SHROOM`S

CHAPTER 37

SHROOMS

1970s / 80s

Declaimer Thingy

I suggest you never try or take drugs, because it never ends well, except for the ones that the doctor prescribes for you of course, I can not tell you not to use drugs, but if you read the information about magic mushrooms at the end of the story it may help you make an informed decision if you are offered them in the future.

I apologise now for the personal rant in the middle of the story, you can skip that bit, if you don’t want to read it.

( Photo 1 ) . A badge that was seen on a regular basis in the biker pub, The Knights Arms in Porthcawl.

SHROOMS . # 1

When Wobble and fat mike, lived at the flat in Nolton street Bridgend, they would now and again use and consume welsh magic mushrooms.

These mushrooms are also known has :-

Shrooms.

Philosopher’s stones.

Mushies.

Magic’s.

And most likely a number of other names, I always called them Shrooms or Magic’s.

The boys ( done Shrooms ) on a regular basis when the mushrooms were seasonally available, they could be dried out so they would keep longer, but the demand was very high, and no stock of magic mushrooms lasted very long.

These type of mushrooms were easily available in the local area, because they grow wild in abundance on the hillsides of the valleys to the north of Bridgend.

If you did not want to go mushrooms picking yourself, they were always readily available off certain well known individuals in the Bridgend area.

You could even buy them in certain pubs in Bridgend town.

All you had to do was when you were ordering your drinks at the bar, you would ask the barman/ lady if they had anything under the counter, and that would be all it would take to obtain a small packet of dried out Shrooms.

A one stop shop where you could by drugs and alcohol in one place, the kids today think they are ones that drugs are a everyday social thing to do, little do they know that this kind of thing as been going on for decades.

If wobble and fat mike intended chilling out for the night with some magic’s, they always had a regular procedure that they followed before the little mushrooms came out of the bag.

The first thing they would do was to collect all the knifes and cutlery that was in the flat, and put them all away in a box and put them safely out of sight.

This harvesting of sharp implements was done because of a previous incident while they were under the influence of the mushrooms.

What you have to remember is that magic mushrooms are a hallucinogenic, and once you take them you have no control over your actions, what visuals you have is what you believe is really happening to you.

The night that the incident happened everything was done just as they had done it many times before, ( except for removing any sharp objects ).

The mushrooms were removed from the bag, they had already been dried out beforehand, then they were slowly warmed up in a saucepan on the cooker.

The heat was kept low and the Shrooms were allowed to simmer, there was enough water added in with them just enough to cover the tops.

They were allowed to soak for a little while to release the active magic element of the mushroom to leach into the water, so it would give the solution its magical element, it was important not to heat them up to quickly because it tended to boil off its magical properties.

Once the simmering time was over, the water from the saucepan was poured into mugs and then it would be sipped slowly just like a hot mug of tea or coffee.

There was always something to nibble on if you were puckish, as the mushrooms were ready to eat if you felt hungry.

Even after cooking, the mushrooms still had a strong earthy taste to them, they were also very rubbery and it takes ages to eat them as they are very chewy.

Normally the drug ( PISLOCYBIN ) in the mushroom would take you, and your mind off on a colourful magical trip, where reality is distorted, but not in a bad way.

The results could be anything from being so chilled and relaxed that you would not be aware of what is going on around you, feeling this way, you would be totally lost in your very own world outside of everyone else’s or everything could be brighter and more colourful, sometimes after taking Shrooms you may feel as if time as slowed down dramatically, and you will get the experience as if it would take you a week to open a window.

It all depends on what mood you are in to begin with.

Some people cannot stop talking and will ramble on talking bullocks for hours, and not really saying anything, it would not really matter what they would be saying as nobody would be listening, everyone who had taken the magical solution would be to busy in their own world to be aware of anything that was going on around them.

Other’s that had part-taken in the Shrooms would find everything very funny, even the most boring everyday objects like a set of keys or an ordinary bar of soap, if they had this kind of trip these everyday objects would be the most hilarious things ever, you could keep giggling your way throughout the night finding the most obscure everyday items incredibly amusing, and this behaviour was infectious to other like-minded people who had been on the Shrooms.

If one person started laughing, and pointing at something like a lampshade, within less than a minute there could be a dozen people sharing the same secret joke with no idea why they were laughing and giggling, but finding it extremely funny.

But these experiences did not always have a up-side to them, there was sometimes a down-side, not that I have witnessed many downers with mushrooms.

But this night with wobble and mike was different.

I was not there myself, but the night’s events were related to me by Wobble and Mike after it all happened.

( Photo 2 ) . Typical Welsh magic mushrooms ( Shrooms ).

Night of the long knife . # 2

There was no laughing this night.

Mike had not been laughing at ordinary mundane objects or drifted off into a multicoloured world of his own making.

Strangely he had gone in the opposite direction of being chilled and relaxed, and had turned aggressive and paranoid.

Why he had gone in this direction, and started acting like Michael Myers from the film Halloween, was a bit of a mystery, he must have been feeling down before he took the Shrooms.

He could well have been in a bad mood or depressed about something or had some kind of issue that the affects of the Shrooms made worse and in his psychedelic world of this Class A drug everything seemed very real to him.

Mike and Wobble discussed the reason for this unusual event, the day after it all happened, but even analyzing the reason that could have lead up to mike behavior, they found no answers, mike was always a bit on the moody side, but his aggressive behaviour was something new in his character make up.

Whatever triggered this kind of behaviour didn’t really matter at the time that it happened, because mike suddenly grabbed one of the of those extra sharp Swedish chef knifes from the kitchenette and tried to stab and slash wobble repeatedly, this happened in an instant without warning.

Wobble managed to fight him off, somehow he managed to avoid the slashing strokes of Mike’s frenzied attack, but not before mike had slashed at him and ran the Sharpe blade across wobbles mid-rift area ( belly ).

Wobble jumped back in time, his defensive actions were pretty quick, and avoided any serious injuries.

He must have had an extra shredded wheat for his breakfast.

Even though wobble was under the influence of the mind altering mushrooms himself, he stepped back away and arched forward and in doing this quick thinking manoeuvre, the blade that mike had intended to slice wobbles belly wide open missed, and only slashed across his t-shirt.

The blade cut the t-shirt wide open all along the front in one swipe, an inch closer and it would have been wobbles belly that was cut open and not his t-shirt.

Wobble was now in survival mode, and avoided a series of swipes and stabs attempts by a very paranoid mike.

After Mike’s initial frenzy had slowed down a little, wobble managed to talk Mike’s paranoia down a couple of levels and mike lowered the knife down.

Mike was still not really settled and wobble needed to disarm him.

But first he kept talking to him to reassure him everything was ok, and there were no demon’s out there trying harm him and if wobble can do anything, it’s talking, even if no-one is listening.

Wobble kept talking and finally talked the psychopathic knife welding idiot to the point that he was no longer a danger to him.

And from that night on, if they both intended to cook some mushrooms, they would collect all the knifes, forks, in fact anything that was sharp and anything pointy and hid them away for the night.

The government tells us that it is dangerous to take drugs, what they should say is especially a magic mushroom filled biker with a knife.

( Photo . 3 ) A typical evening in the flat with Wobble and Mike, Mike on the left and Wobble holding the tankard.

Rag-doll . # 3

I would call into Wobble and fat mikes flat in Bridgend on a regular basis.

If I was going in that direction, and if I had some spare time on my hands, I normally did this before I intended to go down to Wick village or the Plough and Harrow pub in Monknash.

There I would chill out with the guys for a little while, and then be on my way and sometimes depending on what time it was they would ride down with me, when we were close enough to Wick village, they would peel off onto a side road and head for the pub, I would stay on the same road still heading for wick were I would pick Gaenor up, and then cut through the village and head for the plough from there, and meet back up with the boys at the pub.

On one occasion when I called in at the flat, Mike was on his own, Wobble was else where most likely in work as he worked shifts, mainly afternoons and day shifts, I too worked the same type of shifts, sometimes the shift made it difficult to attend a rally or a party.

Mike was in the middle of stewing some mushrooms, to be specific, he was busy brewing up some magic mushrooms in a saucepan.

He had nearly finished preparing them when I had arrived.

As I entered, he offered me some mushroom tea.

It’s rude to say no.

So I sat down on the long huge brown furry settee and shared the Shroom tea with mike, my intention was to stop for just under an hour, and then ride down to wick, only drinking a small amount of the tea would not have affected my riding ability.

So I thought.

Two hours later I was still in the flat, I had lost all idea of time, and what I was supposed to do or even why I was there, this crop of magic mushrooms must have been very strong.

I’m a pretty laid back person, and don’t get stressed about things, I always think with a positive attitude to the everyday problems that pop up now and then in my life, there is no point in worrying about things you can't fix or change, so why worry about it.

Like the man says, shit happens.

Having this kind of mindset attitude to life must have allowed me to relax maybe a little too much, and with the help of the Shrooms, chilling was at the top of the list.

Some of the other guys turned up a little while later, and I have no idea who they were, I knew them all, I had known them for years, I have partied with them, rode with them, but I just could not put a name to the face’s, I could not remember any of their names, I knew that I knew them, but in the same instance they were complete strangers to me, and I still cant remember who was there or who they were.

I just could not put the name to the face and I had known these guys for many years, it was all very strange.

They too also shared the tea.

Mike was up and prepping another brew of mushrooms, one of the guys had brought some of his own, so there was a plenty to go around.

The rest of the evening was spent giggling at a off-white 14 inch portable T.V. that was not switched on.

I had lost all track of time, and my ride down to wick didn’t happen.

By 23:00 I was like a rag doll, I didn’t seem to have control over my arms and legs, it was if they belonged to someone else, I couldn’t even lift them up, well that is what it felt like to me, the shrooms were working their magic.

The flat could well have been on fire, and I would have just watched the patterns in the flames as if they were fireworks, there would have been no panic, and no concern for myself, the flat would have burnt down around me and I would have watched all the flames dancing around and enjoying the shapes in the flames.

The very last thing that I remembered with some clarity was what music was playing it was ( Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath ) which in itself is a very relaxing song, play the song on you-tube, if you have not heard it before and you will understand what I mean about it being relaxing to listen too, I can also remember thinking I have to do something, but had no idea what it was, I had totally forgotten about riding down to wick.

I looked at my watch and the time was 23:00 pm, I checked my watch again, and what seemed like only half an hour had passed to me, but it was 03:00 am, even today I still have no idea where all those hours had gone, I finally fell asleep on the settee with at lest three other people.

I did not wake up until 15:00 pm the next day.

I had spent nearly 24 hours in the flat, and only remember turning up there and I have some recollection of only four hours of the whole evening.

I didn’t pick my girlfriend up, and I didn’t manage to go down the plough, I did feel bad about leaving Gaenor down, after all, back then there were no mobile phones and no way of getting in touch with her, and the way I used ride a bike she would have been worried about me, maybe thinking that I had an accident, because normally I was very punctual and always turned up on time.

Anyway when I woke up and realised where I was, my first thought was that I need to go home, I walked over three bodies sleeping on the floor and headed straight home, yawning all the way.

When I arrived home in Pontycymmer, I went straight to bed and went straight to sleep and slept for another 14 hours, my mother had to wake me up, she said that she had been shaking me for ages, I would not wake up.

Drinking Mikes mushroom tea had made me lose the whole weekend.

I didn’t eat anything at all for two days, Saturday and Sunday were totally food free, and I still did not feel hungry on the Monday.

I was too tired to go to work.

But I did manage to go into work, but I did as little as possible, I just stayed in the office and tried to stay awake, which was the hardest work I done that day, I was constantly in a sleep state, but for the rest of the week I kept yawning and wanting to sleep, and I was still losing track of time.

I did phone Gaenor up on Monday morning after the Shroom weekend and told her a lie, I told her that I wasn’t feeling well and stayed in bed all weekend and slept-ed the weekend away which is only a white lie really, as some of it was true and that is why I didn’t turn up, I avoided telling her about the mushrooms.

I was still losing time all the next week, every time I checked my watch I would have lost an hour or two, I even convinced myself that I was time travelling, it was quite a surreal experience.

Those welsh mountain mushrooms had some pretty powerful magic in them.

I stayed off the Shrooms for sometime after this weekend and made a point that if I intended being somewhere else or had something to do, I would stay away from them.

Time travelling is fun, but you do tend to miss some stuff along the way.

( Photo 4 ) . Fat Mike and someone whose name I can't remember, sitting on the brown furry settee, another typical night in the flat.

The Postman . # 4

When I lived in Richard Street in Pontycymmer, I bought a house at the very end of a street on a very steep hill with nothing above me but mountain and a few trees and lots of sheep, sounds like every Welshman’s dream :).

In the back bedroom of the house which I only used for storage and stuff that everyone collects but never seem to have any use for, but may come in handy one day.

Well it was one of those kind of rooms.

It only had one window which was east facing, and this window caught all the sunlight as the sun came over the mountain in the morning.

On the windowsill of this east facing window, I had been growing a marijuana plant ( for personal use only of course ), well me and friends really, sharing is caring.

I had grown the plant from seed and after some baby-bio plant growth formula which my grand-dad gave to me to help me grow my ( tomato ) plant and with the help of the sun, it blossomed into a mature bushy plant that filled half of the window space, I told Gaenor it was a tomato plant, she seemed to believe me.

As I stated earlier I lived in the very end house with only the mountain above with no other houses only the wild barren landscape of the mountainside.

The mountain was partly hidden by some tall mature trees running along the side of my garden, this may well have started off has a hedge, but had been left to its own deceives had gone wild over the years.

The house was at the top of a very steep hill which was known locally and unofficially has sludge’s hill.

My house was the last house in what is known has a miners row and that is where the road stopped.

This dead end had a small rough muddy track leading off to the farm called ( Gelliron farm. ) that was further up the hill.

One day on his rounds the local Postman asked if he could cut through my garden, and use it has a shortcut to the street behind.

I said yes to his request, because once he had climbed up the hill to my house, he would have had to turn around and head back down the hill and then cross over to the next street behind my house and then back up another steep hill.

I had seen the same postman puffing and panting his way up the hill before, and by the time he had gotten to my front gate he was knackered, it was a long haul up this hill with a heavy postbag slung over his shoulder.

It was the least I could do to help him out, and save his legs.

But what I did not take in to account was that my bushy weed plant was in full view of the postman as he used my side entrance has a shortcut.

So after a while the postman used the shortcut with no problems, then one day he knocked on my door.

He knew I was in because my black and gold 750 Rickman / Honda was parked outside on the road, normally when used the shortcut I was in work.

The postman said “ I noticed that plant that you have in the side window, it looks like a marijuana plant “.

I looked at him and thought “ where the fuck is this going “.

I said “ is it, I thought it was a tomato plant “ well what else could I say, I was not admitting to anything.

The postman continued “ when its ready, can I buy some leaves off you “.

I was surprised by this statement.

I just said “ yeah, ok , it won't belong, I need to dry it out first “.

I was surprised by his request because this was the 80s, and I was in my late 20s and this postman must have been well into his 50s, and over weight with a pot-belly, and he was going bald which made him look older.

He just did not look like someone who would be interested in smoking marijuana.

He said “ I’m not a junkie, the leaves are just good for my aching bones “.

You have to consider the times when this conversation was going on, back then weed was highly illegal and the coppers were very keen on catching and prosecuting anyone using or growing it.

I thought at the time “ wow, even old men use it “.

I was not being naive, you have to remember the mind-set of the time.

The attitude of the older generation was totally different to today’s, drugs were a massive NO NO and the stigma of being known that you used drugs would get you sacked from your job and expelled from local pubs and workingman’s clubs, and your family would be ashamed of you, of course it is very different nowa days, the drug scene seems to be the norm and is accepted as part of everyday life.

Back in the day everything was more stereotyped, hippies, bikers and other types of people who did not fit into the normal structured society of the time and lived on the edge of the normal everyday lifestyle of the majority were all on drugs as the older generation of the time saw things.

So it was a bit of an eye-opener for me to think that the postman was using drugs, but this postman was way ahead of his time because he was using the weed for medical purposes, and I dare say he may have had some relaxing times from the use of his chosen medication.

When the plant was ready I gave him what he needed and I didn’t ask for any money, I was just happy that it helped with his bones.

( Photo 5 ) . Looking up towards my old house in Richard street Pontycymmer, my house was the very last house at the end of the road on the right side, this photo was taken in 2011 nothing has changed except for the cars and the hand-rails, the rails did not exist back in the day, not the steepest hill in Wales, but a long haul with a heavy postbag.

Dai Dap . # 5

On another time during this same time period I used to work with this guy called Dai Dap in Ofrex engineering in llangeinor.

He was a long haired hippy type, who worked in the factory stores, he was well into thrash music and played in a local band called ( PRATS ON THE PROWL ), myself and some of the guys went to a couple of their gigs, it was not my kind of music, but the atmosphere at the gigs was always good and everyone enjoyed themselves with no hassles.

Well one day, he crashed his car at the top of the hill on one of the bends at Tylagwyn just outside LLuest village, he broke his leg and was off work because of this.

I was in a management meeting, and the suits were discussing everyday company issues, department by department.

It was the store mangers turn, and he said they were one man sort because of Dai`s accident.

The English director who was a complete Dick-Head looked up from his paper work and said “ isn’t that the long haired boy that looks half asleep all the time “.

The store manager said “ yes that’s him “, there was a little chuckle from the others who were there around the table at this remark, I didn't laugh.

Then the director said “ if he was on drugs sack him, and stop any sick pay, all these long haired types are the same “ then everyone looked at me, as it happens I had long hair, all the other ( Suck ups ) had nice neat short hair so they could fit in with the rest of the Wankers.

The director looked at me and said “ present company excluded of course “, I didn’t say anything, I just smiled, I was just thinking this guy is a bigger prick then I first thought he was.

Dai`s store manager stuck up for dai and defended him by saying “ he’s not on drugs, he just skidded on the black ice, it could have happened to anyone “.

From there the meeting carried on with all the other boring shit that goes on in meetings.

This was a fine example of the general attitude of the time, just because Dai had long hair, and played in a band he must have been on drugs, if he had short hair and wore a suit nothing would have been said, the director showed no empathy for his injuries and was quite happy to dismiss him from his job in an instant, all because he had long hair.

I had long hair at the time, so I dare say I too was slotted into some drug stereotype category as Dai was, and in that case they would have been right, I was just lucky that I was good at my job, so they left me alone.

( Photo 6 ) . A photo of one of the PRATS ON THE PROWL gigs that we all went to, this was in the YORK TAVERN in Bridgend in 1990.

Funny stories and the ranting Bit . # 6

The Ranting Bit.

What follows are some of the strange occurrences that have happened, when some of my friends have taken drugs.

There will be no names mentioned as some of the these guys are trying to pretend they are normal people nowa days, with kids and grand-kids.

So no names or places used.

These are some of the funny things that have happened under the influence of drugs.

BUT, and this is a very BIG BUT

There is a massive dark world that drugs can send you into, and it can be almost impossible to find your way back into the world that you left.

Things will never be the same ever again.

So take a look at the funny side, BUT always remember that sometimes there is no way back, and drugs can lead to misery and despair.

I would not recommend anyone to take drugs, it is a personal choice, but you can get pressured into experimenting with them.

I found as the years have moved on that social drug taking as gone up a few levels, it is more common now than it was in my day, it is quite common to see people smoking weed on the streets in full view of the public, and Spice seems to be the trending favourite at the moment.

The smell of the weed is far too strong to hide or pretend that it is a normal rollie.

I don’t know if I have missed it, but I have not seen any government directive to educate or any effort to introduce any preventive measures, there is nothing employed in the media that I’m aware off.

Maybe the authorities have given up.

There can be some very tragic events relating to drug use and it does not matter whatever drug it is.

It could be Speed, Meth, Weed, Monkey Dust, Spice or even Molly there are lots more that I could list.

The list is endless.

There is always the danger of death and long term affects, like mental illness and general health concerns and friends trying to stab you.

The drug after affects may not appear for sometime, but they are there, and they will follow you into your later life.

If you are a regular user you may not have to worry about the long term after affects has your life span will become exceedingly shorter, and there will be no quality of life and your family will disown you, you will be alone in the world with your only friend the Drug Dealer on speed dial, and that is your fault and nobody else’s.

You have been warned

( Photo 7 ) . Wobble chilling crossed legged on the large stone fireplace at the flat in Bridgend.

FUNNY DRUG STORY’S

There will be no names or locations used in the following stories.

Many people mentioned in these story’s have moved on from the drug using times, and would not appreciate me reminding them of a past that some of them would like to forget about.

Keys . # 7

I know one guy who after taking Speed, spent the evening after he had taken the drug picking up small pebbles shaped stones off the ground, and kept stuffing them into his pockets until they were bulging to the point that he could not put any more pebbles into them.

At the time he was under the impression that the pebbles were bunches of keys, and he became fixated with the idea of collecting them all.

The next day after the affects of the drug had worn off, he had no idea why all his pockets were full of small pebbles.

They . # 8

Another time, I called at a friends house, and he was in the front living room window.

He was behind the curtains, which were a light pastel green with large red flowers scattered all over them, ( I know it's not relevant to the story, but I just remembered the details of the curtains for some strange reason ).

Now and again he would sneak a quick look out of the window, and then just has quick duck back behind the curtains, and then a short time later he would repeat the same sneaky quick look and dart back behind the window again.

I watched him do this for about five minutes, in the meantime, I did try and draw his attention by waving to him, but he just looked straight through me, what he was looking at I had no idea, nothing was happening around me or in the street.

I let myself into his house, he had not locked the front door and it was also left ajar.

I walked into the living room announcing my presences by calling out his name, he was still looking through the window, he looked at me and whispered “ don’t stand in the window they will see you “.

I stopped where I was in the doorway and said “ who is out there, I didn’t see anyone when I pulled up “.

Initially I thought he may have had a genuine reason to be acting like he did, I thought maybe he owes someone money or someone was after him to give him a slap.

He replied “ they are out there, they haven’t spotted me yet “.

I said “ ummm you ok , there is no-one out there you know, I checked before I came to your house “.

He wanted to know if I had been followed because ( THEY ) were everywhere.

He was acting really strange, and extremely erratic and by his behaviour I could tell he was under the influence of some kind of drug.

I tried talking to him, but he was far too preoccupied with his invisible stalkers, so I left him to his paranoia, he was not going to leave his house that night, just in case ( THEY ) spotted him.

Wellington . # 9

On another day at another time at a totally different location, I called at another one of my friends houses when I was out and about.

I walked straight into the house, and four of the guys were sitting around the living room drinking larger/cider and smoking grass.

The room was filled with smoke from the Spliffs and the smell of the dope was so very strong it hit you like a cricket bat before you entered the room.

There was nothing really unusual about seeing four guys smoking and drinking.

What was odd about the scene was the clothes tumble dryer in the middle of the living room.

It was running and rocking back and forth violently, and making a hell of a noise.

I walked around to the front to see why the dryer was making so much noise, to my surprise inside the dryer tumbling around and around was one black wellington boot bouncing around.

I spoke to no-one in particular and said “ Why the fuck is this thing in the living room with a welly in it “.

I did not get answer off any of them, I was not sure if they even knew I was in the room.

All the four guys sat there as if they were watching a film on the T.V., they were transfixed on the small round glass window in the middle of the dryer.

The tumbling black wellington had mesmerized them all, they could well have been watching a big budget Hollywood block buster, they did not want to take their eyes of it.

The Welly inside the dryer had become so hot it started to melt and it was stinking the room out with a hot rubbery smell which didn't help the smell of the room, the actual dryer was smoking it must have been on for hours, so I immediately switched the dryer off at the main’s electrical outlet on the wall, to the displeasure of the captive audience.

Now they had noticed I was in the room, they must have taken more than weed, these guys were real spaced out.

They were not happy that I switched off their entertainment, but they were in no position to stop me, they were all to wasted to do anything about it.

They had been smoking weed all day, and were like rag dolls, I also noticed the residue of white powder on the coffee table, I can only guess what that was, maybe it was talcum powder, I think maybe the rolled up £5 note on the table may have given the game away.

I didn’t stay.

So before I left, I cut the electrical plug off the tumble dryer, so they could not switch it back on again, I also pushed the drying back into the kitchen and removed the wellington out of the dryer by using two forks I found in the kitchen which had been stuck into a uncut loaf of bread for some bizarre reason, the welly was far to hot to touch with bare hands, so I threw it into the sink and poured cold water over the smoldering rubber.

If I had left the welly as it was smoldering in the dryer, it would have burnt the house down.

I switched the TV on, and put the remaining wellington on top of the T.V., so they could fixate on that instead.

Then I left them to it, I had better things to do than sitting around watching wellingtons do somersaults

Penguins . # 10

Another time I spotted a friend walking down the road in a strange manner, he was standing bolt upright with his back as straight as he could possibly make it, with his hands tight down by his side and taking very small steps.

He had been walking the same route for quite a while.

He had been walking down the street and then making a quick turn when he came to gully, and then back up into the rear lane behind the houses and then repeated the same manoeuvre at the end of the lane and turned back down into the street again, he was walking the same route around and around a block of houses.

I was told this by some of the concerned people in the street, who had witnessed him walking this same route a number of times.

I approached him.

He did not stop walking, so I joined him and walked alone side him.

I said “ what you up too “.

He kept looking straight ahead.

He replied “ stop talking to me, or the Penguins will know I’m not one of them “.

I continued walking alone side him and said “ what do you mean “, I was a little puzzled by his answer.

He answered, but still looking forward with his back as straight as possible “ I’ve fooled them into thinking I’m one of them, they think I’m a Penguin “.

I thought “ what the fuck is this guy on “.

He truly believed, he was walking around inside a group of around 40 Penguins.

He said “ you’d better go or you’ll blow my cover, you don't want to piss them off, they can be nasty bastards when they want to be “.

I stopped, he kept walking.

I left him to his Penguin friends

There was no point in me trying to talk to him, and get him off the street, he was in Penguin mode, and I thought at the time it would cause him to much distress if I tried to remove him from his mission and his new mates.

He would eventually go home when the Penguins left.

( Photo 8 ) . Wild Welsh Mountain Mushrooms, ready to be picked.

Magic mushrooms . # 11

Also called: Shrooms Philosopher’s Stones Mushies Magic’s Liberty Caps Liberties Amani Agaric Wild mushrooms with hallucinogenic effects

How it looks, tastes and smells

What does it look like?

Many poisonous mushrooms look very similar to ‘magic mushrooms’ and it’s easy for pickers to mistake them. People have fallen severely ill or even died from eating a poisonous mushroom.

Magic mushrooms are often sold raw or dried. In the UK, the most common types are liberty caps (Psilocybe semilanceata) and fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). Liberty caps look like small tan-coloured mushrooms Fly agarics look like red and white spotted toadstools It’s important to know that some types of magic mushroom are stronger than others. For example, the fly agaric mushroom is usually more potent than the liberty cap mushroom.

Liquid psilocybin is another way of taking magic mushrooms. It’s made by extracting psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in mushrooms like liberty caps, and is a clearish pale brown colour. It comes in vials (small bottles).

What does it taste/smell like?

Liberty caps are usually eaten raw and have a strong earthy taste and rubber-like texture – which makes them very chewy.

They don’t taste like the mushrooms you cook with at home, and some people try to hide the flavour by putting them in an omelette or in tea.

How do people take it?

By eating it

After picking, liberty caps are often eaten raw or are dried out and stored. People don’t tend to eat fly agaric mushrooms raw as they can make you feel very sick.

By drinking it

Some people make tea from dried mushrooms.

By taking drops of liquid psilocybin

Liquid psilocybin is made by extracting psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic drug found in mushrooms like liberty caps.

How it feels

How does it make you feel?

The strength of magic mushrooms varies depending on their freshness, the season and where they grow. It’s very difficult to predict the strength of magic mushrooms.

For most people, the world appears distorted when they take mushrooms. Colours, sounds, objects and even time can all seem very different.

Some people get mild hallucinations, which are also called ‘visuals’.

Taking mushrooms can make you feel: very giggly euphoric in awe of the people and things around you energised excited It can also make you feel: paranoid anxious panicked overwhelmed like vomiting How you feel will be affected by how much you take, your surroundings, who you’re with and how comfortable you are with them, as well as by your mood.

So if you’re in a bad mood, feeling worried or depressed, the magic mushrooms might just make those feelings worse.

How does it make people behave?

This depends on how many magic mushrooms the person takes. If the person takes a small dose of mushrooms you may not even notice that they’re on it.

People who take larger doses of mushrooms can act unpredictably. They can laugh a lot, become fixated on certain things, be emotional or get paranoid.

Duration

How long the effects last and the drug stays in your system depends on how much you’ve taken, your size, whether you’ve eaten and what other drugs you may have also taken.

If you feel like you’re having – or are going to have – a bad trip, let your friends know and get their help. Go to a nice quiet spot where you feel safe and can relax.

How long will it be detectable?

Psilocybin is detectable for up to 8 hours.

How long a drug can be detected for depends on how much is taken and which testing kit is used. This is only a general guide.

The risks

Physical health risks

The biggest danger to your health when taking magic mushrooms is eating a poisonous mushroom by mistake.

There are many types of mushroom in the UK and some, like the fly agaric, can kill you.

If you have eaten poisonous mushrooms you’ll soon know, and you’ll need to get medical help as soon as possible. Always keep an example of the mushroom you’ve eaten so doctors can identify it.

Eating magic mushrooms can make you: dizzy sick have diarrhoea get stomach pains Mental health risks

If you have any mental health issues, magic mushrooms can make them worse.

Eating magic mushrooms can make you: have a bad trip, which can be frightening and unsettling get flashbacks that are frightening or unsettling lose complete control of what you’re doing, and put you at risk Mixing

Is it dangerous to mix with other drugs?

Yes, anytime you mix drugs you take on new risks. Some drugs are riskier to mix than others, avoid taking mushrooms with: tramadol cocaine amphetamines (speed) cannabis Addiction

Can you get addicted?

Magic mushrooms are not addictive, but as with LSD, you can become tolerant to the effects quite quickly – and that means you’ll need to take more to get the same effect as before.

The law

Class: A This is a Class A drug, which means it’s illegal to have for yourself, give away or sell. Possession can get you up to 7 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Supplying someone else, even your friends, can get you life in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Like drink-driving, driving when high is dangerous and illegal. If you’re caught driving under the influence, you may receive a heavy fine, driving ban, or prison sentence.

If the police catch people supplying illegal drugs in a home, club, bar or hostel, they can potentially prosecute the landlord, club owner or any other person concerned in the management of the premises.

Additional law details

The 2005 Drugs Act amended the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to clarify that both fresh and prepared (e.g. dried or stewed) magic mushrooms containing psilocin or psilocybin (such as the liberty cap) are Class A drugs.

This means it’s illegal to have this type of magic mushroom for yourself, to give away or to sell.