Delilah

In 2013 I bought Silene capensis/undulata plants from Shaman Australis. A handful of leaves brewed as a tea and drunk daily for three days would produce consistently vivid and fun dreams on the third and fourth day. Great adventures were had! Those plants all died suddenly. So last year I bought some more, but this time from Herbalistics because SA didn't have them. The Herbalistics plants have grown and multiplied incredibly well. However, the leaves are no fun! They induce only a very slight dream effect, and it has an anxious and sleepless quality. Not at all like the fun self-directed movies I got from the SA plants. Any idea why the difference? Could it be my body chemistry? Life is good, so it's not a psychological variable. Or is it really the actual plants, else perhaps a cultivation variable? I ran many trials with both the SA plants and the Herbalistics plants, with consistent results across many months. I also recall the flowers of the SA plants having a delicious fragrance, whereas the Herbalistics plants I can walk past without noticing. They are visually identical, though. So what gives??? I'm tempted to buy some SA seed, presuming it comes from the same 2013 line of plants. But has anyone else experienced this? Do you have any seedlings of the definitely 'vivid and fun' kind that I could buy from you? (NSW) Thanks

Yes, that sounds right. Definitely do not pay a fine for something you have not done. I can't even bear to think about the trivial Big Brother arrogance of fining someone for resting their clean socked feet on a seat, but on the more controllable matter of being fined in error for the ticket I would say it is extremely important that you persist and ensure justice. It's quite possible that their machines are making errors, or worse that their staff are abusing their powers for profit. Either way, the public lose so I see it as a civic duty to play your part in making sure that the situation is resolved correctly, and that they understand they may have a problem to fix at their end. I suggest that you just persist in stating the facts clearly and politely, broken-record style (just repeat the same info), each time you receive a notice to pay. Send your replies recorded delivery. So you might write something like "I did X. I am absolutely certain of this. Please check your Y machine and security video. Because I definitely did scan my ticket I am very concerned that there may be a fault in machine Z, and/or in staff's use of it, resulting in many other members of the public potentially also being fined in error. As you can imagine, this experience also makes me very uneasy and reluctant to continue using the train service. Accordingly, please revoke this fine and let me know that this has been done." Adding what you said about being a civic-minded rail system supporter may also be a nice touch. Good luck. Keep at it. Even calling them may help - explaining the issue. Paper is very impersonal and just gets mindlessly processed by junior administrators. If you call and ask to speak with a supervisor, request their help and advice on how to approach this situation, and express your concerns, you may get somewhere.

I'd say liquorice root is your best bet. Tasty, effective, healthy and safe provided you stay under 5g/day. Then again, in your condition more than 5g may be perfectly fine, but I would consult a herbalist/naturopath first.

Hi Can someone please tell me what all the 'V's mean? I've been trying to guess for months...just can't work it out and it's starting to send me around the twist. Even Google can't tell me ! What the bleepers does 'vvvvvvvv' mean?! Thanks!

Hi Which species do I have here please? They were sold to me as the same but they look very different indeed. The first is plump and fleshy; the second is deeply divided with very little 'flesh' and looks entirely different from above. Species #1 Species #2

Hi I would love to grow some Moonflowers near the house where we can see and smell them bloom in the evenings, but is this a safe thing to plant in an area where pet dogs hang out? My dog does tend to pick up interesting objects and so might chew, or at least play with, the big seeds. In your experience, do dogs do this and how dangerous is it for them? (Sorry for my ignorance; I know almost nothing about these plants so thought I'd ask in a forum where people know a lot!) Thank you