Hemlock OMG

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Discussion

Astacus

Original Poster:

3,491 posts

241 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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Hemlock: Anger after poisonous plant found near Bucklesham school https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-6613...

I am not one who would normally froth over these things but fk me. I know this is a primary school but surely even a primary school teacher knows this is a ludicrous over reaction to a weed, albeit a poisonous one.

School discovers a few hemlock plants on a foot path to the school.
A diversion is put in place to the other side of the path so children are not harmed . Complaints made that council can’t get to it immediately OMG won’t someone think of the children

It’s only bloody hemlock it’s not going to jump out at them and ram itself down their throats for Gods sake. And anyway why can’t the bloody head teacher pick up a pair of gloves and a spade and deal with it.

Why are we all so bloody feeble and utterly incapable of sorting anything out with turning it into such a crisis .

ChocolateFrog

28,722 posts

180 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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"Parish Council"

Say no more.

Zetec-S

6,273 posts

100 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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Lol this made me laugh when I read it earlier, was going to start a thread but you beat me to it.

I think the overgrown path is the only issue, not sure how busy the road is but it could do with a quick strim to make it easier for pushchairs, etc. I don't really think kids tend to graze on the vegetation at the side of the road much so don't think hemlock is going to cause any problems.

I imagine it's been growing there for years, probably some kid into nature got a book about plants and identified it and the whole thing has spiralled from there. The irony is all the thicko parents will now be driving their kids 300m to school, abandoning their cars on pavements and junctions, making it genuinely unsafe for anyone walking rolleyes

J4CKO

42,894 posts

207 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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I often stop and nibble plants in hedgerows, dont you ?


Sway

29,405 posts

201 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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A huge amount of common plants are really quite poisonous/toxic.

I'd imagine they're also on the hunt for any local yew trees (the actual tree, not the 'operation')?

J4CKO

42,894 posts

207 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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Sway said:
A huge amount of common plants are really quite poisonous/toxic.

I'd imagine they're also on the hunt for any local yew trees (the actual tree, not the 'operation')?
Found some amazing Foxgloves in our garden, initially concerned for the dog but as Foxglove doesnt come in a packet and isnt meat based he has zero interest.

jet_noise

5,801 posts

189 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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J4CKO said:
I often stop and nibble plants in hedgerows, dont you ?
Mooo.

darreni

4,000 posts

277 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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Parish councils are bonkers, we are out in the sticks but ours have been busy buying more & more road signs & painting road speed warnings on the actual roads. Every where. It’s really ott.

They should be prosecuted for vandalism.

It’s a bit like the middle aged women that work in Doctors surgeries that feel the need to print & laminate multiple warnings and instructions for just about everything they can possibly think of.

Sway

29,405 posts

201 months

Monday 10th July 2023
quotequote all
J4CKO said:
Sway said:
A huge amount of common plants are really quite poisonous/toxic.

I'd imagine they're also on the hunt for any local yew trees (the actual tree, not the 'operation')?
Found some amazing Foxgloves in our garden, initially concerned for the dog but as Foxglove doesnt come in a packet and isnt meat based he has zero interest.
Yep, we have probably over a dozen plants (indoor and out) that are horrifically deadly to humans/the dog/our cats. Yet none of us even consider eating them, so we're all still alive.

durbster

10,779 posts

229 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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Zetec-S said:
... I don't really think kids tend to graze on the vegetation at the side of the road much so don't think hemlock is going to cause any problems.
I'm not so sure. One of my memories from primary school is of sitting in the playground watching a lad called James pick up tiny stones, pop them in his mouth and swallow them. hehe

J4CKO

42,894 posts

207 months

Monday 10th July 2023
quotequote all
durbster said:
Zetec-S said:
... I don't really think kids tend to graze on the vegetation at the side of the road much so don't think hemlock is going to cause any problems.
I'm not so sure. One of my memories from primary school is of sitting in the playground watching a lad called James pick up tiny stones, pop them in his mouth and swallow them. hehe
Had see seen Mandy Smith doing it ?

dukeboy749r

2,909 posts

217 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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darreni said:
Parish councils are bonkers, we are out in the sticks but ours have been busy buying more & more road signs & painting road speed warnings on the actual roads. Every where. It’s really ott.

They should be prosecuted for vandalism.

It’s a bit like the middle aged women that work in Doctors surgeries that feel the need to print & laminate multiple warnings and instructions for just about everything they can possibly think of.
clap

Yes. A bloody nuisance and they feel as though their role gives them the power of a local magistrate.

dandarez

13,460 posts

290 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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J4CKO said:
I often stop and nibble plants in hedgerows, dont you ?
Youngsters today eh? You have no idea.

Yes, we'd often stop and nibble plants in hedgerows as kids in the 50s. We used to carry 'Bowie' knives in sheaves holding up our short trousers too, but oddly never thought once about plunging them into another human being. How times change, eh?

Back to 'nibbles', one I well recall was the leaves on Hawthorn bushes/trees, it was nicknamed 'Bread and Cheese' (didn't taste like it but was pleasant enough hence why many kids (and adults) chewed it.
Funny thing is most of us that did are still alive, inc me!
In Cheshunt there is a road (or used to be) called 'Bread and Cheese Lane'. Guess why? It was originally lined with Hawthorn trees, hence its name.

Evercross

6,332 posts

71 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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J4CKO said:
Had see seen Mandy Smith doing it ?
ISWYDT

hehe

Silvanus

6,079 posts

30 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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J4CKO said:
I often stop and nibble plants in hedgerows, dont you ?
I often do, but then again I don't nibble things if I don't know what they are

Astacus

Original Poster:

3,491 posts

241 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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Nips out to nibble the hawthorn leaves

Mr Whippy

29,949 posts

248 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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I never knew its name and never knew it could be fatal if ingested.

Usually snap this down when it dries later in the year and kids use it as swords with each other hehe

Kids, and me, still alive.

Silvanus

6,079 posts

30 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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Mr Whippy said:
I never knew its name and never knew it could be fatal if ingested.

Usually snap this down when it dries later in the year and kids use it as swords with each other hehe

Kids, and me, still alive.
There are lots of similar looking related plants (Umbelliferae). Some are tasty, some only tasty once.

Square Leg

14,948 posts

196 months

Monday 10th July 2023
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dandarez said:
J4CKO said:
I often stop and nibble plants in hedgerows, dont you ?
Youngsters today eh? You have no idea.

Yes, we'd often stop and nibble plants in hedgerows as kids in the 50s. We used to carry 'Bowie' knives in sheaves holding up our short trousers too, but oddly never thought once about plunging them into another human being. How times change, eh?

Back to 'nibbles', one I well recall was the leaves on Hawthorn bushes/trees, it was nicknamed 'Bread and Cheese' (didn't taste like it but was pleasant enough hence why many kids (and adults) chewed it.
Funny thing is most of us that did are still alive, inc me!
In Cheshunt there is a road (or used to be) called 'Bread and Cheese Lane'. Guess why? It was originally lined with Hawthorn trees, hence its name.
I nibble the hedgerows when I’m walking the dogs.
Young hawthorn leaves taste like rocket, which I’m particularly fond of.

Dracoro

8,798 posts

252 months

Monday 10th July 2023
quotequote all
darreni said:
It’s a bit like the middle aged women that work in Doctors surgeries that feel the need to print & laminate multiple warnings and instructions for just about everything they can possibly think of.
The irony is that more then just a small number (if 3 or 4 and you might read them) then most people end up ignoring ALL of them (including any ones that are actually important/of note)…..