A TUNIC OF GOLD.

     The most fasinating counter in 'Murkingdonner' (as we call it),
  is the fish counter. What a treasure trove of the deep blue.
  l always stop to inhale the smell of the sea and ponder the lives
  of the bounty displayed.

     Great mountains of molluscs. After purchasing a few kilos of the
  mussels one has the task of cleaning them! They have that funny
  beardy  bit that you have to pull of. Well this, in days of old, was
  woven into garments that shone like gold. They were very popular
  with the aristocracy,especially those of southern Europe. Indeed
  the 'Field of the cloth of gold', was an historic meeting between
  Henry Vlll  and The King of France. So called because so many of
  the nobles assembled there were wearing tunics made from the
  beards of bivalves!

     The long arm of the octopus. During courtship the male octopus
  exsposes certain particularly large suckers, making a pass at the
  female. Deep sea flashers. Then with his third arm he caresses her.
  The 'hectocotylus' arm. He then places elaborate packages of sperm
  'spermatophores' into her oviduct. This can take several hours. She
  lays about one thousand five hundred eggs, each in an oval capsule
  about the size of a grain of rice. She festoons her 'Villa', so called
  because they take up residence in rocky holes. She then attends to
  her eggs for weeks on end, cleaning them with her arms and
  blowing water over them. During this time she can fast for several
  months.

     Jumping cockles. Apparently cockles have been observed leaping
  out of the way of stalking starfish.

     There are also those fascinating freakish dwellers of the depths, the
  deep sea angler fish or deep sea devils. The females are solitary
  predators equipped with lanterns to attract their prey. The much
  smaller males attach themselves to the female after sniffing them
  out. They  parasitize themselves to her, often in the wrong place.
  Female angle fish have been found  wearing their husbands on their
  heads!

     So l walk away. How many fish stalls are there selling these
  wondrous wares? How long can Neptune cater to our appetites?
  Food for thought.