Ray Hill lived much of his life in North Western Spain, just above the border with Portugal. He still has family in that region.

The locality has born witness to hundreds of years of foot traffic by way of pilgrims making their journey to the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicea. The sign of a pilgrim, if he isn't already identified by his backpack and sturdy sandals or walking shoes and/or poles, is the Scallop Shell attached to his clothing or rucksack. This symbol is seen often along the many varying routes, which all lead to Santiago, where legends say is the resting place of the relics of the apostle St James (Santiago in Spanish).

Pilgrims follow the sign of the scallop shell, knowing they are still on course for the destination they aspire to reach.

Ray's carved scallop shell (concha de vieira - in Spanish) will be a present for his daughter and grand-son when he visits them later this year. His skill has resulted in a fine gift that I'm sure will be cherished by the recipients.

Ray's interest in shells does not end with the scallop.

He carefully carried a delicate sea urchin shell in to the shed a while back. Ray told me that he wanted to make a likeness of this shell from timber. I had previously watched the concha come to life, so I was excited to observe the progress of this next project. The days went by and Ray continued with his task, lovingly cutting and glueing, sanding and polishing to finally reveal what you see balow.

See below for the real sea urchin shell and it's much larger timber likeness.