I suppose the reason I got into geology was, well, as a kid I was fascinated by fossils - the fact that they went back countless years, long before there were any people on the planet. That was exciting and, urn, they were beautiful too. And one thing led to another. What fascinates me ... let me give you an example: suppose we dredge up from the sea floor some silt washed down by a river and, um, suppose that for political or other reasons we can't enter the country through which that river runs. Well, by careful study of the particles of that silt, we can form a pretty accurate picture of the nature of that country. Not just the rocks, 1 mean, but the vegetation and animal life of the area. I sometimes think what we do is a bit like, urn, Sherlock Holmes. You know, he takes a look at a man's shoes and can tell you which field in which county in England he's been in, and when. That sort of detective aspect of the work is always interesting and exciting. OK. we do spend time in the lab and at the computer, but we do get out and about, and go to interesting places for fieldwork.