Tag: Things that are happening

Golden Teacher Spores

Hello and welcome to another instalment of me writing about things that I have just thought about. Gonna start off with a bit about Golden Teacher spores, then I’ll probably write about something else for a bit, treat myself, sort of thing. Probably postal strikes and Tories, that’s the usual vibe. Here we go:

Everyone loves Golden Teacher Spores!

You would not believe the amount of these that I sell. I’m not gonna release sales figures or anything because, y’know, that sort of thing is Secret Details, but everybody seems to absolutely love them. I often find this a bit weird, because all of the phenotypes of Psilocybe Cubensis mushrooms are broadly similar. People often state as fact that they’re easier or more hardy or something, but I don’t actually think it’s true! I think these people think what they’re saying is true, but it’s all based off anecdotal experience, which is great and all but doesn’t cut the mustard. Don’t get me wrong, they’re amazing, but so are the other types – give it all a whirl! I’m not even sure where the myth comes from, but nonetheless it’s now part of public perception that you must start with Golden Teachers and so most people do. I’m a bit of an odd case because I first started looking at Ban Hua Thai instead. That’s probably because I’m weird.

Postal Strikes

I absolutely categorically support anyone who is striking in order to get fairer conditions. It should never have to come to a strike, especially when there’s a lot of profit being generated, but it’s part of the toolkit to get motherfuckers to listen. It’s okay for business to make profit, but everyone needs a decent enough share of the pie.

There are a lot more Royal Mail strikes planned for the next few months, and it causes chaos at Orangutan Manor. I get quite a few emails asking “yo where’s my spores”, which I don’t mind answering, but it does take up quite a bit of time. How it works is this: one day of Royal Mail strike action doesn’t just cause one day of delay, it can cause several. They can’t suddenly push double the amount the next day, so stuff arrives gradually as they process the packages sent on strike days. I have noticed that this isn’t even getting done in any particular order, which does seem strange to me but I’m not privy to the internal workings of the mysterious postal system. The important thing is stuff isn’t getting lost, it’s just slower.

Amsterdam

You may or may not read my social media posts (if you don’t you should, they’re great). If you do, you will notice that I’m going to Amsterdam with Chris and the lovely team at Mycopunks!

I’ve never been there before, and yeah it’s going to be a bit of a working trip (getting some daft videos and such), but it should still be a decent laugh and I am absolutely going to be fitting in lots of Beer Time. Work-wise, Chris and I are going to do another Instagram Live video which seemed to go down well last time so if you’ve got any burning questions that you want to ask us, keep an eye on Chris’ Insta page, probably on Friday 4th/Saturday 5th of November.

If you’ve got any decent suggestions for what to do in Amsterdam, feel free to let us know. Going to go to some mushroom shops and the Red Light District obviously (no solicitation though because I’m in a committed relationship and all that), probably hire a boat and go Fast and Furious up the canals or something as well. I’m also going to go to a bar called In’t Aepjen, because you used to be able to swap monkeys for beer there (no shit), but other than that I have no plans. If you’ve got any ideas, throw them our way! Orders will still be going out as normal even when I’m away, thanks to my awesome Simian assistant. He doesn’t vote Tory and neither should anyone ah fuck I almost made it all the way without being political, never mind.

Bank Holiday Posting stuff

So obviously I’m writing this a little late. Mostly these days I use my Instagram page to put any important info up, so if you haven’t already, pop over there and give me a follow!

Post Office was shut on the 15th April for Good Friday, and again today (Monday 18th). What this means is all the spore orders that came in on Friday got posted Saturday, and everything from 5ish on Friday is being packed up in a bit and posted first thing Tuesday 19th. Not much of a delay, and not one I have any control over, but there we are!

Spore Syringe availability

Whatever is on the site is what I’ve currently got, and it does change sometimes! I recently had a customer asking me when the APE Reverts were coming back, and I was happy to be able to tell him it’d be a few days. After making the syringes, they have to go through a bit of a microscopic testing process to make sure that there have been no errors on my behalf. I’ve got a lot of different varieties, so sometimes life gets in the way and I get a bit backed up on this. Recently I’ve been a bit poorly (all the fun symptoms of Covid, none of the positive tests that would get me any time off work), so some evenings I’ve just been having to lie on the couch, moan, and drink Lemsips (they’re vile but my brain thinks it’s decent medicine). If there’s ever anything that is out of stock it’s always worth dropping me a message, as I should be able to let you know a rough ETA for restock. These are only rough estimates, as sometimes things beyond my control happen, but I’m happy to let you know when I think the items you want will be back in. Spore Prints are a perfect example of this – I’ve got fucking loads of them, but not much time to cut them down into individual prints, so I sometimes wait until people ask and then cut a whole batch up at once.

Cool stuff that’s coming up

Well it’s cool for me anyway! Going away for a few days at the start of May to watch Tool in Manchester, so I’ve recruited a glamorous assistant who’s gonna handle the packing up and posting for me when I’m not here (they’re a mate who’s just happy to lend a hand). I’m still a very small business, so most of the time it’ll still only be me, but I’ve now got the option of a bit of help if the shit hits the fan. This means that from this point on, there won’t need to be any times when I can’t post due to having a little holiday or anything, and also means if for whatever reason I get sick the business can still roll on regardless! Got some bigger plans for the next few years too which are quite exciting but I’m not gonna bang on about them yet just in case they don’t come off.

Bloody Peacemaker innit bruv

Have you seen Peacemaker yet? It’s all about what John Cena’s character does after the events of Suicide Squad 2, and fuck me it’s good. Really funny, has a decent bit of heart to it, great action sequences, and John Cena is amazingly watchable. I was able to watch it via Now TV, and it gets the completely made-up Orangutan Seal of Approval. I’m not the biggest DC film fan, I mean, yeah, I watch them but I’m pretty ambivalent about them (although I thought Suicide Squad 2 was great), so I think it’s probably more that I like James Gunn’s writing and directorial influence. The man knows how to make films about weird superheroes in a funny way, that feels genuine. Anyway, watch Peacemaker, don’t vote Tory.