Olive Bright, Pigeoneer by Stephanie Graves

Author:Stephanie Graves [Graves, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2020-09-24T00:00:00+00:00

Tuesday, 11 June 1940

Peregrine Hall, Pipley

Hertfordshire

When the secretary of the Pipley WI suggested inviting a guest lecturer from the Department of Botany at Oxford University to one of our meetings, I assumed we’d be getting a lecture on vegetables: which varieties provide the most yield, which are the hardiest, etc. Having been encouraged to raze our flower gardens and grow for victory at the start of the war, it’s entirely understandable that we were all shocked to be lectured on some lesser-known benefits of certain flowers.

Living in a country village, naturally all of us present were well versed in the many natural remedies to be found in plants. But the scheme proposed by Dr James was considerably more involved than collecting a bit of chamomile for a soothing tisane. It seems there is a shortage of certain medicines, and he’s devised the “Oxford Medicinal Plants Scheme” to supplement the supply. We were all quite committed until he informed us we’d be foraging for foxglove. Imagine our consternation—foxglove is quite poisonous! With a bit of clarification, Dr James managed to set our minds somewhat at ease. Evidently, if given at the correct dosage, the dried leaves can be quite rejuvenative for individuals with particular heart conditions.

So tomorrow we’re to gather in the hall, and our collection party will troop off with baskets and pruning shears to wrestle the spires of foxglove into a worthy cause. Dr Ware was quite supportive of the idea and has volunteered to come along, as well. I do hope everyone remembers to wear gloves; otherwise this scheme could well end in tragedy.

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