The Soft Issue

Editorial: Little bear’s bowl

Kyra Pollitt

It has been very difficult to edit this issue. My working diary is beginning to return to its pre-pandemic intensity, but I seem to have left some of my organisational skills behind in lockdown. Nonetheless, I welcomed every contribution that hit my inbox because this month’s focus is the soothing, calming, humble Oat (Herb of the Month: Avena sativa). It’s exactly what I needed. And I can report that Ann King’s recipes (Notes from the Brew Room) work just as well when you’re on the road and in temporary accommodation.

I’m a lousy navigator and get stressed without my satnav, so I’ve been interested to learn what might be going on in my nervous system (The Chemistry Column) and what I might do to counteract its worst effects (Anthroposophical Views; Flower Power). David Hughes’ review of a new CBD Handbook (Book Club) suggests further options. Meanwhile, both a new book from Duncan Ross (Book Club) and Elaine MacGillivray’s article on Sir Patrick Geddes (In Focus), remind us that much soothing therapy is to be found in the garden. A connectivity to earth and its materials is fundamental to the work of wild weaver Jeanette Gray, as Our Assistant Editor in the Field discovers. Jeanette’s beautiful, unique pieces are all products of this relationship.

Kate Tarling’s stunning embroidered aerial maps (Artist of the Month) would have lent useful clarity of perspective and texture to my own journeys. A similarly bird’s-eye view is what our new columnist, Joanne Fullerton (The Food on Your Table), invites us to adopt when she asks us to think more deeply about food chains.

Amanda Edmiston’s (Botanica Fabula) column on Bannock Bride reflects on the cultural connections food gives us. Let your taste buds do the thinking as you read. This humble emotional inheritance is poignantly captured in James McGonigal’s poem, First Things (Red Squirrel Presents…). Ella Leith, by contrast, cooks up sarcastic interrogative proverbs and dark Oat magic (Foraging Through Folklore).

Callum Halstead’s shameless confessions of galanthophilia (love of Snowdrops) turn our heads towards the coming Spring (Sage Advice), and its inherent optimism is reflected here at Herbology News, where we hope to swell our editorial team in the coming months with the addition of Anastasia Joyce.

And I think that’s my porridge ready— just right, just now.

Honorary Executive:Catherine Conway-Payne

Editorial team: Kyra Pollitt, Ella Leith, Maddy Mould, Anastasia Joyce

Illustration: Maddy Mould

Finance and Distribution: Marianne Hughes

Herbology News is printed on FSC certified, carbon neutral, recycled paper,using non-polluting vegetable-based inks, made from renewable sources.