How do you sterilise a butterfly?

There is a saying in London which runs “You wait for ages for a bus and then two come along together”. Well assuming that I get to complete this latest writing in good time, this could be metaphorical bus number two. I'm not sure of the destination yet, but climb aboard anyway and we'll see where it takes us.

Actually, let's take a small diversion right away: we'll get back on track shortly but I need to share some 50 year old news first!

I've been reading the 1983 book by Stanley Booth called 'The True Story of The Rolling Stones.' It's been an easy read but I have mixed emotions about both the author and the book itself. Anyhow, at the end of the story the author talks about the untimely death of Brian Jones in 1969 and the subsequent Hyde Park concert in his honour. 

Here's a newspaper cutting quoting promotor Andrew King's recollection of a gesture Mick Jagger had suggested:

The story goes that the butterflies had been bought from a butterfly farm  for £300. The crew went on to try and warm the butterflies by putting the boxes directly onto food hot plates - one is said to have caught fire. Then despite the Royal Parks authority stating that any butterflies released should be sterilised (how do you do that?) and that they should certainly not be cabbage whites, the plan was to go ahead.

Another clipping:

And this:

Apparently, depending on which report you believe, there were due to be somewhere between 2,500 and 10,000 butterflies to release but the actual number might have been close to just 250. 

And what of the story regarding the advice from the butterfly farm that "they're not dead, they're cold, they are sleeping" ? That was at odds with these words printed in a daily newspaper at the time: The hot weather upped the pollen count, meaning Mick's allergies flared up.

Journalist John Ingham writing in The Times though thinks there is another way of looking at this story: 

Yes, apparently  Butterfly Conservation have stated that 'The Rolling Stones helped launch it on 50 years of success'. 

I think I probably agree with Jacky Creswick!

I had been planning to get back to sharing my bug photos before concluding this update, but on reflection I think I will wait for the next one and leave you to reflect on the rights and wrongs of this 50 year old story.

One final thought from when the Stones played Hyde Park again in 2013

Sir Mick Jagger has promised The Rolling Stones will not  release any butterflies when they perform at London's Hyde Park.

The 'Brown Sugar' band staged a concert at the park in 1969 to commemorate the recent death of guitarist Brian Jones, which started with them releasing butterflies in front of the crowd.

However, Mick has ruled out any such stunt when the band plays on Saturday July 6 2013.

Has he repented maybe? Well not from the sound of this quote:

Mick told Absolute Radio's Pete Mitchell the stunt ''didn't go down well with the Park men. So I don't think there's gonna be a lot of that.''