Blogroll , Current Affairs , druids , Mistletoe , Religion , social history , Trade

Du Maurier, Jamaica Inn, and mistletoe

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

Whilst reading Jamaica Inn, Daphne Du Maurier’s tale of smugglers on Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor, recently I was interested to find two references to mistletoe at Christmas, seemingly suggesting that its usage was commonplace at the time and place the novel is set. That time was not precisely stated by Du Maurier but was, according to her opening note about the 1935 book, ‘over a hundred and twenty years ago’. That would make it before 1815. […]

Blogroll , Current Affairs , druids , Mistletoe , Mistletoe Day , Religion , social history , Tenbury Wells

Mistletoe events – Washington DC, Brentor, Devon, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

It’s mistletoe-theme time again – lots of stuff with ‘mistletoe’ in the title that’s not, really, got a lot to do with mistletoe. All those ‘Mistletoe Markets’ so popular in the US, all those ‘Mistletoe Murders’ in that US TV series I’ve never actually watched. And not forgetting all those mistletoe-themed products – particularly my favourite bugbear, the ‘mistletoe’ scented candles, which smell of, er, pine (as mistletoe doesn’t have a scent). And all that […]

auctions , Biodiversity , Blogroll , Current Affairs , druids , Food and Drink , Gardening , Mistletoe , Mistletoe Day , Orchard , Religion , social history , Tenbury Wells

Mistletoe in Parliament

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

A recent query (in connection with this) about how we got Parliament’s approval for National Mistletoe Day in 2005, and a subsequent search for the relevant references, got me looking at mistletoe in parliament in general.  Does it get mentioned often?  And in what sort of context? The answer to ‘how often’ is ‘not very’.  But the answer to type of context is ‘very variable’ as a search through Hansard, Parliament’s formal record (and allied […]

auctions , Biodiversity , Blogroll , Current Affairs , druids , Gardening , Media , Science , social history

Mistletoe Season 2024/25

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

A belated start to the diary this year!  A few snippets of info and dates for now, more soon: Dates This year’s Tenbury Mistletoe Festival (and National Mistletoe Day) will be on Saturday 7th December. Details still to be confirmed, for updates see https://www.tenburymistletoe.org/  One definite fixture is the druid mistletoe ceremony at 3.00pm on the Burgage.  This year’s Tenbury Mistletoe Auctions will be on Tuesday 26th November and Tuesday 3rd December at Burford House Garden Centre, Burford, Tenbury […]

Blogroll , Current Affairs , druids , Food and Drink , Gardening , Mistletoe , Religion , Science , social history , toxicity

Locating Lindow Man

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

Whilst in Cheshire last weekend, on non-mistletoe business in Wilmslow, we took the opportunity to visit Lindow Moss, the peatbog where the bog body known as Lindow Man (and also, sometimes, as plain Pete Marsh) was discovered in 1984. The discovery of some mistletoe material in his gut, and some of the over-fanciful interpretations of that, has been discussed by me in the diary before – see 2009 and 2011 – and I thought it […]

auctions , Blogroll , Current Affairs , druids , Mistletoe , Mistletoe Day , Religion , Science , social history , Tenbury Wells

Tenbury Mistletoe Festival 2022

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

It’s back! The Tenbury Wells Mistletoe Festival returns again this year, having missed a couple of years due to the pandemic. Founded back in 2004 (by the five members – I was one of them – of the original Tenbury English Mistletoe Enterprise) it focuses on the first Saturday in December – the official Mistletoe Day (so 3rd December this year). There are also, of course, the town’s mistletoe auctions, which are on 22nd and […]

druids , Media , Mistletoe , social history

Dodgy Mistletoe Spin-offs 1957: Tony Hancock, sub-Druid 476

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

Ok, this isn’t a 2021 mistletoe spin-off, it’s a January 1957 one, but re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra yesterday (8th December 2021). In this episode of Hancock’s Half Hour, the thirteenth in the fourth series, the lad himself (Tony H) is spooked by the unlucky number 13 (he is triskaidekaphobic) and takes to his bed, refusing to take part. He explains he’s from a suspicious part of the world (Birmingham!) and is afraid ‘the […]

Current Affairs , druids , Mistletoe , social history

Hanging the Mistletoe, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

By the mid-nineteenth century hanging mistletoe at Christmas was all the rage, featuring regularly in accounts of celebrations, particularly newspapers and magazine, often with pictures.  And of course there were paintings too, some by very famous painters – a favourite of mine is Bringing in the Mistletoe, a druid-themed painting by Edward Atkinson Hornel.  But that’s not the one I’m featuring today! Most were of a much more domestic scenario than Hornel’s picture, and one […]

berries , Current Affairs , druids , Food and Drink , Gardening , Media , Mistletoe , Orchard , social history

Mistletoe and Orchards on ITV today

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

Plenty of mistletoe mentions on ITV this morning – all within the 2 hour show Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh (on ITV Hub here).  Helped along a bit by Sir Cliff ‘Mistletoe and Wine‘ Richard being the main guest. Christmas swag-making featured about 30 minutes in – with plenty of mistletoe incorporated into a very long decoration.  Some good mentions of how sticky the berries are, and their need for light when germinating, but […]

Current Affairs , Doctor Who , druids , Mistletoe , Science , social history

Whovian mistletoe from 1978

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

A little light relief from current affairs – for Doctor Who fans anyway. I’ve commented before on mistletoe having bit parts in Doctor Who – notably protecting Queen Victoria (and David Tennant’s Doctor) from a Werewolf in a 2006 episode.  And also mistletoe featuring, unremarked but possibly significantly, outside a portal in a 2017 episode with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor (I met Mr C briefly this year. Nice man, he said ‘hello’). Now, via the magic […]