'Armed with this intrepid survey, we can see a brave new world down there on the beach ... Exquisite revelation, of the most wonderful, watery kind.' - Philip Hoare For many, the highlights of seaside holidays are rockpooling and gathering the glorious array of shells left strewn on the beach after the receding tide. Attracted by the infinite variety of shapes and colours, visitors can never resist making a souvenir collection of their own - but little do they suspect the fascinating lives of the animals who once occupied them. What if each shell had a story of its own to tell us, if only we knew the language? Mr Street's delightful, informative guide uncovers the secret history of each common shell, revealing not only which marine creature once inhabited it but the unique challenges of its watery habitat it had to solve. From barnacles to oysters, cockles to sea slugs, winkles to carnivorous snails, molluscs and lesser-known members of the octopus family, Shell Life on the Seashore is the essential primer for recognising and collecting both these curious specimens and the 'empties' they leave behind - and will greatly increase the old-fashioned pleasures of a coastal holiday for all the family.

In 2003 we went climbing with Muni and Rose to Varasova, a limestone cliff in Greece east of Missolonghi. This 900m high promontory that drops into the Ionian Sea is the home of Greek climbing. There are over 200 routes, some sports routes of 3-4 pitches on the south face near the sea and some much longer trad climbs of up to 18 pitches on the south-west face. The rock is very solid, relatively sharp, mostly gray or yellow limestone of outstanding quality. We climbed a lot of routes at VS standard with a couple of longer more serious climbs. Scharlie also had an adventure climbing the mountain to the summit on her own one day, We visited Missolonghi where Byron had died of a fever fighting for Greek independence, and Nafpaktos where Cervantes had lost an arm fighting in the sea battle of Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth, We also went to Delphi where Rose and Scharlie had a race around the 400 m stadium.