The Arts Society Grantham

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17 November 2026	THE 12 PLANTS OF CHRISTMAS – The natural history, botany and folklore of the plants that surround us at Christmas
19 January 2027	THE DRAGON'S CLAW - A mystery
02 February 2027	POP GOES THE ARTIST: FROM Warhol to Dylan
16 February 2027	THE SHOCK OF THE OLD: Discovering Britain's Ice Age cave art
16 March 2027	THE LEGENDARY LEE MILLER
20 April 2027	THE TWO GUSTAVS: Mahler and Klimt
18 May 2027	THE ART OF THE STEAL: Nazi looting during World War II
15 June 2027	CARAVAGGIO: Murderer or Genius

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Lecture: THE 12 PLANTS OF CHRISTMAS – The natural history, botany and folklore of the plants that surround us at Christmas Lecturer: Timothy Walker Tuesday 17 November 2026

Apart from the pear tree in which sat the partridge, there are no plants in the 12 days of Christmas according to the folk song. Sadly, even that reference is erroneous, because partridges are ground dwelling birds. And yet at Christmas we are surrounded by plants. This talk puts the record straight and rewrites the zoocentric song replacing partridges with poinsettias, and maids with mistletoe.