• It was just a simple chest of drawers in the auction but waiting for the number fourteen to come up got my brain in a fuddle. It was so close to the beginning of the auction I was worried I might miss it. Number fourteen was announced and offered at £100. Nobody went for it. At £50, somebody jumped in. Very quickly it went up to £100, which was when I joined in and eventually got it for £115. My head was racing. I had to go and have a cup of black coffee and a three sausage hotdog while I waited til my brain calmed down. So much adrenaline for such a small thing.

    I know some people are scared of auctions. It’s probably the adrenaline they’re really scared off, worried that they will run away with themselves and bid a fortune for something really stupid.

    The secret is to have a really definite limit. But when the adrenaline kicks in, and the brain begins to go fuzzy, it’s very easy to forget the limit and, in the heat of the moment, decide you must have it at all costs. That is fatal.

    I’m comforted with the thought that at least the chest of drawers will hold its value. It’s replacing an old piece of IKEA furniture, which I know will struggle to make any money second hand. So it’s not really gambling, I think it’s more of an investment with the same head rush that you get from gambling.

  • This seems so easy and obvious to me, but that’s because I’ve been doing it for so long and had so much practice, which is the answer to most things that we find difficult. I often hear children asking how to do bubble writing, so this is a basic lesson. I’ll follow up with more ornate versions that build upon this lesson.

  • On a walk in the Forest, this afternoon, I came across quite a little glade of Fly Agaric mushrooms. They never fail to excite me. It must be years of fairy story inculcation. They would always appear in the corner of Arthur Rackham illustrations, like warning signs.

    Danger – Strange things may happen over the page!

    They are, apparently, hallucinogenic and may well be the influence behind Santa’s costume. Either way, they give me great pleasure when I come across them. They seem too opulent for our climate, too exotic. Surely they should be found in steamy jungles on paradise islands?

    Click for a bigger picture