Let's fall in love...

Happy Valentine’s Day!


It’s funny how parents explaining the 'facts of life’ to their children are said to be talking about ‘the birds and the bees’. Especially as birds hatch out of eggs, and bees don’t even indulge in sexual activity as we know it. Bees provide a very curious model for adolescent love. According to Bee Wilson, author of The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us, “all the (bee) boys want to sleep with a single girl, but the only ones who manage to do so are castrated and killed in their moment of success, while everyone else dies a virgin.”

I was surprised to learn that the sex life of bees remained a mystery for centuries and was only gradually unveiled in the eighteenth century. Bees are surrounded by honey, yet appear to be immune to the temptation of its sweetness. Perhaps this is why honey is found in celebrations of both sexual ecstasy and chaste worship?

For medieval Christians, bees came to represent the unique combination of productivity, order and chastity, towards which the monastic life aspired. And wax came to symbolize the most significant chastity of all: that of the Virgin Mary. Meanwhile, Kama, the Hindu god of love who gives his name to the Kama Sutra, is often shown riding on a sort of bee-cum-lion creature. This strange beast also appears on the side of honey jars in India, where the bee symbolizes the sweetness of love, as well as its sting. And the earliest stories of Cupid in the 5th century BC had him stealing honeycomb.



Then there are words like honeytrap – a way of snaring someone using sexual espionage or blackmail. And honeymoon. It’s said this may refer to the Viking custom whereby the bride and groom ate honeyed cakes and drank mead for the first month of their betrothal. But honey appears in the marriage rites of many cultures. Even today, in Morocco, the newly married groom is supposed to feast on honey for its aphrodisiac effects. And in Bulgaria, wedding cake with honey is rubbed over the face of the bridegroom.

Never mind their declining numbers, it’s no wonder bees have been getting so much publicity lately... If you’re bitten by the bug, you can try out beekeeping for beginners at the Chelsea Physic garden. Or alternatively indulge in some delicious English honey from Littleover Apiary. You can also read more about bee inspired product design in ShopCurious’s latest Curious Trends article. Or simply take inspiration from the famous Cole Porter song... birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it, let's do it, let's fall in love.

Will you?

Hearts, lovebirds and Valentine curiosities

I’m recently back from a trip to Florida, which was somewhat more eventful than anticipated (nothing to do with the primaries, or romance for that matter…) I’ll tell you all about it later. I just wanted to add a quick post to let you know about some of the unique gift ideas that ShopCurious has lined up for Valentine’s Day lovebirds.

As it happens, our theme for February is birds and bees – and some of the birds are to be found on Annie Sherburne’s artfully handcrafted Valentine hearts. Her Rococo style brooches and pendants, made from hand-embossed gilt, are intricately decorated with a myriad of upcycled jewels – including vintage glass flowers, pieces of crystal, abalone and pearls.



























































However, the main reason I chose these pieces of jewellery is because of the charming ‘lovebirds’. Though on closer inspection, I think they may actually be swallows. Did you know that swallows swallow insects in mid-flight? Hopefully not bees… But they look curiously cute and romantic together anyway, don’t you think?

Do you?

Nature's rare accessories

The tree of knowledge, eh? At Chelsea Flower Show a wicker sculpture (the sort of thing you might see festooned with tempting floral treats in a department store), formed the centerpiece of a ‘biodiversity display’. The aim: to seduce the public into doing anything and everything to encourage insects and birds to visit their gardens. However, only certain plants and flowers appeal to butterflies and bees... and possibly not the likes of this strangely inventive creation.

These days, all ‘great ideas’ seem to require celebrity endorsement. The tree of knowledge was no exception, with luvvies like Jeremy Irons and Greg Wise offering their penny’s worth. Mr Wise even penned a rather luvverly poem, imploring us to ‘be less tidy’, ‘let things rot’ and ‘embrace decay’. Cheers, Greg!





My favourite gardens are invariably where the wild things are. A stunning entry at the show was L’Occitane's Provencal garden with its luxurious lavender beds – great for bees… plus wonderfully gnarled olive trees and ruggedly unadulterated rocky terraces. M&G's traditional English garden was nice, and, I suppose, guaranteed to be a winner – being the show's official sponsor and all of that.





And Leeds City Council's garden, sponsored by Hesco Bastion, was awesomely overgrown, with the rather contrived addition of a model canal lock (I can’t imagine that was entirely cast from eco-friendly materials?)

Anyway, seeing these delightfully unkempt plots reminded me that the winged insect I haven’t seen much of in recent years (despite living by the river) is the dragonfly. Dragonflies apparently gobble up all manner of curious bugs, okay they eat some butterflies and bees too - but also mosquitoes, which could come in handy with global warming. They’re curiously colourful as well, and imbued with symbolism and cultural significance in many parts of the world.





At ShopCurious, we’ve been promoting the benefits of naturally beautiful things for ages, which is why we’ve got plenty of nature inspired jewellery and accessories on offer - this unique Art Nouveau style dragonfly brooch being the perfect example.

Knowledge may be a dangerous thing, but birds and bees are a safe bet any day. I reckon seeing a few more dragonflies might be good news for biodiversity too.

Do you?

Birds and bees

A couple of weeks ago, I heard someone on BBC Radio 4 mention that birds are migrating early this year and that it’s something to do with global warming. The very same day, just before dusk, what looked like thousands of starlings flitted from roof to roof along the River Thames. They must be rather confused now that summer seems to have finally arrived - just a few months late, ("Come back Peter, come back Paul!" as the nursery rhyme goes...) Sadly, I haven’t seen my friendly goldfinch for about a week or so either – not sure what has happened to him. Do finches migrate too?

Talking of which, at ShopCurious we’ve an original vintage silk scarf in the palest of eau-de-nil greens with beautifully handpainted finches. This is something that combines tradition, heritage and an individual sense of quirkiness and is likely to appeal if you appreciate truly unique accessories. It would also make a lovely and rather unusual gift – suitable for young chicks and old birds alike.








As for the bees, apparently they’re also disappearing fast. Bee keepers have been up in arms and Defra has been called upon to launch some investigative research into diseases affecting bees. However, it may actually be(e?) a combination of stress and a mystery virus that is causing honey bees to die or disappear abruptly, due to something called ‘colony collapse disorder’. It’s all very important as bees don’t just make honey, they also pollinate plants and so are directly responsible for a large part of our agricultural production and much of the food (at least fruit and veg) that we eat.








Oddly enough, this year I’ve noticed loads more bees and lots fewer wasps. That’s probably as a result of having what looks like half of Kew Gardens palm house on my terrace. Thankfully, since last year, the bees now seem to have realized that the carpet in my bedroom isn’t honeycomb, though the design does look remarkably similar.










I’ve also been on the look out for curious insects. I heard that blue butterflies are on the wane, but I did spot one or two in Norfolk this summer, along with these beautifully colourful creatures that I believe – with the help of my insect book – are some sort of burnet moth?








These pictures were taken near the Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve – a veritable haven for birds and bees. The latest buzz is that this is one of the areas that the Government is going to allow to be naturally inundated as the sea level rises, rather than providing additional funding for improvements to flood defenses.


Has anyone who knows more about this (perhaps a person of influence) got a dicky-bird to say?

Do you?