h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Which fungus can light..or was it fight a fire? I'm intrigued

Hello by the way..

Hi Seraphina! Nice to meet someone who'd be unusual enough to ask that question....

I think its right name is the horseshoe fungus or similar, though I know it by the traditional name "King Alfred's Cake". It's a hard black bracket fungus that grows mainly on beech trees. It doesn't quite light fires on its own, but you can put an ember onto it and it will smoulder away. If you get a big enough piece it will happily carry the fire until the end of the day when you can light a fire from its glowing remains. From this started the tradition of taking ash from the fire to put into the next one for luck (if you were travelling around every day you'd only have to do all the troublesome stuff on the first fire).

Glad to make your acquaintance over a fungus....

I've made aquaintances over stranger things i'm sure

And yeah i'm always interested in finding out things,especially if a little unusual!

Hows your sunday going?

Its going ok, am actually at work (in a big hotel in Torquay) but we've only got 11 guests - so my reception job is involving lurking around the internet until 11.30! Nice when it's easy money, isn't it? The biggest headache of work is gonna be what to have for dinner....

So I'm just having a good old lurk around hootoo for a bit, updating my guide entry for Andorra, wandering round the Fleamarket and all that.... hows your weekend, anyway?

Not the best but i'm surviving

A hotel in torquay? no waiters called manuel are there ?

Funny enough, we did last year!! This year we're specialising in Polish staff which is even more fun at times.... I could swear in Spanish but it's harder in Polish.... It's quite funny trying to explain stuff like Spotted Dick to the waiters "So why do you name this after a...a... penis??"

You've got a bit of an eclectic taste in music then! Add a bit of Cuban folk stuff and I can agree with you on most of it....

Would some help your weekend out?

yeah my music taste is a little eclectici guess..can't say i've ever heard any cuban folk stuff!

It may do..when i get my appetite back i've lost almost a stone this week or so..but i guess thats the break up blues for you..