GRASPING THE NETTLE
Nettlecombe, West Somerset
featured in Caught by the River, June 2024
First, be bold, as to be timid is to be stung. Practice a firm pinching motion with your thumb and forefinger in the air so that you feel a slight pressure between your fingertips when they meet. Test it out with something light and thin like a corner of a newspaper. Then, progress onto a non-stinging plant that you are prepared to sacrifice a leaf of. With a swift, sure movement grab the leaf around the centre of its blade between your fingers. Be sure to approach the leaf from its base, moving towards the tip in the direction of growth of the nettle’s hollow stinging hairs, as to move from tip to base is to suffer. Once contact has occurred, pull gently yet firmly until the petiole breaks the leaf away from the plant’s main stem. Stay vigilant. Release the leaf in an equally swift movement so as not to get caught out at the last moment
You are now ready to grasp the nettle.....
To read to the full piece on Caught by the River, see HERE.