Elm Trees

The elm tree once largely unnoticed, left gaps in our tree lines and hedgerows as they succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. Towards the end of the 1970’s it became apparent that many of the trees that were part of the canopy of British woodlands were Elm trees. The Elm tree was fast disappearing and leaving…

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When William Shakespeare wrote of love and despair he often turned to the language of flowers to help him. Shakespeare’s flowers lay scattered throughout some of his most notable works and they are contained in some of his most remembered lines. In Elizabethan times flowers and herbs carried with them symbolic meaning. They were used…

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Goose Markets

The Goose Fair Advent Day 18 In times gone past, Goose fairs were an important part of the agricultural calendar. They were frequently held on Michaelmas Day. Michaelmas marks the end of harvest and many of the goose fairs were also hiring fairs. Labourers released after the harvest would seek employment for the Winter months.…

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Halloween with Honey Bee Book Boxes

 Why do we carve pumpkins at Halloween? The origins of Jack O Lantern. All across the world children and grown ups alike will be carving grotesque faces into pumpkins and putting a light inside, creating ‘Jack O Lanterns’ but how did this tradition came about? The Jack O Lantern has its roots in Irish folklore…

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