Trump threatens war and punitive tariffs to recapture Iranian resources – just as in 1953, when the CIA overthrew Mossadegh and US corporations immediately seized 40% of the oil, says SEVIM DAGDELEN
I HAVE always thought the mistletoe (Viscum album) was one of the most magical and mysterious of plants. I have seen huge and multitudinous bunches growing on gnarled and ancient apple trees but similar orchards with not a sign of the plant.
I’ve also seen pathetic pale bunches over the door at more Christmas office parties than you could shake a cracker at.
Experts, face to face as well as on the media, tell me it is almost impossible to cultivate mistletoe, although I have read about making a nick in an ancient apple tree’s bark and rubbing in the seeds and pulp of a mistletoe berry. I’ve never met anyone who has managed to get mistletoe to take hold by this method.
Commiserations if you failed this year, MAT COWARD offers six points which, if followed religiously, will ensure you succeed next year
ALEX DITTRICH hitches a ride on a jaw-dropping tour of the parasite world



