Fly Agaric in the Express.co.uk 21/12/2011

"Various species live in marriages of convenience with their hosts. The classic red-topped toadstool of fairy tales, the poisonous fly agaric, attaches itself to the roots of birch trees and feeds on their sugars. In return its roots gather up minerals and pass them to the tree, dramatically extending the reach of its own roots."

"And there are more fungi than you might think with about 14,000 species on the British list. Esher Common in Surrey is the Mecca of fungi, boasting about 3,100 species. But you can easily find 100 in an ordinary suburban garden."

"Research four years ago by Professor Alan Gange and his dad Edward suggested that the fruiting season is getting longer with many fungi now fruiting twice a year. And each year about 25 new species are found in Britain, says Kew senior researcher Dr Martyn Ainsworth, including some from the tropics."

http://www.express.co.uk/ourcomments/view/287237/John-Ingham

generation F*cked: Maria Hampton , 11 Aug 2011

The UN’s first ever report on the state of childhood in the industrialized West made unpleasant reading for many of the world’s richest nations. But none found it quite so hard to swallow as the Brits, who, old jokes about English cooking aside, discovered that they were eating their own young.
According to the Unicef report, which measured 40 indicators of quality of life – including the strength of relationships with friends and family, educational achievements and personal aspirations, and exposure to drinking, drug taking and other risky behavior – British children have the most miserable upbringing in the developed world. American children come next, second from the bottom.
http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/71/generation-fcked.html#.TkUBK3x3FtB.facebook