Season's Greetings

A holly, jolly Christmas to all.

I was going to post a seasonal photo here, you know a robin or something, but the local robin seems to have gone on holiday, so I settled for a cute photo instead. Actually, speaking of the robin, I have seen two of them in the garden recently, but not today. And two blue tits are showing a very early interest in the nest box. Ooh spring is just around the corner.

But back to today. I thought I would write about holly, traditionally used at this time of year. There are lots of holly bushes in the woods and hedgerows around here. So I decided to do a little digging; on the internet, not in the garden, it's too wet.

Apparently, way back in 1725, Lord Oxford and his entourage travelled through Sheffield. As they crossed over Birley Moor, Lord Oxford remarked on the large plantation of stunted holly trees, or hollin as they were known in those days. It was used for keeping sheep in the winter. Where the plantation ended became known as Hollins End, or Hollinsend as the area is known today.

Of course, those trees are long gone, but wouldn't it be nice to think that the holly tree in my garden, may be distantly related to those old trees on the moor. Distant in miles as well as time, but still possible I suppose.

Oh, and Lord Oxford also remarked about the bad state of Sheffield's roads as well. Some things never change.