Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Still on Annesley - then Fungus

This doorway always makes me expect a cowled-monk to emerge and I usually stand there and wait. No luck yet though, over many years. What is really needed is a clear moonlit night with a slight breeze rustling the trees.

A return visit at a more suitable time is clearly called for. The monk would have just been to 'evensong' and was obviously Catholic because there was still some 400years to go before the Reformation. It suprises me that there isn't more interest in this Church because, as ruins go, it is well worth a visit and a notice-board carrying some information about it would be helpful.

Picture 2 is a Bungus Fungus Collage. He sent me one yesterday which was obscene and, bearing in mind the delicate natures of my lady readers, I decided not to publish it.

Bungus is a great collector and consumer of fungi. Many of which I wouldn't dare eat. But he is still with us. Mushrooms of all varieties (shitake etc.,) and blue-stalks I'm happy with but I've never ventured beyond that. And we do love mushrooms, so perhaps we should be more adventurous. and while we are dealing with 'matters Bungus' - I have no objection at all Bob to your hitching a lift so to speak, on this Blog, until you succeed in creating your own. You will certainly get there in the end but I can't say "it's easy" because it isn't.

Last night I used the BBc 'listen again' service to catch up with Front Row which featured an amazing young violinist Chloe Hanslip. 19yrs and brilliant. Something seems to draw talented girls to the violin. Anne Sophie-Mutter has long been a favourite of ours.

Odds & Ends - There is apparently a word for when one can't think of the name of something. It is 'lethologica' but so far I haven't managed to track it down. A super Art Magazine dropped through the letter-box. Called Art Quarterly it's main preoccupation is saving threatened works for the Nation and they got my name from Colin Fletcher who thought I would appreciate it. And I do.

More tomorrow ................

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice doorway but just don’t ask me to join you on your nighttime (yes, it is a double ‘t’, I’ve checked) vigil and monkmeet.

Yesterday’s picture was not obscene, it is all in the eye of the beholder. It seems that the Victorians always printed illustrations of that particular fungus upside down to avoid giving offence.
RadioG is correct. I have eaten some two dozen different varieties of mushroom (and made some mistakes in identification). Although many are considered inedible, only a few varieties are actually poisonous. The problem is that some of those are absolutely deadly – no symptoms for a day or so, then, quite often, apparent recovery followed several days later by death from irreversible liver and kidney damage. A bit like overdosing on Paracetemol, I suppose. So Sainsbury’s is safest but you do miss some treats like the Aniseed Toadstool, which is powerfully flavoured and (like the Stinkhorn) its scent can be picked up from several feet away. Many varieties taste just mushroomy, but the Shaggy Inkcap (not my favourite) and Blewits are distinctive and the Parasol is particularly delicious, although inclined to be heavily infested with maggots.

I have also commented on Tuesday's blog.