The Decline of Eels

A busy but exhilarating day ! After an early bike ride and a stop off to vote in the Somerton and Frome by-election, I went to visit an old friend in Street, MR. We went to the Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury for an exhibition and talk by the artist print maker Julia Manning whose relief prints informed by the international eel expert, Andy Don illustrated the dramatic saga of the eel’s migration from Somerset to the Sargasso Sea. The prints are incredible and so visually involving .
http://juliamanning.co.uk/ 
Her talk was fascinating although she had a gentle voice and I struggled to hear . My friend had a similar problem. However, we had an interesting chat with Julia afterwards and MR was able to tell her that she had purchased a gorgeous print 2/150 in a charity shop years ago and it is a treasured picture in her bedroom.
I knew eels were threatened but the dangers they now encounter are awful . Also, they smell the sea and freshwater and this spurs them on ! Julia had put one tiny one in a jar in her studio and she left it for a few moments only to find it had jumped out back into a tank where the other eels were resting 
If you live near Somerset,I really recommend this exhibition which is on until September. Julia is also in the process of producing a book ..