High Tide	03:30 (2.10m)
Low Tide	08:58 (1.00m)
High Tide	15:33 (2.40m)
Low Tide	21:49 (0.70m)

Sea temperature: 14.3
Sea conditions: shallow but with lovely big waves
Weather: Surprising sun - it came out just in time for our swim
Joined by: The Poet, The Artist and her visitors, The Light Entertainment and Mertz
Topics of conversation:
It must be summer - The Pirate had on his dressing gown and Mertz swam.
Introductions all round for the visitors, a lovely young couple who have adopted The Artist. They can't decide if she's a mother figure or a grandmother figure because of the age difference so we decided she is their fairy godmother, and there's a queue. I asked to be put on the list. There followed a love-in which Mertz put a stop to as he was desperate to get in for his first swim of the year, following his surgery. He swore, a lot.

I think they like it here

As we went in we were suddenly joined by one of The Artist's visitors who ran into the water squealing with delight, we asked why her boyfriend wasn't joining her she shouted "I'm Norwegian! He's Argentinian!" that was sufficient to explain. It transpired that I had a lot in common with them she works in TV, treks in the Arctic and was Steiner educated and I lived in Argentina as a child. It's lovely how this village brings like minded people together. We told them all about 'The Boss', i.e. DK who is in Norway at the moment on a family reunion holiday, I've since heard from Legs, who is having a lovely time and clearly enjoying the food, here's part of her electronic postcard:

Off to Hytte today, yesterday Oslo and Munch 150 yr anniversary show then coffee and cinnamon bun, more relatives, then hot dog with crispy onions, then Resistance museum at fortress, then new opera house, google it, gorgeous, then home for dinner at 5:30, then more relatives. Today more food and relatives. Eating anything set in front of me. 

Mertz and The Poet discussed a walk the Poet is on today to see wild flower meadows, he sent a link through and I hope to hear all about it tomorrow: http://www.coppinsfarm.co.uk/prices.html
Yesterday's maths exam - the last leg was yesterday, and whilst I'm glad it's over I shall miss the challenge. It was OK, but as usual I screwed up as I'd forgotten that these days the higher maths papers give you some formulae at the beginning of the instruction booklet. As The Poet pointed out I committed the sin I've been trying to encourage my students to avoid - RTQ - read the question. Still there's a chance that I got the solution after using 4 other methods to find the area of a scalene triangle, turning it into 2 right angled ones and finding all the sides took up the entire page with calculations and scribbles and arrows. In fact I think my no 1. student had found it rather amusing as I'm always telling her she makes life hard for herself.

The roses are in bloom on the dunes, always a sign of summer, although having spent the whole day gardening today I was rather cross to have finally done the summer swap over - putting all the cacti and tender plants outside and bringing the chillies and tomatoes from the greenhouse into the house - only to be caught, digging at the bottom of the garden, in a hail storm with all the doors and windows open. It then rained for an hour and a half, which was good for the garden and it rained in that which I had planted, but not so good for Mertz and the dogs, who were on a long walk...