berries , birds , Blogroll , Current Affairs , Media , Mistletoe , surveying mistletoe

Mistletoe morsels 2024

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

A slow start to Mistletoe Diary his year, too many other things going on.  But masses of miscellaneous mistletoe morsels are planned for the next couple of weeks including: – Mistletoe in Parliament – a round-up of mistletoe mentions in the house, whether serious, jokey or filibuster – Mistletoe Song of the Day – a selection from the 1830s to the 2020s.  Some good, some bad, some non-PC – Mistletoe as a habitat for an […]

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

The silly season is upon us – apparently “wokery” could end mistletoe kisses. What a load of tosh.

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

There’s a story doing the rounds today that “wokery could put an end to kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas”.  The comment is attributed to Nick Champion, the mistletoe auctioneer at Tenbury Wells*. He said, apparently, in the context of mistletoe sales not being as good as they once were, that this was due in part to that fact “workers used to kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas parties, but with all the wokery nowadays […]

Blogroll , Current Affairs , Media , Mistletoe , Science , social history

The innocence of H1N1 and mistletoe

by: Jonathan BriggsPosted on:

Discussing the mistletoe kissing crisis with a reporter recently I recalled the ‘Kissing Etiquette’ devised by Debretts, in conjunction with the Tenbury Mistletoe Festival, back in 2009. That was in the winter of the H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic – a time that seems so innocent now. As does the kissing advice of the day – which was, basically, that kissing on the cheeks is more hygienic that on the mouth. Which is very probably true. […]