Old, and much older

An ivory Indian elephant, probably about 120 years old, standing on a slice through a 120 million year old stromatolite.

First appearing over 3 billion years ago, stromatolites are the oldest known fossils. They were colonial structures built by photosynthesising blue-green algae, and were responsible for the creation of the Earth's oxygen atmosphere. These organisms thrived in warm aquatic environments, building reefs much as corals do today. The stromatolite in the photograph is a relatively young one, a mere 120 million year old, and originated in the Mendip hills.

The "extra" is just an excuse for a rant. A party balloon, handed out as part of a "happy meal" by the Macdonald s empire. Inevitably it blew away from who knows where and ended up as yet more plastic rubbish in our estuary. Why on earth do people need a helium filled balloon as part of their meal?