On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:13:51 -0000, Susan Moziar <smoziar@rogers.com> wrote: > It wasn't until that I actually read this article that I realized that I > had seen this gorilla in the Bristol Zoo on a couple of occasions. What > I > remember most about him was that I was with my aunt who was wearing a > broach with a coiled snake inside a red outer frame pinned to her suit. How words can trigger memories, Susan! Your mention of a brooch with a coiled snake reminded me of one my mother had in the shape of a lizard and how fascinated I was by it, when I was a child. The lizard brooch was made of marcasite and that was my first introduction to the word marcasite. I don't think I've ever used the word since. I see from a google search that marcasite jewellery was popular in Victorian times and that it was also known as 'poor man's diamonds'. Josephine -- Josephine Jeremiah www.ianandjo.dsl.pipex.com