The Expert

I have always been greenly envious of people who are experts in an area of human knowledge, the sort of people whom one imagines buried in the vaults of a university department and who very rarely see the light of day. This thought came back to me the other day when one of my daughters, who had travelled to Taiwan, sent me a picture of three cowries which she had found on a beach.

Cowries are my favourite seashell, be they the magnificent specimens I have found in the warm waters off the east coast of Africa or the tiny cowries washed up on the white sand beaches of western Scotland, so it was heartwarming to have another member of the family find such pleasure in these beautiful shells. And it brought the thought to my mind that, if I were to live a life again, perhaps I might dedicate it to the cowrie and become the world's expert on the Cypraeidae.

Thanks to Rachael for the picture.