I do wish though says Cooke that Id taken this up a lot earlier because then I would have been able to produce really wonderful things  at least the potential would have been there Although the ideas are still there and Im doing the best I can now Im more limited physically than I was when I started Still the work that he has managed to produce is a long way from the common shell constructions that can be found in seaside shops I have a miniature mind he says and this has resulted in boxes covered in thousands of tiny shells little shaded pictures made from shells and baskets of astonishingly realistic flowers