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| Golden bamboo, twice the size of a person |
And the man himself, who, as his wife Nicky said, when looking for a house, looked at the garden first.
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Changing the subject slightly, though not from the trip, after being woken by the cat around 2ish. I began thinking! and came up with ergot (parasitic on grasses and cereals) and corncockles, both of which are poisonous to humans. All this because as we passed rolling large fields of wheat on the train, with not a weed in sight, and I wondered if the funghi is still around (don't worry, it is all under control)
The Ergot funghi fixated on our crops probably from the beginning of growing such things as wheat, rye and oats. It went through the Middle Ages with terrible consequences for Ergot poisoning of people. There seems to be a total breakdown of the physical self and also of the psycho. In fact, could have been responsible for the behaviour of the Salem Witches, though many dispute that.
All this you can find out through the good offices of Wikipedia, but of course there were rabbit holes to dive down and learn further. In the middle ages the saint St. Anthony's remains were supposed to cure you if you touched them. But then I came up on another interesting fact. This time it was the 'dancing disease', when one day a woman started dancing outside her house and just went on dancing and slowly more people started dancing and did NOT STOP until they dropped down exhausted, either from a stroke or heart attack, hunger or dehydration. Saint Vitus is the patron saint here for healing. I will put the links down below if you want to go further.
Another rabbit hole: You may not have noticed it but I became intrigued by the song 'Chaise Longue' sung by Wet Leg duo. How did the song develop? And then, came across another song, which went back to to the 'dancing disease' and featured Bill Nighy as the 'anxiety' of Florence and the Machine. Enjoy ;)
Thanks for taking us back to that luscious garden. Thanks also for telling me about something I had not heard of - ergot disease. Final thanks for the Florence Welch track - what a talent that woman is - and good heavens, she will be forty next year!
ReplyDeleteI learnt about ergot through archaeology, it probably had quite an effect through time. Never heard of Florence Welch till I listened to that track, apparently the song belongs to an album.
DeleteThose gardens are really fabulous. I've never heard of ergot disease. Interesting the things that come to you, Thelma!
ReplyDeleteBlame it on the cat Ellen ;)
Deletewhat a fab garden - i love your little rabbit hole journey - classic internet ...... i've been doing the same, recently with a theme park, a nightclub, an abandoned brickworks etc etc - segue after segue......
ReplyDeleteYes A/F knowledge is endless and you have to stop somewhere. But it is better than getting out those enormous encyclopedia books. But of course reading the land is like opening a book and thumbing through the pages.
ReplyDelete