This is based on an account written by our Biodiversity Campaigner in October 2007.
This surreal happening superbly illustrates the problems caused by the hysterical stories about ragwort in the press.
I attended a meeting in London yesterday and I took the opportunity to pop into the British Library before and after. So in my rucksack were some language books as I was doing some studying and a file containing some stuff for the meeting and some papers, a list of verbs and nouns that I wanted to learn. and other things I wanted to look up in the library. This included some bits and pieces I had written about ragwort as I also intended to rewrite one of my articles on the return journey if I found the info I was looking for ( I sadly did not but an international colleague was later able to supply me with a copy)
I had put my stuff in my bag so it was invisible and I had nodded off when we arrived at Cardiff Station. I then found that a group of young ladies returning from a night on the town were sitting by me. They had obviously had a bit to drink but weren't plastered.
They engaged me in conversation . Where had I been? A meeting about wildlife? Oh, they liked wildlife and they started telling me how they hated fox hunting. I in turn said I had actually seen a fox at half five that morning as I left for my train.
Anyway, at one point in the conversation one of them said something out of the blue and honestly without any prompting whatsoever. "I hate that plant Ragwort". I actually looked around at that point. There was a hole in the bottom of my rucksack which had worsened during the day and I actually wondered if something had fallen onto the floor from my notes, but no it had not. Unless this young woman had x-ray eyes or could read my mind there is no way she could know of my knowledge of the subject.
What makes you say that? I asked. I got the expected answer that it was deadly. and not to go into the whole story I got told several of the myths. That it was illegal. It was a foreign invader. One of them actually said in astonishment "You like Ragwort. I pull it up all the time where ever I see it." I did actually tell her that unless she owned the land or had permission doing that was illegal. I have all too often seen habitat damage at the sides of roads from passersby thinking they are doing good by pulling up ragwort.
I didn't labour the point too much and they were about to get off by this time but it is a superb illustration of problem that caused me to start researching the subject in the first place