ON Tuesday, January 20, we were treated to a highly entertaining and informative talk about mother of pearl by George Hook and his colleague, Linda.

George began by telling us the company had started in 1824 in the Jewellery Quarter, Hockley, and all the sons born down the generations were named George to "save on new shop signs".

The business started by producing buttons in mother of pearl and in late Victorian times, fulfilled the market need for handles and spoons.

Different types of shell give the different colours (although can be dyed).

The main shell used is the Australian oyster and other kinds of shell used are abalone, African sea snail shell, trocus and Tahiti shells - black pearls come from the latter.

Linda showed a wide selection of beautiful jewellery which available to buy.

George showed how shells looked once the bark was removed and they were polished.

When attending craft fairs, he noted how much longer the ladies spent stroking the smooth polished surface as if benefiting in some spiritual way - George said he wants to come back in the after-life as a polished shell!

The next meeting is Tracing Your Family Tree on Tuesday, February 3 at the Methodist Hall, Alcester.