The first sign of Christmas at home, was my father going out with a set of cutters and coming back with a few boughs of holly, festooned with red berries.
He would then go about the house placing the holly in strategic locations. My father would always start in the ‘front room’, and prop-up a branch behind a photo of my grandparents, with another destined for the picture of the ‘Sacred Heart’ that hung on the wall.
To be honest, I have always been fascinated by holly bushes. The total contrast between the dark green leaves, and the bright red berries appeals to me in a very meaningful way – even today.
As I got that bit older in school, the need to undertake the odd ‘project’ came my way – I’m sure a lot can relate.
Around the age of 10, I was given two tasks that will always stand out in my memory locker. One was to find out all that I could about Rathlin Island, and the other was to write a detailed essay on holly bushes.
Within a few days of getting stuck into the ‘holly project’, I had become a walking, talking expert on llex aquifolium.
Always keen to impress my father, I asked him the following question – ‘do you know that holly bushes come in male and female forms, and only the female holly produces the berries?’
“No, I didn’t,” he replied.
‘But do you know that the yew tree also comes in male and female forms, with only the female bush producing berries?,” he responded.
The response both impressed and flummoxed me in equal measure.
So, let’s flash forward multiple of decades to the present day. We have just endured one of the wettest summers in living memory. Yet, I have never seen hedges, trees and woodland look so resplendent in their autumn colours
Nature truly is a tremendous force for good. As for the holly of 2023, I have never seen as many berries on hedgerows growing close to me.
What’s more, there seems to be an ample harvest of other berries at the present time – which is good news for the birds.
Let’s just hope it’s not a portent of severe weather coming our way in the New Year.
I will finish with a back reference to the Rathlin project. Back in the day, the plan was to take my entire class on a day trip to the island. It is located just off the north coast of Antrim, close-in to Ballycastle. We were to travel to the town by bus, and then take the ferry to Rathlin.
Excitement levels were high. In the weeks leading up to the trip, we learnt pretty much everything that there is to know about Rathlin Island.
E.g., it is shaped like a boomerang. The island is home to every species of gull found in Europe, and it also hosts one of the largest puffin colonies in the world.
Come the big day, we all got on to the bus good and early. However, within 10 minutes of leaving the school, the rain started to fall.
By the time we got to Ballycastle, it was lashing down. So, after a two-hour bus journey we got to the quayside, only to be told that the ferry had been cancelled.
What a downer. To this day, I have never set foot on Rathlin Island. However, the school trip, back in the day, wasn’t a complete disaster.
‘Plan B’ was for the teachers to take us all into a nice hotel for lunch with the afternoon spent running around the amusements in nearby Portrush… all at the school’s expense.
Life was much more fun back then! Or is this my mind playing tricks on me again?