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Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: DO PLANTS HATE SIR CLIFF RICHARD OR WHO IS BEHIND SATANIC VEGETATION?

Yes ladies and gentlemen,boys and girls, crypto-dames and crypto-dudes, today I explore the very vexing matter of varying vocal favourites amongst vegetation! It has come to my attention that plants actually have the cheek to DISLIKE Cliff!! As in Sir Cliff Richard.  Can you believe it? How could anything, animal,vegetable or mineral dislike the great Cliff or anyone else, like me, with the word `Richard` in his name?! (With the exception of Richard Nixon). Isn`t it amazing how all great people, such as me of course, Lord Richard Freeman of Sumatra ,etc, are graced with the name `Richard` ?

This story appeared in The Guardian today, Friday April 19th and is apparently supposed to be taken seriously, as it is almost 3 weeks since April Fool`s Day. How a plant could prefer devilish (right,enough said, I don`t wish to get the Big J, author of the N.Korean hit ` Koi Carp Style` in trouble with heavy metal fans) , I mean Black Sabbath, to the Mighty Cliff , that wholesome, pure, handsome young man I fail to understand, probably because I am now feeling very vengeful against all flora after I blasted Devo`s `Pink Pussycat` at my buddleia today and it withered. Of course the flaw in my argument is Cliff`s `Devil Woman`, I dare not play that to the next flower I come across – fearing the effects!

 Anyway… `Plants Love Heavy Metal, says BBC Garden Expert`

Garden guru Chris Beardshaw is recommending a new technique for bigger blooms – blast your plants with heavy metal music. The broadcaster and gardening expert reveals on Radio 4`s Gardeners` Question Time` today that a constant diet of Black Sabbath worked wonders on a greenhouse full of plants, but exposure to Sir Cliff Richard killed every plant in a horticultural experiment (surely not, what, even `The Young Ones` and `Summer Holiday`??! – R)   

The test came about because one of his horticultural students wanted to write a dissertation based on the effects of music on plants.

“ We set up four glasshouses with different sorts of music to see what happened to the plants. We had one that was silent – that was a control house – and one that was played Cliff Richard and one that was played Black Sabbath… they had the best flowers and the best resistance to pest and disease…those in the Cliff Richard house all died.” (1)

Quite what this means in the great scheme of things I don`t know. I vaguely recall my copy of a book called `The Secret Life Of Plants` saying that plants actually like classical music. Is it the volume or the lyrics that make a difference? And is playing any music at all really significant when that rose  or that tobacco for your loved one is going to end up with a very short life anyway?


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