“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly,
“’Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to shew when you are there.”
“Oh no, no,” said the little Fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again.”
The Spider and the Fly (1829)
Mary Howitt
Well, after getting up early, making breakfast for everyone, walking the dog and smudging the house from top to bottom I decided to play at being Doctor Moreau (there really is no living with me!), by homemaking my own Paojiu.
Paojiu is infused liquor, often incorporating medicinal herbs, berries and venomous vermin (snakes being rather popular). The alcohol is said to unlock their mysterious medical qualities after submersion for about three months.
So after laying my hands on some suitably venomous arachnids we (there was no way I was letting Natalie get out of this one ) set to work bottling up an Armour Tail Scorpion and Red Headed Centipede, admittedly I ate the Asian Forest Scorpion – tasted of pistachio and sawdust, what can I say it was a curious flavour combination.
It sounds daft with hindsight, but even though I knew them to be dehydrated I did open the bag with some trepidation just in case something came scuttling out! In this case said bugs are meant to be energetically invigorating, help with muscle / back pain and are even said to have aphrodisiac properties.
So assuming I’m not having my envenomed stomach pumped at Whiston I’ll see you all next week.
Blessings
Mathew
Facebook Post 24.02.24
