Sarah Longrigg

I was born in Surrey and went to Whyteleafe County Grammar School for Girls. I was at King Alfred's College in Winchester for 2 years, and later I read music at Southampton University. I studied the organ with a number of teachers, including Alwyn Surplice and Raymond Humphrey in Winchester, and Gillian Weir in London.

My maiden name was Sarah Dawe.

I worked in the libraries of the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. I was organist at Wellington Church in Glasgow for 10 years and gave a number of recitals, mostly in the Glasgow area.

Before I met Fred I travelled a great deal to northern countries, particularly Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands .

Later I began to discover Scotland, where I have lived for many years. I particularly enjoyed visiting some of the smaller islands, and I met Fred on a visit to the Isle of Eigg. It was there that I first became interested in seashells and made a collection of what I had found. Later I also began to collect shells from other parts of Britain, and a few years ago I visited Crete, which gave me an interest in shells of the Mediterranean.

It was on Eigg that I took up painting and drawing. I have exhibited my own paintings and drawings successfully, including a solo exhibition, and undertaken several commissions. I manage an email forum for the UK Coloured Pencil Society

I have also created and managed an e-mail group for the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.