The tree that supports this fungus is completely dead yet it plays host to a large array of life, not least this amazing fungus. I was worried that it might be the dreaded honey fungus but after comparison of this pic to the images on a Google search on honey fungus, I see that the two look quite different – phew. That would have been a truly miserable discovery.
The analogy with dead things supporting life is a good one for my world today – I have been on holiday from work but nonetheless working like a dog on the grand plan. For once, it feels as though the grand plan is working – at least, we’ve made loads of progress on the stuff we need to do and it looks again as though we may have a deal on the horizon that will mean this step of the plan is in place. I’m not sure I dare hope so, given last week’s crushing disappointments. I suppose I have to learn that not everyone is as ‘honourable’ as we are – so, even if someone says ‘it’s a deal’ then we can’t count on it until ink is on the paper. We’ve been caught out by that one before, quite a few times recently.
I really don’t know why you can’t rely on someone’s word any more – it doesn’t seem that long ago that most of our business was conducted on a verbal agreement basis yet these days, it’s rarely the case that you can be sure of someone’s intentions from their word alone. I think that’s sad – though some may think I’m foolish for having ever thought it was a good idea to trust people. I suppose I’m just one of life’s gullible ones. Still, I stand by my fundamental belief in basic human decency…….however stupid that may be.
Today has made me very happy to see my gallery ’50 ways to leave your lover’ so high in the popular galleries – it’s especially rewarding because it is work in progress. When the idea came to me, firstly I thought it was just a bit daft, then I had no idea how difficult people’s names were to rhyme with things and then to make them vaguely relevant to the title adds another layer of complexity. I was going like a train on them at first, but have slowed up quite a lot since my first flurry.
Still, one thing is really good about it – last time I was this high up the populars, with my foodie gallery, I was in complete terror of that stupid ‘rule’ that our good friend Ian Chappell (an early PaDer) invented of having to do a self-portrait in the bath if you get to the top of the pops. If I remember rightly, he promised to do it because he was close to the top and he wanted to be sure of getting there – it worked, but unfortunately for me, Pall, Penny, Vinay and Jill, it became a sort of tradition.
How bittersweet it was on that occasion to get to no 1 (a great honour) only to realise the consequences that I’d become a PaD pariah if I failed to get my kit off and do a ‘bath shot’. These days I’m less worried about being a social outcast so I suppose I would have just refused to do it if this one makes it to the top but thank goodness the practice died out because no PaDers got a No 1 for ages and by the time the next one after Pall did, everyone had forgotten all about it. So, I won’t need to in any event, whether my gallery gets to the top or not. Phew!
David came home from Madrid with food poisoning this time last year.
