Spice up your life.

Today we take spices very much for granted. However in the past they were rare and expensive, sometimes eye-wateringly so. Back in the days of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, for example, a citizen would have had to work for 5000 days to earn enough to buy a a pound of ginger!

The spice in my photograph is pepper. If you had fancied some in 1438 it would have cost you 18p per pound. Based on average earnings that would be equivalent to £386 at todays prices. Today, you can pick up a pound of top grade black peppercorns for only £3.50. So, some things have become cheaper, whatever we might think!

Pepper is surprisingly pretty, especially when seen through the looking glass.