Silverfish

It's funny, isn't it, what suddenly makes things seem real?  I received a text from my brother "Remember the silverfish after a holiday at Bakers Lane? There were loads tonight in the same spot there always used to be. Must be their descendents".

You must know about Silverfish (Lepisma Saccharina). Apparently they can also be called "fishmoths" "tassletails" or "fringetails". If you google them, you get a whole page telling you how to exterminate them.  Americans seem especially fond of exterminating all insects that dare to co-exist with us.  I assume they have some point on the food chain.  Anyway, I digress.

We would come back from a lovely summer holiday (usually Cornwall or Devon).  The house would smell weird and as soon as you put the light on, the little silverfish would "swim" across the floor to hide under cupboards or in dark crevices.  Now the house is empty for less nice reasons. The Silverfish are back and have the freedom to roam, their shiny, silvery bodies flashing in the moonlight.

Here are my Mum and Dad during a holiday when I was about 14, I think.  This is how I want to remember them. Carefree and suntanned and happy.














The two great inevitabilities of life are with me this week: death and taxes.  Now I suppose I ought to get on with the latter.

On a lighter note: Here is something you can do with Silverfish, thanks to my friend Tim, who rather cleverly found out they maybe quite tasty.

http://www.tasteofbeirut.com/silverfish-salad-goi-ca-bac-hang/