Hardcore HeavenHardcore HeavenMmm... gravel! Come with me into the wonderful world of hardcore...
One of the great things about hardcore is that it is so easy to keep and manipulate - there's no need for a purpose-built gravel-dungeon or specialist clothing or masks.
It can be stored in heaps and if you've got a handy chute, it will go down a treat!
Most gravels can be spotted with the naked eye and are non-toxic, so can be picked up with your bare hands. That said, if you are a regular hardcore user, you might consider some guards, like the ones shown, to stop the pieces getting inside your leather uppers!
Remember, though, that when picking up large quantities of hardcore, you should bend at the knees to avoid injury.
Hardcore is an international phenomenon - it call be found in most African, Asian and European countries, as well as in the US.
In these pictures, we can see hardcore in front of the Navajo National Monument (left) and in Belize (right). Hardcore has even been found in space - when the first men landed on the moon back in '69, they found that the moon wasn't paved or carpeted, but covered in rocks and gravel!
Generally, hardcore grows in the ground, either in "gravel pits" (shown left - effectively a gash in a hill-side), or in "quarries" (right), but it can also be found in some types of specialist shops, or "dealers".
The hardcore travels from the quarry or pit down conveyor belts made of reinforced rubber to waiting trucks.
These are generally very reliable, but if they do break a cam then you could resort to the 19th century method of transporting the aggregate by donkey or ass!
For as little as £5 (approximately $8), regular hardcore users can get a "fix" from a dealer in a small bag. How long this will last will depend on your pattern of usage, but for most people it should be enough for several weeks' use.
Hardcore comes in many sizes and colours, from the very big ("coarse"), to the very small ("fine") - here are some examples:
Hardcore has a great many uses, and people exploit its rugged nature for a whole variety of reasons.
The pictures here show but two of these uses - for the hydroponic cultivation of plants (left), and for covering car parks (right).
There is also a link between hardcore and water sports. Many water-skiing and wind-surfing centres are in disused quarries, and smaller bodies of water are often constructed on a hardcore base with a PVC or latex lining.
Even the stability of the humble water butt could be improved by placing it on a bed of hardcore.
You can use a vibrator (shown left) to compact your hardcore for extra stability, and if you're going to install a pond or water feature in your garden, you should consider the purchase of a good quality cock (like the one shown on the right) to regulate the water flow.
Many artists, taken with its simple and natural beauty, include hardcore in their work. Two such pieces are shown here.
The joy of hardcore can also be incorporated into many everyday objects, such as toilet seats and kitchen work surfaces.
See how many you can find yourself by searching the internet - you could make your own gallery using an image manipulation tool, such as GIMP (which can de downloaded for free!).
Everyone loves hardcore, from babes in arms to pensioners. Here we can see some infants using gravel to make a terrarium, and some German students experiencing the joys of gravel pits.
Hardcore lovers also include the rich and the famous. Even celebrities, with their wild lifestyles and extravagant expenditure still have time for the simpler things in life.
Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, for example, is such a fan that he named the band's 1998 album after God's own aggregate. Let's hope that the inclusion of a picture of a woman of dubious nature on the cover doesn't tarnish the good name of hardcore!