Dreamer's Block

Damn it... really want to add to my blog but haven't been remembering my dreams in any sufficient detail for the last few nights.

I think I'll make myself some Mugwort tea tonight. I buy it every now and then from Neal's Yard (this herbalist shop in Covent garden where they stock loads of herbal remedies etc). Can't remember why I got it the first time - think I just liked the name "Mugwort" (sort of sounds magical...a bit like a mixture of Muggles and Hogwarts come to think of it).

Before I brewed my first cup I decided it was best to do some preliminary research - just to make sure I wasn't about to imbibe a deadly substance. Good thing I did really as, although it tastes great (slightly bitter yet strangely soothing) I discovered it can be toxic in large quantities. So, as with so many things in life, the law of "everything in moderation" again applies...

I hate that "law" - why is it that almost everything in life is bad for you in excess - wouldn't it be great if something's were better for you if you overdid them...Imagine if alcohol was only bad for you if you just drank one pint a day, but benefited your body if you had ten or more pints.

Anyway, turns out that Mugwort was renowned in folklore as a herb that could bestow prophetic dreams if drunk or placed beneath your pillow. Can't say I've ever definitely dreamed of the future but I've certainly has some weird, incredibly vivid "mugwort trips". So may try it out again tonight...

In the mean time hope you enjoy the photo - It's me, some fish, some coral and the red sea. I spent a week snorkelling around Sharm El Sheik last year. Was great fun but had "snorkel fever" for the following fortnight.

N.B Snorkel Fever isn't a real medical term, its just what I christened my condition...The main symptom was dizziness. It felt like the ground was bobbing up and down, mimicking the rhythm of the sea. Then there were the dreams - "wet dreams" if you will - of fish, fish and more fish. Such very vivid dreams. Big fish, little fish, red fish, silver fish - all darting to and fro in front of my eyes, swimming this way and that, eyeballing me with their huge, squishy eyes...

I began to wonder if I'd been condemned to a life-time haunted by fishy dreams; but thankfully the fever eventually subsided, my sense of balance returned and, thank cod (ho,ho), can't recall dreaming of fish since.