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 Despite the prosaic title, this meeting, convened by Liz Harper, was well-attended and eclectic in its coverage of this fascinating group of animals. The contributions ranged from restoration of bivalves populations to problems caused by invading bivalves such as Dreissena; from the functional anatomy of mantle fold ciliation to the construction of watering pot shells; from the origins of the flat oyster in Western Australia to an analysis of the underestimate of Antarctic bivalve diversity....and much more. Several members of the Malacological Society were present and the two-day meeting, held in Gonville and Caius College was blessed with the beginnings of an Indian summer. After a stimulating day of papers, the braver (and mostly older) malacologists were treated to a boat trip down the river, the motive power coming from young malacologists who confessed that selling their body as a Cambridge punter was one of the few legal ways to make ends meet. Liz Harper had originally canvassed interest in such a meeting to celebrate the return to the UK of Professor Brian Morton. Brian had spent over thirty years as an academic in Hong Kong. There had been an enthusiastic response to her suggestion and contributors had come from as far afield as Ireland, the USA, South Africa, Hong Kong, Spain, Japan, Denmark, Croatia and even from Wales. An evening dinner in the University provided a formal occasion in which about sixty malacologists and their families could celebrate the career of this distinguished malacologist. At the end of the dinner, he accepted a good-humoured but comical peroration on his career by Chris Richardson, responding in kind. Gifts were given and received and Brian gave each participant a limited-edition, signed print of his drawing of a spectacular bivalve Fragum erugatum from Shark Bay, Western Australia. Hong Kong's loss is our gain and we look forward to seeing Brian, who has been a good friend to The Society over many years, being even more active on the UK malacological scene. Georges Dussart
Scenes from the Bivalves
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