Low Tide 03:33 (0.80m)
High Tide 09:47 (2.60m)
Low Tide 15:58 (0.60m)
High Tide 22:20 (2.60m)
Sea temperature: 11.7
Sauna temperature: 57.5
Sea conditions: choppy and deep
Weather: windy and sunny
Joined by: The LE and The Bridge Captain
Topics of conversation:
There was a large and strangely menacing looking boat moored of the coast a little way north, and from where we swim it looked very, very close. The Bridge Captain and I climbed onto the top dune to get a better look and our perspective was totally changed, we now saw that it was quite a way out and travelling away at speed, which was a relief. We had both heard that the whale is travelling south still, so we had a cursory glance to see if we'd be lucky this morning.
Southwold Electric Picture Palace - The LE had arranged a trip here last night to see Wild Bill (with our very own Wild Bill and his Moll), a film directed by someone we had all worked with. It was my first visit to the venue, one of the smallest cinemas in the country which is run by a truly passionate and mildly eccentric gentleman called John Bennett. He introduces the films with a wonderfully dry speech, retains the "B Movie" first features and has a marvellous sense of humour. The cinema was opened by DK's mate, Michael Palin in 2002 and named after the original 1912 cinema which used to stand where our surgery is now. The LE is a member up the Southwold Film Society, which runs the cinema and so she has some sway over what is shown, having had such a great time there last night I'm determined to suggest more films that I've missed and feel would be right for the unusual venue. Although it is traditional on so many levels - there is an organ that rises throughout the stage at the interval when the organist plays '60s and '70s tunes for your entertainment, the staff wear dinner suits or uniform, and the Natuonal Anthem is played at the end, it manages to have a rather hip atmosphere. The gentleman who mans the door, in full regalia including a hat, is now my best friend as he allowed me to do something I've never done but always wanted to - he unclipped the red rope and allowed me to step to the front of the queue. Then he told me the price I had to pay was to buy ice cream for the entire audience! To be fair there are only about 50 seats and it would almost have been worth it for the experience of the evening. We enjoyed the film too. It's always a risk when it's someone's directorial debut but Wild Bill is genuinely good; at ender social comment film, with a thread of dark humour running through it, occasionally it's laugh out loud funny and ultimately it's redemptive and heartwarming. As ever Mertz struggled with the violence but is has one of the best pub fight scenes in British film and the use of language will anchor it in 2012 as will the location - it was filmed in and around Stratford during the building of the Olympic village.
We are on countdown to The Ellies great adventure, 3 sleeps to go and the various housesitting and dog sitting arrangements have been keeping us entertained for the last few weeks as the reality of leaving Jagger in charge of the house have begun to sink in. As he grows so does his access to the work surfaces and they have to amend the 'Jagger notes' daily. 
DK speculated about whether Mertz would have fallen asleep again as he was on sauna stoking duty whilst we swam and we tried to see if we could spot smoke rising over the house as we returned. He hadn't, and it was just about up to temperature (see above). We decided another sauna breakfast is due, we may have to wait till Legs is home though, can't imagine herring and waffles without her. She is much missed. I just checked back and the first one was on the 18th of November last year, let's cross fingers that she is home by then. The sea temperature was 9.7 and only rose above 10 once after that.
As we left the beach 9 swans flew overhead, clearly anticipating the strong winds that hit mid morning, they wouldn't have stood a chance later in the day. The lead swam flew over low and the others stuck together like geese, higher but already being buffeted.