A little change
The Purveyor has usually arrived with a person, a place and a product.
I’ve enjoyed writing it that way, but I’ve found myself increasingly trying to squeeze three stories into every edition simply because that’s what I’ve decided the format should be.
That seems a little backwards.
So, from this edition onwards, I’m going to give each story a bit more room.
Sometimes that might mean a person. Sometimes a place. Sometimes a product.
This time, it’s…
Mike Marshall – Yorkshire Coast Fossils
Mike is my mother’s cousin, or my late grandad’s nephew, depending on which way you look at it.
He’s managed to carve out a career in a rather niche profession.
Mike collects, prepares and sells fossils. Alongside that, he makes jet jewellery and takes some rather beautiful photographs of the Yorkshire coast and the wildlife he encounters there.
The coast around Whitby is rich in fossils. Our famous ammonites were once said to be the remains of snakes driven from the cliffs and into the sea by St Hilda. The truth is perhaps less dramatic, but no less interesting. They are the fossilised remains of marine creatures that lived here during the Jurassic period.
And there are bigger things to be found too. Ichthyosaurs, the large marine reptiles that once lived in these seas, have also been found along the Yorkshire coast.
Mike may well have found his path in life on his own, but he would be the first to admit that my grandad Sid helped point him in the right direction.
When they were boys, Mike and his brother would be taken along the coast by their uncle Sid on fossil-hunting adventures. I’m sure that, like me, he has a collection of memories from those days.
And probably a few that ended with the words:
“Don’t tell your mam about that bit.”
Like all good students, Mike eventually surpassed his mentor. His eye for spotting fossils developed, as did his ability to prepare them, and over time he became someone people could turn to when they had something special that needed bringing out of the rock.
His interests have grown beyond fossils too. He works with jet, producing jewellery from another of the Yorkshire coast’s most distinctive materials, and his photographs capture the landscape and wildlife that he spends so much time exploring.
Over the summer, Mike and his landscape painter partner Carolyn Coles exhibited their work in Sandsend, and more recently at the Staithes Art Festival.
It’s a nice continuation of something that started when two boys were taken down to the coast by their uncle.
Sid taught Mike to look.
Mike has spent a lifetime getting better at seeing.
From Behind the Counter
Conran Shop
On a recent trip to London we went looking for a Conran Shop. It turned out to be closed. This Instagram reel popped up on my feed a few days later. it made me smile I hope it does the same for you.
House of Mëmento Möri
There’s a new bar on Grape Lane. Gothic, dark, and rather different from anything else in town.
I’ve only had a quick look so far, but it’s definitely piqued my interest.
It’s from the people behind Valhalla in York, which makes me even more curious to see it properly. I’ve heard good things, I’ll have to visit soon.
Whitby Lit Fest 19th – 22 Nov
Whitby Lit Fest is back this November, following the success of its inaugural festival last year.
I didn’t make it along myself, but Danielle did, and there was a good buzz around town. Quite a few of the events sold out, which is a pretty good sign for a first year.
There’s a good-looking programme this year, with authors, talks and events taking place around town. I think I’ll make more of an effort to get along this time.
