Vol 8: Basil D'Bumble:

Each summer, as the first sunflower tilts its golden face to the sky, something extraordinary (and just a touch eccentric) unfolds in the sleepy village of Broombottom.

Enter Basil Twigg, alias Basil D'Bumble: retired cobbler, village storyteller-in-chief, and—if you ask him—honorary guardian of the sunflower fields.

Every year, without fail, Basil emerges in a handmade felt tunic, oversized insect goggles (procured at a car boot sale), and a longbow whittled from the handle of a broken rake. He calls himself Mr. B. Archer—a name that’s become legend in his own lunchtime.

The villagers whisper gently over their tea: “He’s lost the plot, poor soul,” or “That bee thing’s got worse,” or simply, “Brace yourselves. It’s Basil D'Bumble season.”

But Basil stands firm. Because thirty-seven summers ago, while walking his whippet through the hedgerows, he swears he saw it.
A bee—not just any bee—a bee with purpose.
A bee with boots.
A bee... carrying a bow.

They laughed then, too.

And so, every year since, Basil takes to the fields. He patrols. He poses. He holds court with puzzled cyclists, curious tourists, and the occasional drifter with an iPhone, recounting the day he locked eyes with the legendary guardian of the blooms.
How that noble bee nodded, nocked an arrow of acorn tip and dandelion shaft, and buzzed off into myth.

What Basil doesn’t know—what no one else sees—is that the real Mr. B. Archer still visits. Perched high atop a toadstool lookout, shaded by a dandelion parasol, the true striped sentinel watches it all with a fond smile. And sometimes, if the breeze is just right and the pollen drifts sweetly through the air, he’ll give a subtle wink to those of us paying attention.

Some say Basil’s lost it.
Some say he’s found something the rest of us never will.

Either way, if you're passing through Broombottom this summer, and you spot a rather hairy man in stripy tights, peering nobly across a sea of sunflowers—raise your water bottle and nod. You’ve just met our very own Mr. B. Archer.

Final Word of Questionable Wisdom:
Reality is vastly overrated. If a grown man wants to dress as a heroic bee and defend sunflowers from imaginary peril—let him.
Frankly, it’s the most sensible thing we’ve seen all year.