NATURE BOOK
The Pebbles on the Beach by Clarence Ellis (Faber & Faber, £9.99)
THIS beautifully written guide is a well-thumbed gem on my bookshelves. Published in 1954, The Pebbles on the Beach – whether delving into its pages for the first or umpteenth time – makes a charming and informative read.
As Clarence Ellis writes: "Most people collect something or other: stamps, butterflies, beetles, moths, dried and pressed wildflowers, old snuff boxes, china dogs and so forth. A few eccentrics even collect disused bus tickets! But collectors of pebbles are rare."
The book was reissued in 2018 with a touching foreword by Mountains of the Mind author Robert Macfarlane, helping introduce it to a fresh audience among those who delight in life's simple pleasures.
READ MORE: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? The strangest unexplained sightings in Scotland’s skies
Ellis extols the merits of pebble-hunting as pleasant hobby "that makes little demand upon one's patience and still less upon one's physical energy". For those who prefer their activities with a sedentary slant, this is one that can be enjoyed "from the luxurious sloth of a deckchair".
The jacket of the book folds out to reveal its own hidden treasure: an illustrated spotter's guide. There are 36 in total, identifying specimens ranging from a well-rounded pebble of fine-grained red sandstone to a fragment of jet and a broken piece of chalcedony.
The chapters span a breadth of subject matter such as The Shingle Beach; The Birth, Life and Death of a Pebble; and The Exciting Quest for Semi-Precious Stones.
My sole gripe is that the coastline chapter covers only England and Wales, a fact lamented by Ellis as he states: "The deep indentations of the Scottish coastline give it a length out of all proportion to the size of the country, and a description of it, even in bare outline, is outside the scope of this book.
READ MORE: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? The strangest unexplained sightings in Scotland’s skies
"This is all the more to be deplored, because so much of the coast of Scotland is unsurpassed in grandeur and charm. It most certainly deserves a book to itself." Well, quite.
NATURE ON TV
Countryfile, BBC One, tomorrow, 6.15pm
Helen Skelton drops in on her local donkey sanctuary, Adam Henson assists a nanny goat in distress and young Scottish naturalist Xander Johnston keeps an eye on insect life during his daily walks.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here