Bronze (Common) Bugle: (Ajuga reptans)
Aah now this little beauty. I used to drink a tea made of this after a heavy session in the Bearpit and Bastard with old Kit Marlowe down Southwark way. He could certainly put the stuff away and my mistake was trying to keep up. Old Kit had a bloody nerve I can tell you. He must have made a pact with the Devil himself to survive the punishment he put his body through, and then when he writes about making a pact with Old Nick he goes and bloody uses me for his model. The cheek of the man!
One night I started seeing angels and I thought I’d drunk my last but the next morning with a head like nails being hammered into wood and a mouth like the insides of the bowl of my pipe, one glass of this as a tea and I was soon right as rain.
Strangely enough old Mad Maude wrote in her book that Bugle is ‘one of the mildest and best narcotics in the world’ which may account for it’s effects on a hangover. Also a wound healer and mild laxative, it is also thought to help cleanse the liver, also useful after a night on that lethal sludge that Kit insists on drinking. A funny man but he was good company. I was sorry when that little incident in Deptford went down. Told him not to go, the angels specifically warned against but would he listen?
In the home:
A syrup made of this can be stored in a bottle and kept for up to a year, ready for when needed. Just take 2-3 teaspoons up to 6 times during the day or until your hangover is better.
To make a syrup, place1½ oz of herbs and 1½ cups water in a saucepan bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and turning the heat down, simmer for 20 minutes. Allow the liquid to cool a little then strain into a saucepan remembering to mash the herb with a spoon or something just to get out all the ingredients. Then simmer the saucepan of herb juice without the lid until it is reduced to about 1/3 pint (about 200ml). The slower this is done the better. Then add 1 lb of honey or sugar to the pan, dissolving slowly and simmer for a few minutes more, stirring all the while. When you’ve got a syrupy consistency you’re done.
Hangover cure in a bottle. Don’t overheat it though because it will turn into toffee instead.
