Sunday 11 September, Woodland Plants, their Folklore and Uses, an hour-long walk in Burgess Park, London Borough of Southwark, starting at 5 p.m. –  this event is fully booked, but it is possible than an additional walk will held in the near future; check the Events page of this website for details.

Report: Unfortunately there was confusion about the starting point for this walk, so its start was delayed.  Eventually 10 or so people (out of the 17 who had booked) gathered and we were able to discuss the folklore and uses of some of the common trees on the site, such as hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, and elder, Sambucus nigra, and also bramble, Rubus fruticosus, arches which were formerly considered to be something of a panacea, and of which there were fine examples available.

Image:  bramble arch, Burgess Park.

Tuesday 13 September, Urban Plant-lore, talk at The Amersham Arms, 388 New Cross Road, London Borough of Lewisham; see Events page for further details.

Report:  About 35 people turned up to the London Fortean Society’s Reweirding: Urban Nature night.  The first talk on Urban Plant-lore was a rapid examination of the folklore of five common plants:  ash, bramble, elder, ivy and nettle.  This was followed by a conversation between Scott Wood, the event’s organiser, and Florence Wilkinson, author of Wild City, who ably conveyed and shared her enthusiasm for urban wildlife.  The third contribution by Luke Turner, author of Out of the Woods: Nature, Sexuality, and Faith in the Forest, was delayed due to technical problems, which proved insoluble, so although we heard much interesting information about the history of Epping Forest, we heard little about sexuality and faith.