An interesting series of presentations looking at some common items washed up on the British strandline. Talks covered the differences between amphipods and isopods (shown above!), some superb images of jellyfish in the sea (my sketches really don’t do these justice!) – and some less attractive photos of them after they have washed up. The activities of baby whelks (you would not invite them to dinner). How to identify a mermaid’s purse – and why you might want to!

Mermaid’s purses are the egg-cases of skates and some sharks, many of the species that produce them are endangered, so recording what you found and where helps build up a picture of the distribution of these species. UK species can be identified and reported online at: www.eggcase.org

Thanks to Ron, Lewis, Gordon and Jo for their contributions to the MCS monthly meeting, 13th June at Capernwray Dive Centre