Folkestone in the Guardian today, in a story about how magic mushrooms have come back into the mainstream and the highstreet, and then suddenly there's a superbad crackdown again:
One retailer caught in the police crackdown was Andy Burgess, who runs the Headz "alternative gift shop" in Folkestone. Burgess, a former builder, is 61 and admits to being "the oldest swinger in town". His shop, with its blue and purple frontage, is an exotic exception to the drabness of the rest of the town. It smells of incense, has a large reclining Buddha in the window and is plastered with leaflets for psychic fayres, spiritual healing and medieval fencing. Strangely, there is also an advertisement for a model railway exhibition.
In late September, Burgess had a visit from the local police - and they hadn't come for the Indian head massage. "When I arrived here in the morning, there were two police vans outside my door," he recalls. "I said to a policeman, 'Do you want to speak to me?' He said, 'I'm afraid so.' There were at least eight policemen - they were like a Swat team.
"I said, 'What do you want?' He said, 'I want your mushrooms. Where are they?' They ended up taking my fridge, all my invoices, all my paraphernalia regarding mushroom selling."
💬 Shrooms
This is part of my site The 'Gerald that I set up in a fury of excitement when I first came here sometime in 2004. I'd been a frequent visitor for a while before that but I am technically one of those Down From Londons you get nowadays. This site was updated more frequently with a calendar of events + voting for best venues + things, and I know it was a useful reference for those who were thinking of moving here. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though only a couple of miles) it doesn't get as much attention as it used to. Ironic really as The town is now becoming the exciting place we always thought it was about to become. I am not Gerald by the way, this comes from a fake newspaper in an episode of Brasseye or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, + how there is a local newspaper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are great aren't they? Do get in touch if you have something to offer, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.