Low Tide	04:29 (0.80m)
High Tide	10:41 (2.70m)
Low Tide	17:00 (0.50m)
High Tide	23:20 (2.60m)

Sea temperature: not taken
Sea conditions: sweeping rollers and a powerful drag south
Weather: stunning sunrise
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation: 
Swim time - DK was shot down in flames when he suggested we start our later swim times this week. The Pirate and I were having none of it having just sat and watched the sun rise from behind the tropical topiary of clouds on the horizon. We argued that the clocks go back in a couple of weeks and then the mornings will be lighter again so there is no point in chopping and changing. We really were rather forceful about it and poor DK looked a little crestfallen, he also pointed out that we might not feel the same way if it were raining and windy, which it wasn't. In fact we really had the best of the weather this morning, as I walked down to the beach across the grazing fields the weather front was just visible in the south but by the time we walked home again it was over the village and now, as I type, it is really rather miserable. Yet another reason to catch the beach early DK!
Puddings and porridge - The Pirate has just returned from his mini holiday and had been delighted by the food at his hotel, particularly a pudding which sounds right up my street so we discussed it at length: creme caramel with little bits of sesame crunch, pomegranate seeds, tiny squares of turkish delight and pistachio nuts. Apparently this constituted the word 'salad' being used in the pudding menu, as in creme caramel with turkish salad, hmmm not sure about that. I speculated about whether this would be a suitable Christmas day pudding and was severely reprimanded for using the C word in October. The hotel had also been porridge experts and we exchanged views on how we like our porridge, discovering that it is quite a personal thing - salt or sugar? Cinnamon? Cooked with water, cream or milk? Soaked or not soaked?  The Pirate likes to be able to slice his with a knife, I don't.
Sea shanties - the purpose of The Pirates trip was to attend a sea shanty festival as he really is a bona fide pirate, not a Captain Jack Sparrow type, and as a result he and I walked into the waves with him singing at the top of his voice. I couldn't join in as it wasn't 'What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?' which is the only one I know the words to and is apparently frowned upon as being rather common. 
India - The Pirate's No. 1 Son and his girlfriend arrived this morning and he'd had an email first thing telling of their experience of the culture shock, starting with seeing a man with a barrow full of coconuts pushing it the wrong way along a motorway. Sara and The Poet shared their experiences of arriving in the dark and being lulled into a false sense of calm, only to be woken to the reality. I can't wait for him to return with his chef's take on the food, hopefully they'll let him and Izzy loose in The Anchor kitchen on curry night.
Urban vs rural foxes - we've discovered the reason for little piles of feathers along 'the back passage' each day, we seem to have a resident fox. It's a big one and Mertz was on the phone to his mother last night when he spotted it and came dashing in to check the 2 dogs and I in front of the fire, which meant it wasn't Willow, who looks like a fox at 50 paces. It was rather large and was sitting under our oak tree watching a squirrel. The Pirate reminded me of a tale, spread as gospel by a certain person, of urban foxes being released onto the common in large quantities years ago. It turned out to be an urban myth.