The New Karen Communications Consultancy Blog

Karen Communications Consultancy Blog

Have you seen the blogs on my new website? The new series is beginning with Christmas blogs on a botanical theme, having recently completed my MSc in Plant Diversity. The plants have been deliberately chosen to show the diversity of the world's plants rather than merely repeat the standard range of Advent plant choices.

As well as showcasing the beauty of plants, my content strategy also highlights some of the serious topics on plants this Christmas. For example, climate change and plant blindness are very much to the fore this December.

Link to the blog with details of some of the individual content below:
https://karencommunicationsconsultancy.wordpress.com 

2018 Botanical Advent Blogs

Links to the first five posts on my new blog and venture for Karen Communications Consultancy are below:

Holly for all Seasons

Common or European Holly, Ilex aquifolium

Holly often only gets noticed at Christmas.
Gardeners and missing berries.
Holly works hard all year supporting local biodiversity.

Rehabilitating a Rotten Fruit

Common Medlar, Mespilus germanica

A unique fruit that is eaten 'rotten'.
Winter fruit valued in past, now out of fashion.
Does it have local potential due to climate change?
Shakespearean tale of mistaken identity, origin and unexpected new sibling.

Mahonia for Winter Sunshine

Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium and other Mahonia species

Botanical classification, winter colour and fruits.
Value as a medicinal plant in both Chinese and Western medicine.

A Christmas Aspen Tale

(European) Aspen, Populus tremula

British folklore and botanical details on the quivering Aspen.
Native species as opposed to the North American Aspen, Populus tremuloides.

Fragrant Winter Daphne 

Daphne genus with a particular focus on Daphne bholua.
Valued for its fragrance and beautiful winter colour range.
Protected medicinal and poisonous plant.
Discussion of climate response, plant blindness, labelling, etc.






The new website is still in development. Feedback is welcome on what works and what needs improvement. What features do you like? What information or services would you like to see?

In the meantime, enjoy the approach to the Festive Season.

Best wishes for the end of 2018 and a great 2019.
Karen


NB:
Clarifying my Surname
I prefer to just be called Karen by everyone. I tend to write in my maiden name of Andrews. Netto remains my legal name. My apologies if this causes digital confusion. I am one and the same person. I've put both surnames together for the time being on the new blog.

There's an Australian MP who shares my first name and maiden name and it's hard to compete digitally with her. Netto seems to send everyone to the wrong country and language combination. It's a Portuguese or Brazilian Portuguese name in origin, but most French speakers think it makes me Italian. I am 100% British with a lot of Welsh and English ancestry, some Scottish ancestry and one great-grandmother who was born in Jersey.

I'm pleased to be one of that rare British species who loves other countries' languages. I speak, write and translate French. I also have varying fluency levels and understanding of German, Italian and Spanish.

The Poppy and the Cornflower

A gun blast. Everyone jumped. Startled birds flew in all directions.

Two minutes' silence began.

One hundred years have passed since the Armistice. So many lives lost.

We were there in numbers to remember them.

A young boy in a Spiderman bobble hat sat on the shoulders of his father - just as our lives are built on their past. We shared hope and prayers that his generation will never know the devastation of a world war.

Two minutes up. Another blast. Car alarms and barking dogs. Ricochets of other blasts in the distance. Still no comparison to the sounds of war in the trenches.

Poppies everywhere: the symbol of remembrance and hope. Such a delicate and resilient, brilliant red flower. One of two pioneers that were the first to grow on the devastated battlefields. The inspiration for a famous poem:

In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below

In Flanders' Fields (written 3 May 1915)

by John McCrae (1872-1918)

Its author lies buried in France. Surprisingly, it was a French woman, Anna Guérin, who brought the poppy to England as a symbol of remembrance.

In France, they have the Bleuet for remembrance: the cornflower. It too continued to grow. Its bright blue is the colour of today’s sky.

We remembered them. We will go on remembering them.

A Day of Discoveries at the Linnean Society

Old manuscripts, books and letters can open a window on the past even in the digital age. While there is no guarantee that last year’s ebooks and apps will open after the next software update, the pages of a centuries-old book will still turn tomorrow. Much of the past is available digitised online today. Can it beat the thrill of seeing the original manuscripts for yourself? Let me tell you about a very special library and its treasures tucked away in London’s Piccadilly for Libraries Week (8-13 October 2018).

It was a thrill to discover the treasured books and manuscripts of Carl Linnaeus or Carl von Linné last week. Dr Isabelle Charmantier, Head of Collections, gave a talk on the famous Swedish botanist and his classification system at the Linnean Society of London. I followed the talk with one of the society’s regular treasure tours.

Linnaeus was a fellow bibliophile. It must have been purgatory not having access to his professor's library. He even drew a map of his professor's home showing the long corridor from his room to the library in the opposite wing. His late night reading and note-taking caused consternation. The professor's wife worried about the house being burnt down if he fell asleep by candlelight. The professor investigated. Linnaeus gained access to the library.

I marvelled at Linnaeus' ability to classify so much information in a pre-computer age. I admired his neat handwriting - a lost skill for many today. His precocious taxonomic talent and intentions were obvious in his twenties.

Facsimile of neatly handwritten classification records 

The manuscripts on display at the seminar were facsimiles. The real treasures are held in a special vault in the basement. It houses Carl Linnaeus' botanical and entomological collections, along with his own library's books, papers and letters.

Inside of the vault at the Linnean Society of London on the treasures tour

How did the Swedish botanist's collections end up in London? 

When Linnaeus died his wife offered his collections for sale as urged by the botanist to cover dowries for their daughters. Joseph Banks of the Royal Academy and Kew expressed interest. Linnaeus' son protested and took good care of the collection until his own death. 

Portrait of James Edward Smith in the library

Joseph Banks was no longer interested. He urged the botanist James Edward Smith to acquire the collection instead. There followed a series of letters between James Edward Smith and his wealthy wool merchant father. He gradually wore his father down and the Linnean Society of London was founded.

Our guide turns the page of one of two original manuscripts

Our tour guide for the day was the Linnean Society's retired librarian. She shared her fascination with her former charges. The Linnean Society is very grateful to the Mellon Foundation for its donations to help digitise and conserve the precious collections.