Sure, every now and again there’s a fluke like R.E.M. or the Flaming Lips, a band that continues to produce good music two or three decades after their initial success.

Five minutes after that come the fire-raisers, who light 10km of “fireline” using drip torches (devices that drop flaming paraffin at a constant rate).

One bulb of the most sought-after variety, the flaming red-striped Semper Augustus, sold for twice the yearly income of a rich merchant.