quick notes - will post proper pics and stuff soon.

Some pics already on www.teme-mistletoe.co.uk - click on news.

This was a good day - for mistletoe, Tenbury and the druids - more on this soon.

NB If you're at all concerned about the 'paganism' of this and fit with Christmas - don't be - Christmas isn't really Christmas anyway - don't believe me? - have a look at "Some rules for returning “Christ” to Christmas" (and don't take life so seriously).

More soon....

Mistletoe Merriment at the Festival

2005-12-03T22:54:00.000Z

A big day for the Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival - we had the arrival of the Mistletoe Queen in a pony and trap, the opening of the Festival by Emmerdale stars Lorraine Chase and Chris Chittel in the morning and the mistletoe workshop with druids in the afternoon.

Some pics below...

Preparation - the mistletoe stall

The Queen's transport (centre of pic) is stuck in traffic...

Waiting - for the Mistletoe Queen, and the Emmerdale lot (they're both late....)

Through the traffic - but a pause to ensure synchronisation with Emmerdale...(the ponies and trap were just right - a great credit to all involved - esp Paddy Marris (in the black hat) - who owns both trap and ponies).

Mistletoe Queen Alice Crabtree and attendent Katie Huntbach- looking a bit cold - but happy.

Nearly there - passing under the Mistletoe Festival banner.

The waiting crowd - split across the road.

Chaos as soon as Chris Chittel and
Lorraine Chase appear (known to Emmerdale fans as Eric Pollard and Steph Stokes). Jen Green (green scarf) tries to control the crowd. Don't know what the chap covered in tinsel is doing...

Kisses (and autographs) all round - here's Lorraine giving the Queen's attendent a quick peck - much to Queenie's amusement. Still not sure what the tinsel-covered bloke thinks he's doing.

Time for a packet of local Tyrrell's crisps once the crowd has started to disperse.. Even Queens eat crisps.

Lunch at last - away from the crowds. Time for a quick chat with Lorraine about mistletoe - and her old beau Johnny Knight who helped set up the national mistletoe survey with me back in 93/94. Johnny has since died and Lorraine suggested perhaps a memorial trophy to be associated wth the Festival - come back next year for an update on this!

No pics of the Mistletoe Workshop - sorry - was too busy running it. But I thought it wnet quite well - apols to attendees for the late start - and hope we didn't lose too many of you. The Druids gave a very impressive musical show, following a thought-provoking video of Swiss mistletoe harvesting... (you had to be there).

Which mistletoe do you require?

2005-12-02T19:58:00.000Z

An automated email reminder from the States reminds me of that slight confusion over mistletoe species that happens each year.

If you are stateside the mistletoe you kiss under is a species of Phoradendron - a genus of white-berried mistletoes particularly common in the south (especially Texas - though do remember it is the State Flower for Oklahoma).

If you are in Europe you kiss under a species of Viscum - V.album to be precise - which is the true mistletoe of legend etc.

If you are ordering online do pick the right one - the US one doesn't travel well long-distance! The US species can be bought from several suppliers but I recommend trying Rose Ziesemer in Texas - you can get to her site by clicking here. Back home in Britain do try the TEME site by clicking here.

Oh, and do remember that the US species is poisonous (allegedly) whilst the European one isn't - despite popular myth. See last year's blog for rantings about this issue...

Mistletoe Day!

2005-12-01T23:36:00.000Z

Well here we are at last. The first National Mistletoe Day. Small-scale this year, but it will grow - lots of interest in Tenbury Wells and further afield, and formally proposed in Parliament.

The "national" ambition was met early on by BBC Breakfast News - who chose Tenbury as the location for the live national weather forecast this morning. This goes out in all weather - so weather presenter Carol Kirkwood didn't seem too fazed by the driving rain. Though she did have to ask the studio's permission to use an umbrella (in case it shades her too much apparently - hardly matters at 6.00 in the morning as it's dark anyway...). All broadcast via an OB van direct to satellite. The camera-man got soaked of course - no cover for him.

There are several goes at this of course - as the weather bulletin is given every half-hour - so we ensure Carol is briefed on National Mistletoe Day, and equipped with mistletoe - and she brandishes a bigger bunch on each appearance.

Temporary BBC base is the Pump Rooms - where the Mistletoe Art Exhibition has been set out. No coverage of the inside, but a few (hardy) items are taken outside to sit alongside Carol in the later, daylight, bulletins.

Later on we have the crowning of the Mistletoe Queen - which I have to miss as I do need to go home sometime.

But am back later for the Mayor's reception, and then Stan Yapp and I prepare our evening presentation on Mistletoe in Art. But it is still peeing it down - and we only get a few hardy takers - a bit disappointing - but that's life. Let's hope the mistletoe workshops at the weekend are better atttended - I'm showing Swiss videos of mistletoe harvesting - and the druids are coming too....

First Auction, usual press confusion

2005-11-29T21:48:00.000Z

The first Mistletoe and Holly Auction of 2005 was held today - in the usual place in Tenbury. But this site is still due to be developed - so this really might be the last year here.

Well-attended, lots of well-berried mistletoe - the holly doesn't look so good - not many berries this year. And Christmas tress seemed to be in short supply - but is a bit early. Next week (6th December) will probably see a lot more stock.

Usual crowds - and many of the usual buyers - familar vans from nurseries and agrden centres from across the country. This really is an institution. This year the sales have been organised by Nick Champion, formerly of Brightwells, the auctioneers who sold up last year.

But there's lots of confusion in the media. They confuse the TEME mistletoe initiatives - which have resulted in the Mistletoe Festival, Mistletoe Day and online mistletoe sales - with the auction sales. So we get reports of TEME 'organising the auctions' (sorry Nick - we know they're all yours really).

In today's Daily Express, a ridiculously inaccurate report about TEME's online sales - reputed to be worth tens of thousands of pounds and on sale at £1 per bunch. If only! The Express modestly calls itself the "greatest newpaper" - in which case I suggest it dismisses the reporter responsible - 'cos what he reported was entirely made-up, not news. And readily corrected by some phone calls and a glance at the website. Must have been too busy to research it. But it is nice to be reminded about why I don't buy the Express.

Talking of the meja, Monty Don was present filming for a story about a mistletoe grower. But unaware of the many mistletoe initiatives in Tenbury this week. A could-do-better there as well then (loyal mistletoe blog readers may recall Monty's TV coverage of the market last year, which totally missed the key story about the threatened market closure ' cos it was recorded 12 months before).

Perhaps I should stop worrying about the media and just get on with preparing for the mistletoe events from Thursday...

Some pictures from the Mistletoe Ball

2005-11-28T11:48:00.000Z

Some pictures from the Grand Mistletoe Ball... for those who are really interested there'll be more on these on the Ball webpage soon.

Mistletoe place-settings.

Dinner...

Caption competition - what are Reg and Jen talking about??

"Lady Ponsonby" announces the imminent arrival of "Queen Victoria"...

...though she first insists on demonstrating the correct use of mistletoe.

Queen Victoria entertains...

And there is even some dancing...

The day of the Ball - and the start of the celebrations

2005-11-26T06:49:00.000Z

"This weekend sees the start of 10 days of mistletoe celebrations in Tenbury Wells, Britain's "mistletoe capital" and the centre of the UK trade. There's today's Grand Mistletoe Ball, the first of the traditional mistletoe and holly wholesale auctions (November 29) and the Mistletoe Festival. Plus visits from druids of the Mistletoe Foundation."

A quote from today's Guardian - ok, from my letter published today in the Guardian. A good letter I thought (natch), covering all the important points. They deleted my plug for online sales - but don't worry you can get to that site direct by clicking here.

Ready Steady Mistletoe

2005-11-25T18:57:00.000Z

'Bout time I came clean on that BBC2 Christmas/cookery prog I've hinted at. Yes it's Ready Steady Cook - with me - Mistletoe Expert, pitted against Stephen Reynolds - Christmas Tree Grower. Pic shows me, Anthony W-T, Lesley Waters and Ainsley Harriot all wearing our mistletoe - except Ainsley. Must have a word with him about that.

Due to be broadcast on BBC2 on Friday 9th December 4.30pm. Don't miss it!

Stephen's Christmas trees can be ordered online here.

And you too can have a mistletoe buttonhole like Anthony Worral-Thompson by clicking here.

More media etc

2005-11-24T21:07:00.000Z

Lots more media enquiries this week - BBC2 for a new nature series, Independent on Sunday about Mistletoe rustling (yes, it happens!), Western Daily Press re the market and online sales, etc etc etc.

It's not even December yet - and there's the Mistletoe Festival next week - which should attract a lot of media interest. So it looks like a busy mistletoe media season this year.

Meanwhile, back in mistletoe country preperations for the Festival are being finalised - and if you've not bought your tickets for the Ball I think it's too late now. Sorry (though I s'pose you could try...).

Am beginning to worry about the art exhibition - I'm due to put up a display of mistletoe harvesting pics and mistletoe imagery in art nouveau - and there's so much material it's difficult to know what to use. A task for the weekend? - sandwiched between the Industrial Archaeology meeting I'm due to be at on Saturday and Sunday, the Ball on Saturday night, and meeting Stan Yapp to finalise our talks next week... More likely a task for next week...

Mistletoe for sale online

2005-11-21T20:33:00.000Z

The TEME website is now offering Tenbury mistletoe online.

A bit of an experiment, to see what the online market might be, and whether it could be used to develop the Tenbury Wells mistletoe trade.

Do take a look, and try some...

Mistletoe in Magazines

2005-11-20T22:32:00.000Z

The December monthlies are now out, and I've been reviewing a few to see what the mistletoe coverage is like.

Period Living & Traditional Homes has a lengthy piece - pages 98 to 100 if you really want to know. Feature written by Charlotte Ewing, and pics by me (largely of previous mistletoe auctions at Tenbury Wells). The theme centres on Tenbury and covers the plans for the Mistletoe Festival etc this year.

Organic Life, a new magazine, also covers mistletoe, in a Christmas Myths and Legends section. All good stuff, and they also put in a good word for the Festival etc. But nil points for their mistletoe illustration (page 24) - which is unmistakably the American mistletoe - not our distinctively branched species at all. Leaves, berries and branches are all wrong.... Whoops! With an organic theme you'd assume they would ensure they promote the local stuff. Ok, it's just an error, but it does grate a little with me.

Gardening Which also has a mistletoe feature - but I haven't seen that yet. They are interested in establishing mistletoe at one of their demonstration gardens - more on that later... (sometime around February).

Back to the Salwarpe

2005-11-18T21:31:00.000Z

A wonderfully cold and frosty morning, and we're off to see the Droitwich Canal - to talk about reedbeds, conservation, habitat creation, and where to put the locks. And yes you may have read that before, sometime in last year's blog - but these projects take time you know...

Anyway, as reported before we start down at the Salwarpe/Severn confluence - where there are some classic mistletoe-bearing willows and, at Hawford, some equally classic mistletoe poplars.

Then off up the canal, past the wonderfully wide frosty reedbeds (aren't derelict canals great? don't tell my boss I said that!) to view some more adjoining sites and to hum and har about what's to be done.

All a bit busy really, but just have time to clock a good mistletoey apple tree in a canalside orchard.

BBC Glos again

2005-11-17T20:31:00.000Z

So nice to be on the Beeb so often.

Monday with BBC Radio Gloucestershire talking about canal restoration, bat boxes, fallen trees, replacement bridges and funding.

Wednesday with BBC2 TV recording a Christmas-themed show... more on that later.

And Thursday back with Radio Glos, this time talking about mistletoe...

That's Brian Bailey of Radio Glos in the hat. I'm the one with the mistletoe....

Mistletoe Dates - the Festival and Auctions 2005

2005-11-15T22:33:00.000Z

Mistletoe dates for your diaries:

The Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival starts on Sat 26th November with the Mistletoe Ball, followed by talks, exhibitions and concerts etc from Thursday 1st December (National Mistletoe Day). A full programme can be downloaded here, or viewed here.

And then there are the mistletoe auctions - on 29th Nov, 6th Dec and 13th Dec. These are also detailed in the links above - and are organised by Nick Champion.

Mistletoe buttonholes

2005-11-14T22:30:00.000Z

Spent some time with the TEME team working out how to make mistletoe buttonholes, or posies, or whatever you want to call them.

It's not as easy as it sounds - we thought we'd just get some berried mistletoe, and tie a decorative red ribbon on it, American Christmas-style. But we started with the wrong sort of ribbon, and soon found that mistletoe isn't easy to tie anyway. And getting a decent bit with berries on PLUS some good leaves is also a bit challenging. But after a bit of experimentation we hit on the use of male sprigs for the leaves and female for the berries, thus creating an ideal balance - in every sense.

Why are we doing this? To see whether we can create a Tenbury mistletoe 'product' that could be sold online...

(And to provide some TV chefs with mistletoe buttonholes for a Christmas cookery show.. more on that later...)

Mistletoe Conservation NZ-style

2005-11-09T06:38:00.000Z

Still working on website - just uploaded more redesign, one last batch to go, then just tidying up and checking - a wee bit tiring after a hard day at the office.

But lots of mistletoe happenings around and about - the new Tenbury Mistletoe Festival programme is due to be finalised this evening - which will be exciting - it starts in just 2 weeks time. Arrangments for the mistletoe auctions are now confirmed too - 26th November, and 6th and 13th December - at the old site in Tenbury Wells. These are organised by Nick Champion.

A batch of interesting mistletoe enquiries and news, but my eye is caught by the ongoing New Zealand Mistletoe Conservation story. Weeds and Possum grazing have been choking out native vegetation at Lake Okareka in the Bay of Plenty - and casualties include some of the local mistletoes (Tupeia antarctica and Ileostylus micranthus) . The Rotorua Botanical Society have been clearing vegetation and planting suitable host trees for the mistletoes - for the full story click this link.

Rebuilding websites is exhausting... but hey! Mistletoe Day was announced in Parliament!

2005-11-06T20:25:00.000Z

Another blog-free week, though I have a backlog of stuff to upload, just need to get it in order. (So , if you're reading this in a couple of days time and there's no apparent gap in blogging, well, that's the wonder of submission date manipulation) (If only it worked for academic essays and lottery bids.... have recently failed on one, but succeeded on another).

Anyway, here I am, at the end of what should have been a relaxing weekend, just starting to plan next week. But it wasn't a relaxing w/end - I spent the entire 2 days restructuring mistletoe.org.uk - and I still haven't finished (take a look, it's not pretty, but it's getting there).

Mind you, Caroline was ill with an awful cold, and the weather was, to put it mildly, unhelpful (loadsa wind and rain) - so the tidying of the (very) overgrown garden (sorry neighbours) and that long walk we had arranged for today weren't really going to happen anyway.

But enough grumbling - it's mistletoe time! The media are stirring, the Festival is getting close, and the silly season is almost here. The mistletoe seedlings in the (very overgrown) garden are looking good, the berries on mature plants elsewhere are just turning yellow/white...

Media-wise things are getting interesting. We've just had Mistletoe Day announced in the House of Commons (in an Early Day Motion - click here for more...), various monthly mags are running stories on mistletoe, the festival etc (inc Period Home, Organic Life, Gardening Which etc). And I've been invited to take part in a TV gameshow (!?! no details now, more later!), to bring some seasonal eccentricity. Gotta go, need to start worrying about next week...

Return to Pudding Island

2005-11-03T16:14:00.000Z

Back in Britain, but still on hols for a few days, so we potter about on the edge of the New Forest. Something’s a bit weird here – we’re in the west still but we comment that it almost feels like the south-east in terms of obvious affluence and architecture. This view is strengthened on a trip into Lymington on a market day – the accents (and the comments from some of the shoppers – I won’t repeat them for fear of causing offence) make us feel we’re on the edge of London.

But no worries, there’s mistletoe down there on the quayside – in a twee little park on some little thorn trees. Why hasn’t it all been picked at Christmas? Er, ‘cos it’s largely male – so won’t have berries. (Perhaps all the female plants have been picked...)

(Note Isle of Wight ferry in background)

Breton mistletoe and wayside crosses

2005-11-02T22:02:00.000Z

Time to wend our way gradually homewards, starting with Belle Isle-en-Terre, where we discovered this very interesting sports pavilion.

Further afield, en route to St Malo, we decided to take the scenic route and left the N176 at Jugon-les-Lacs. The countryside here is very different, lots of low rolling hills, and a lot less in the way of artichokes. And there’s mistletoe!! Here and there, not common, but where it occurs, it occurs in great quantity. Take a look at the pics!

A nice, but slightly mischievous angle catches my eye at some of these sites. The Breton wayside crosses abound, and I try getting cross and mistletoe together in the pic.

Naughty because the Church frowns on ‘pagan’ mistletoe . But nice because one mistletoe tradition tells how mistletoe was once a tree, whose wood was used to make the Cross.

As a penance mistletoe was reduced to the small tree parasite it is today. So perhaps the Cross and the mistletoe do go together.

Mistletoe is Lignum crucis…

Exposure

2005-10-31T19:08:00.000Z

We’ve discovered one reason why mistletoe isn’t so common at this end of Brittany – it’s just a little exposed in places. This pic shows the Pointe du Raz (you have to pronounce the ‘Ra’ bit in a sort of snarl to get it right). This is France’s answer to Land’s End (though not actually the most westerly point, that’s on the other jagged bit just to the north).

A long drive down to here – so long we began to wonder whether it was worth it – but yes, actually it was. Not least 'cos it shows up how awful Land’s End is and what it could be with some tasteful tlc. Here at Pointe du Raz they’ve closed the road, demolished the old visitor centre, and built a new one set 500 metres or so inland. The car-park is landscaped with traditional walling. You can walk down to the point on the old trottoir, or on the coast path, or take the gas-powered bus. Very sensible, very in keeping, but probably very expensive to achieve… The visitor centre is suitably informative, though inevitably surrounded by souvenir and refreshment shops.

The point itself is, er… windy. As proved by Caroline, here displaying her new punk hairstyle.

Cabbage Patch Corner

2005-10-24T08:56:00.000+01:00

There may be little mistletoe in this part of Brittany but the vegetation is stunning for other reasons – field after field of artichokes and brassicas (cabbages, cauliflower etc). A regular Cabbage Patch Corner – which makes me start humming tunes (We are the Plotters of Cabbage Patch Corner, the Rotters of Cabbage Patch Corner, the plotters, the rotters…) from a David Wood children’s play, last seen c. 1970 at the Swan Theatre, Worcester – (since returning have found this link to info - see left- on it!).

But I digress, let’s get back to the artichokes. The eating of artichokes has always been a bit of mystery to me, seems a lot of trouble for little gain. I grew some at home this year, but left the plant to bloom – partly to compare to the adjoining Cynara thistle, but largely ‘cos they look prettier flowering. Both artichoke and Cynara are now seeding happily – am not sure what the neighbours make of the prospect of giant thistle seeds coming over the fence.

Naturally we ate some artichokes – both boiled and microwaved (in a ‘micro-onable’ bag) – still not sure whether they're worth the trouble - but my vote goes for the microwave version. And a cauliflower of course. Goes nicely with cheese.

Anyway, here're some pics of the area around Sibiril and St Pol de Leon - shwoing the cabbage patches amongst the artichokes. And, at the end, a pic of a new crop creeping into the cabbage fields – namely new housing. Inevitable perhaps, and not as out of character as most British housing developments, but a bite out of the cabbage and artichoke plots. (Talking of bites out of cabbages, not much sign of Pieris brassicae, the Large or Cabbage White Butterfly - should be seeing the last of the second brood about now - there were a couple but not as many as you'd expect with all these cabbages... I wonder what they spray them with??) (No sign of them on the inevitable Capuchins (nasturtiums) of the French front gardens either)

Forget the mistletoe, have you seen the Artichokes?

2005-10-21T08:38:00.000+01:00

In Brittany, on hols, but dabbling in mistletoe matters. As reported previously, we are intrigued by the absence of mistletoe in these parts, and the accompanying absence of the famous Breton orchards (vergers).

We investigate, largely using a method known as ‘cider-drinking’; this involves buying all the different brands of local cidre we can find, and, er, drinking them, whilst noting the address of the maker. We conclude that we’re still in the wrong part of Brittany – the cidre makers, and presumably their vergers, are more inland and mostly in the Val de Rance area.

There are a few orchards about, but these are small, and mistletoe-free. Stunning locations though – see pics of the Allee couverte du Montgau below. A typical Breton megalithic monument - set in a tiny orchard (but no mistletoe). The Monts d'Arree are in the background.

No matter, the local vegetation has other merits – there may be no mistletoe but there are acres and acres of cabbages, cauliflowers broccoli and artichokes – more on these in next posting.

A Breton Mistletoe Hunt

2005-10-20T08:10:00.000+01:00

To Brittany for a holiday, and to look for mistletoe of course! But mistletoe is not the main purpose of the trip, so has to take a backseat…

Brittany is, by tradition, where a lot of mistletoe (le Gui) grows – it is after all the land of the Druids, and the home of those indomitable Gauls Asterix and Obelix (mistletoe is the principle ingredient in their strength-giving magic potion). There are Breton mistletoe festivals, and period pictures (see left) of Breton Mistletoe Sellers – Marchants du Gui.

So why is it that on previous trips to Brittany we’ve hardly seen any Gui? Normandy has loads of it in the apple orchards, as does the rest of France. But when wandering the south western parts of Brittany a few years ago we saw very little. This time we’re in northern parts, just inland of Roscoff, though travelling via St Malo (once a great mistletoe exporting port). Will there be plus du Gui ici? (you’ll have to excuse my bad French).

Well, no, not a lot. Fair amount visible from the coast roads between St Malo and Roscoff – some splendid stands just inland of Cap Frehel, but not much really. There are several factors to consider – the two most important being season and orchards. The season is still early – most host trees still have their leaves and so not all mistletoe will be visible. But the poplars, classic French mistletoe hosts, have lost their leaves already, and there aint much mistletoe about.

The Orchard factor is more intriguing – in the UK, and adjoining Normandy, mistletoe thrives on the old apple orchards, and so would be expected to be in the orchards here. But we’re not seeing any orchards (les vergers) here, despite Brittany being famous for its Cider. More on this in next posting…

Buying British - Real English Mistletoe

2005-10-16T13:57:00.000+01:00

Nearly forgot to mention the Mistletoe sales...

Contrary to expectations there will be Mistletoe Auctions in Tenbury this year - though the venue hasn't yet been announced. Dates will be Tuesday 29th November and Tuesday 6th December.

In addition to these there is now a scheme to order Tenbury mistletoe - retail or wholesale - online. The online shop isn't open yet, but you can find it at www.tenbury-mistletoe.co.uk, where you can register and be informed when it opens for business - probably mid-November.

The idea is to make Tenbury mistletoe available more widely, carry on the Tenbury mistletoe growing/trading tradition (the auction's future is still in doubt) and encourage people to use proper English mistletoe - not imported stuff, and certainly not plastic!!

Mistletoe Festivities - 26th Nov to 6th December

2005-10-16T13:45:00.000+01:00

A bit of blog-free week - too much work on the canal restoration lottery bid front.

But I have had time to do a bit of mistletoe work, - attending a planning meeting for the forthcoming Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival last Wednesday evening. The events begin on Saturday 26th November, with Grand Mistletoe Ball. Followed, in the week afterwards, by mistletoe sales, crowning of the Mistletoe Queen (on Mistletoe Day, 1st December - due to be announced in Parliament soon!) , and Mistletoe Art Exhibitions and workshops. Plus a Rock'n'Roll Concert on the 2nd December.

Lots of Mistletoe people will be in attendence - including Stan Yapp - the Mistletoe Man of Tenbury and members of the Druids' Mistletoe Foundation. And me of course. Lots to see and do - so do come along...

For more details of all events point your browser at www.teme-mistletoe.co.uk.

Bugging London's Mistletoe

2005-10-08T21:21:00.000+01:00

Hot on the heels of Lambeth's secret mistletoe database, I find that mistletoe in the London Borough of Richmond has been bugged! And no I don't mean as an anti-mistletoe rustler deterrent (don't be silly!) - I'm talking about bugs - small insects of the order Hemiptera (Miridae, if you want to be more precise).

The story is this; back in July 2003, a new mistletoe-dependent bug, Hypseloecus visci, was found on mistletoe on apple trees on National Trust land in Somerset. Dedicated mistletoe diary readers will (of course) recall that the NT mentioned this in a press release back in December 2003.

Since then, in best bug-hunting tradition, it has been found on other sites in Britain, including Bushy Park, Richmond. So what? Well, the Bushy Park record was news to me (announced in the British Journal of Entomology and Natural History on Thursday last week - via David Gibbs and Bernard Nau), and it's critically important to my work on London Mistletoe - which requires more work on mistletoe-dependent insects in London.

And, being the mistletoe anorak that I am I have to admit that, on the desk before me, there happen to be some insect samples from Bushy Park mistletoe, waiting to be sent off for expert id... are there some more Hypseloecus visci in the samples? I will tell all in due course....

"Yule never steal our mistletoe"

2005-10-07T22:49:00.000+01:00

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.

The season starts - below the belt!

2005-10-06T19:42:00.000+01:00

Today's Guardian has a feature on the increasingly early arrival of Christmas in the shops - when it's only the first week of October. This may seem a valid complaint, but I have to confess that we mistletoe enthusiasts have been secretly preparing for Christmas for months...

Plans for the Mistletoe Festival and the new National Mistletoe Day are progessing well. The Mistletoe Ball is booked, the Druids are planning to bless the mistletoe at this year's mistletoe market. And although the new mistletoe website is still on the drawing board - the Tenbury English Mistletoe Enterprise (TEME) website is well underway - going live soon. And we're off to France soon to look at the mistletoe in Brittany. So, the Christmas season is well underway already for mistletoe-lovers...

And the mistletoe season is beginning to happen for the rest of you too - I see an enterprising company in Texas has just launched a high-profile TV ad for the Mistletoe Belt Buckle - "the perfect gift for the man, or woman, looking to be a hit below the belt". Hmm... There's nothing new in selling Mistletoe Belt Buckles, they've been around for years (just trust me on this one) but a TV ad?? This is a must-see - and indeed you can see - click here to go straight there (you'll need Quicktime) or just browse www.mistletoebeltbuckle.com, where you also buy suitably tasteful (is that an appropriate word here?) tee-shirts depicting the impact of the MBBuckle.

Welcome to Mistletoe Diary 2005

2005-09-11T12:22:00.000+01:00

Mistletoe Diary 2005 picks up where Mistletoe Blog 2004 finished...

It will cover Jonathan's new mistletoe adventures in the run-up to Christmas. Items should include:

Has the mistletoe auction really been stopped?
Travels in search of mistletoe - at home and abroad
An insider's view of the new Mistletoe festival, Mistletoe Ball and, wait for it.... National Mistletoe Day (you read it here first!)
News on where to buy proper (ie English) Mistletoe
An update on the Druid's Mistletoe Foundation
London Mistletoe News - where does it grow and why...
Bugging Mistletoe - the insect parasites that eat the parasite
New links to new mistletoe sites
This year's mistletoe gossip.... and much much more....

This year's diary will start in October - so come back soon.

Cheers

Jonathan