Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
6th December 2025
H-Ape-y Christmas
You were all so lovely and generous when I told you that the Wales Ape and Monkey Sanctuary near Abercrave needed ‘scatter treats’ for their charismatic residents a while ago. So this week’s Christmas gift idea is also based on helping them.
You can buy a calendar of the Sanctuary residents for £10 (plus P&P if buying online, look under ‘Visitor Info’ and then ‘shop’), and add a ‘posh pen’ to write on it with, at just £3.00. Or you could adopt an animal. As their Mission Statement explains, ‘ The sanctuary rescues and provides a home for many types of unwanted animals, especially primates, such as chimpanzees, gibbons, baboons, spider monkeys, vervets, capuchins, tamarins, macaques and marmosets. Although we specialise in the care and protection of primates we cannot stand by and see other animals in need of help. You will therefore find meerkats, wolf dogs, horses, donkeys, pigs and others at our sanctuary. All are equally important members of our extended family.’
And therefore you can choose any one (or more) of these beautiful, sometimes-weird-always-wonderful animals to adopt from £40. An animal adoption includes a Certificate of Adoption, the biography of the chosen animal and one years free admission into the sanctuary. And of course the quiet contentment of knowing that you have helped these deserving animals.
The quickest way to apply for an adoption is to buy online at www.ape-monkey-rescue.org.uk as your information can then be processed immediately. Please allow 7-10 days for the adoption pack to arrive, especially around Christmas time when they are particularly busy, but if an adoption is particularly urgent, you can phone on 01639 730276.
You could also gift ‘Meet and Greet’ vouchers, allowing the recipient to literally meet and greet some of the charismatic residents. The Meet & Greet’ vouchers are only available to purchase by calling the Sanctuary. Another lovely gift idea is to buy something on the Amazon ‘wish list’. Just click on the logo on their web page under ‘fundraising’, and you’ll get lots of snacky food to choose from – a real treat for the residents at any time of year, but especially at Christmas.
The Sanctuary are also asking for old newspapers they can shred as bedding – if you can help, do please call them. There are always little things that they need that make such a big difference to their beloved animals. Recently, drinking beakers were needed for some of the primates to have their squash in. I don’t know too many details but I think there may have been a breakage or two involved from over-enthusiastic slurping.
And I happen to know that Nakima had a lovely new purple blanket gifted to her recently too.
You can follow the residents’ antics on all the social media channels, and keep up-to-date with their requirements.
There are just so many ways you can help these admirable animals all year round, but in the shorter term please help to make their Christmas a happy one.
Stone Ranger Strikes Again
You may not be too surprised to read that I have built a dry stone Christmas tree at the cottage this year. I am obsessed – with dry stone walling, not Christmas. It wasn’t that easy, so I can’t see it ever taking off as a ‘trend’, but I have to say, with its twinkly solar lights and star I’m thrilled with it.
Then last week, the builders left a pile of random stone they didn’t need in a yard where I work so I turned it into two armchairs.
It wasn’t long before my brother’s dog was testing them out.
It’s not the sort of furniture you can move about, but they are surprisingly comfortable. And I have a few more ‘unconventional’ ideas in the pipeline – of course.
Not Just For Christmas
Friday (12th) is National Poinsettia Day. I think the Poinsettia is to Christmas what the pumpkin is to Halloween – but they don’t have to be just for Christmas. With a bit of TLC you can keep your poinsettia healthy and happy from one Christmas to the next.
The poinsettia is a member of the Euphorbia family and not surprisingly is commonly known as the Christmas Flower or Christmas Stars.
Those bright red ‘flowers’ which make them instantly recognisable, aren’t actually flowers. Those ‘petals’ are bracts or modified leaves. The real flowers are yellow and relatively nondescript, grouped in the centre of each leaf bunch. In the wild, the red bracts attract hummingbirds, which then pollinate the less-obvious flowers.
There are now more than 150 named varieties of poinsettia and as well as the traditional red varieties, you can sometimes choose from white, cream and pink options.
As around eight million plants are sold in the UK every year, it suggests that people generally tend not to keep them going from one year to the next, but if you want to try, there are a few ‘rules’.
When buying your poinsettia, make sure it’s in good condition to start with and that the leaves aren’t wilting – that can be a sign that they’ve been stored in too-cold conditions in the run up to being displayed for sale. For the same reasons, avoid buying poinsettias that have been displayed near a door or even on a petrol station forecourt – they simply won’t last, and you’ll think it’s something you’ve done – or not done.
Take care to ensure it’s well protected on the journey home, making sure its delicate leaves aren’t exposed to freezing temperatures – ask for it to be wrapped up if necessary or cover it in a plastic bag if you need to. Don’t leave your poinsettia in the car for longer than is absolutely necessary if it’s cold, it will suffer. It may sound a bit ‘dramatic’ but you want it to last, at least for the festive period.
Once home, ideally place it in a well-lit window, and water whenever the top inch of soil is dry, and the pot is lightweight. Don’t let the soil dry out completely and don’t allow it to sit in water. They don’t like big changes in temperature either, so not near a radiator and out of draughts.
If you do want to keep your poinsettia ‘growing’ after Christmas, feed them with an all-purpose fertilizer when you water from spring through to early autumn. Starting at the end of September, give the plants 14 hours of uninterrupted dark each night and bright light during the day. Shield the plants from all light sources, including street and reading lights, covering them with a cardboard box or place them in a dark closet, if needed. Continue giving your poinsettias short days and long nights for seven to eight weeks. When the bracts begin to show colour, you can stop and care for as usual during the festive season.
Although after all that you could be forgiven for thinking they are just for Christmas and not for life.
Lovely column ad usual. Caught the festive season lovely.
Have a great Christmas and a bountiful and happy New Year.