Great post Shaun, exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to elicit!

I like minerals and fossils still too - fascinating what nature can produce as well as man, room for collections of both :) My amethyst cathedral is a favourite, I love the play of light off different faces of the crystals within. The UK's so-called Jurassic Coast is not far west of me, and I like the occasional fossil hunt in Charmouth or Lyme Regis - never seem to find anything amazing but the hunt is enjoyable enough in itself. A bit like flea markets for Heuers, though the chances of finding fossils are better nowadays...