High Tide	02:21 (2.50m)
Low Tide	08:48 (0.70m)
High Tide	15:07 (2.20m)
Low Tide	20:41 (1.00m)

Sea temperature: not really sure, DK dipped the thermometer in the shallows after we'd go out and it fluctuated between 6 and 7, but it felt much, much colder.
Sea conditions: Beautifully calm - had it been warmer it'd have been proper swimming weather
Weather: icy and cold, not too much of a wind though
Joined by: Mertz, but not to swim, he had been walking the dogs and found us
Topics of conversation:

The sunrise -  the above is an optical illusion, I wasn't going into the sea with my phone, the sun was just getting bigger and the waves were coming in. It was so wonderful to have light as we swam again, it's been so dark this week, (both the weather and our collective moods).
The Christmas swim  and weather we should prepare a synchronised swimming performance to show our toughness. This conversation was brought about by my shouting as we went in and The Pirate calling to me as I waded into the thigh high water with "STOP! we've gone far enough! We can just lie down here!"
Masterchef -  at length.
Mabel and Bosco had a very loud chat, we couldn't understand what they were talking about, but we decided there was quite a lot of bad language involved...

High Tide	00:15 (2.60m)
Low Tide	06:30 (0.60m)
High Tide	12:48 (2.40m)
Low Tide	18:27 (0.90m)

Sea temperature: between 6 and 7 degrees, the thermometer kept changing
Sea conditions: Shallow and choppy with a channel to swim in
Weather: Cold wind, air temp. 5
Joined by: no one
Topics of conversation:
Screaming nightmares - The Pirate had passed a dead rat on the way across the bridge and he has a perfectly rational fear of them, he described it as innate but he also has had a nightmare about one crawling over his face which made him scream in his sleep. We talked about how dreams can do this to you and the problems for anyone sleeping in the same bed.
Greta Garbo - Luna is doing as a good a job at channeling Greta as Rooney Mara was at Lisbeth and would not even make eye contact with anyone this morning, she stayed in the dunes looking miserable till I went into the sea and then suddenly got worried - I think I may have squealed as I went in - and dashed down to the shore. She is feeling the cold, so it's coats from now on. The two young dogs. meanwhile tore up and down, attacking each other and having a lovely time. We've worked out that when Willow has had enough of Mabel jumping up at her she simply clamps her jaws around her head and holds her still.
The Killing - we are all on the same page now as DK and Legs caught up yesterday so we were finally able to discuss it. All of us are confused, as we should be, and three are now only 2 episodes left so we are wildly speculating about the outcome. The Pirates Eeyore take is that we are going to be disappointed of course, and we have not yet placed our bets, in fact last year we did a sweepstake but this year its hard to know who to put in the frame. There was much discussion about the most tense kiss/almost kiss on screen this year between Lund and her partner, who we have started to refer to as Perk (is that what they want us to do? after all his real name is Strange). The Pirate can't watch on Saturday and Mertz and I are out, but we've arranged to be home nice and early, maybe we'll be back in time to watch.

I've just previewed this before posting and realised that we are a bloody miserable bunch at the moment... bah humbug.

Low Tide	05:48 (0.70m)
High Tide	12:07 (2.40m)
Low Tide	17:47 (0.80m)

Sea temperature: not taken
Sea conditions: we decided it was 'swirly' - the current was very strong and the waves were all over the place
Weather: changing all the time.
Joined by: no one
Topics of conversation:
Whether it was swimmable. As DK arrived after The Pirate and I we had the chance to discuss how suitable the waves were for going in when the wind was blowing without him calling us both Jessies. The unpredictability of the wind, waves and sky always makes us nervous, but little seems to unsettle DK. He did arrive saying - just a quick in an out today - though, and indeed it was. The current was strong and the water shallow. I spent most of my time water walking whilst the other 2 attempted proper strokes. As we got out we were hoping for a sunrise over the cloud bank and were rewarded. In true Pirate melancholia he announced snow to be on its way and that we would pay for the site that met us as we got dressed; a stunning double rainbow, rising over the village.

Other topics of conversation were kept short as we are now swimming later in the morning, to ensure we get some light, but methods of catching Mabel remain high on our agenda (which reminds me - I must refresh the supply of dog treats in my swim bag) as she seems to have developed the habit of turning the last 10 minutes into a gam of hide and seek around the beach huts. Although it is hysterical watching DK dashing in and out of the row of huts shouting "come here you twerp!" and then attempting to rugby takle her to the ground, it does hold him up somewhat. I'm afraid that the other day, when 2 nice men where watching the ritual with amusement, they asked what she was and I replied "a pain in the arse" I feel bad about that Mabel - try proving me wrong?
David Fincher - The Viking had taken me to see a BAFTA screening of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew on Sunday night. DK and I have both read the books, seen the first film etc and The Pirate's wife has also read them, so The Pirate knows the gist and the discussion developed into one about casting in general and in particular the difficulty of finding the right lead when the character is superficially simple but ultimately complex. Daniel Craig doesn't do it for me (as he seems to 'do it' for so many of my female friends) and he didn't achieve the depth I wanted for the character of Blomkvist. I was blown away by Rooney Mary though - she inhabited Lisbeth and seemed to be channeling her at the Q&A!

The darkness of the story was developed beautifully in this version, David Fincher really got that right, as he did the lack of hope. Hope was in short supply that evening.

Low Tide	00:58 (1.20m)
High Tide	06:57 (2.30m)
Low Tide	13:27 (0.90m)
High Tide	20:19 (2.30m)

Weather: Frost, cold south west wind
Sea conditions: Big swell but calm
Sea temperature: fluctuating between 6 and 7 degrees. (air temperature was rising from 2 degrees)
Joined by: No one
Topics of conversation:
How long we'd stay in for, as the sun hadn't come up yet and the sand was frozen. The sea temperature has finally started to drop and whist the getting-in/swimming/getting-out experience is still exhilarating, the sudden drop once you are out and getting dressed is not. All of us struggled with cold fingers this morning, after the swim. DK has resorted to hand warmers and The Pirate is finally wearing gloves to swim in. It was my ankles that went today - Father always said I have 'larks legs', by which he meant skinny ankles - there's no flesh to keep them warm. My thighs seemed fine though... strange that!
Panto related injuries - Mertz has one. Whilst he's not involved in the panto in any way he has still managed to put his back out for the cause. He insisted on a show of strength when helping to move the stage extension in the village hall, I suspect he was trying to impress The Pirate's Wife and No. 2 Son (henceforth to be known as Ratty, due to his role in the panto, a crucial one, for which I am hunting for a suitable moustache), but should never have lifted a section on his own. Now he's having to lie down to work. If he's not better by Thursday, when he's due to go to London for his annual Christmas lunch with the boys I shall insist that he stays home.
Luna's ability to look pissed off - it's legendary and this morning I had brought her coat down to the beach so that she wouldn't have a sudden temperature drop having been rabbiting in the dark and then sitting still on the beach, and she was singularly unimpressed. Willow and Mabel couldn't care less as they now spend the entire time we are there going bonkers and chasing each other around the dunes. At one point they were on the top of a dune and we saw Willow 'doof' Mabel so that she rolled all the way down to the fence. Mabel shook herself down and tore straight back up for more. Willow used to be too aggressive with little Mabel but now she is much more gentle as she's realised what fun she is and that she's not a scary beast. Legs and I had a later discussion about how this can be the same in humans. We know that Mabel misses her canaine friends when they don't come down to play as on Sunday my two had stayed in bed and The Pirate doesn't swim on Sundays so she had been alone and spent most of her time waiting and looking for her friends. A forlorn sight and one I identify with.

National Express and its inability to keep the trains on time. We had such a rant. DK and I have both recently nearly missed connections and the last fiasco that Legs experienced resulted in compensation so we speculated about why the straight through trains had been cancelled and sounded very much like Daily Mail reading commuters, which we clearly couldn't be, even if we tried really hard. I don't think they allow tree-huggers in that club. Especially as we had just been discussing traditional vedic invocations. On the winter solstice (shortest day, longest night) Yoga Girl and I plan to complete 21 moon salutations, as we did sun salutations on the beach at the summer solstice. The Pirate has provided us with a great CD of the Gayatri Mantra, which were listening to at the weekend. We hope the weather will hold so that we can complete them at sunset and play the mantra as we do.

As we dressed and prepared to leave the beach the sun rose from behind the cloud bank and although we were all complaining of bits about to drop off we did stand and stare for a while.

A poor life this, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare

High Tide	01:18 (2.60m)
Low Tide	07:44 (0.60m)
High Tide	14:16 (2.40m)
Low Tide	19:42 (1.00m)

HURRAH, HURRAH!! Back to normal, the original team all present and correct again, for the first time in weeks. The sea was perfect, the temperature was 10.2 degrees and even though it was a long way out we all managed a goodly swim. The topics of conversation were predominantly HURRAH and isn't it great to be together in the sea again. The sun rose above us and there was a single sun dog, shining larger than I've ever seen before. I couldn't quite capture it on the phone camera but I did get the geese as they flew over. Which reminded me of this, which I shared with The Pirate:

Sense of a Goose

Next Autumn, when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying in a “V” formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily, because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are heading the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What message do we give when we honk from behind?

Finally – and this is important – when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of the formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies; and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their own group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

(Roger Darlington)

A lonely swim this evening - although The Pirate did appear on the horizon. I start work too early to swim with the team in the morning at the moment, but on Thursdays I get home early and can be on the beach by 4pm. Today was magical, but no company so no conversation to report. I took my camera for a dip though.

High Tide	04:32 (2.40m)
Low Tide	11:25 (0.80m)
High Tide	18:20 (2.30m)
Low Tide	23:46 (1.30m)

Sea conditions: ROUGH and full of flotsam and jetsam
Sea temperature: 36 degrees, DK's thermometer had jammed.... the new one has arrived but it was too rough to take it in
Weather: Very warm for November but blowing a very strong wind and raining hard
Topics of conversation from the last couple of days:
Mainly Mabel - she has quite an impact on the group as she is so very entertaining. She has decided that Bosco is her very own play thing and tries to climb onto his back, whilst fighting him for the ball. He is probably 50 times bigger than her, her entire body is just bigger than his head - which is a good thing as you're not supposed to eat anything bigger than your head. Willow is terrified of her and is slowly edging closer, she even sniffed her tail, hopefully they'll find their level soon and Mabel will learn that dogs stay on the beach then Legs won't have to accompany her every morning. It's a bit scary to think that she could just follow DK into the sea.

Being back - I'm not quite sure how to describe the joy of immersing yourself in the cold sea, in November, having been landlocked for 5 days. There is coming home and then there's this. Even though the walk was a long one on my first day back, wading through thigh high water to get to enough depth to swim, I wasn't in any rush to dive in. Allowing the sea to take you into it's waves at its pace is part of the pleasure. The Pirate was making the most of his last swim for a few days as he's off, but he was sensible about not going in too far. He's hoping to swim in a river where he is going.
Potatoes and their hallucinogenic powers. The Pirate said that Walter Raleigh would not have been able to get them past health and safety committees if he had tried to introduce them in this century. The Viking had a very nasty experience with an uncooked one at college, when he thought his belly was a VW Beetle.

Westonbirt Arboretum, which Mertz and I had visited the previous week. The trees were spectacular and fiery, and we'd had a great experience as the weather had been perfect too. DK and legs know New England well (Legs being from that part of the world originally) and we discussed the 'fall' there, I've made Legs promise to help me plan a trip. We decided it could be a John Irving themed journey although I'd hope not to have too many Irvingesque experiences of my own.

The state of the sea. This morning it was particularly bad, although it's been getting worse all week. The tides have been high and the current strong, which has brought all the long seaweed up to the shore and we were swimming in amongst it. Some clumps were thick and floated about like monsters with very long arms wrapping themselves around our knees, not pleasant. We do have to be slightly vigilant for larger bits of crap floating about too. This morning there was a large boot washed up - that could have given us quite a surprise if it had been carried by a wave in the water.

An evening with DK - last night we all went to see DK perform at a theatre nearby. It was wonderful. DK is a consummate pro and has some wonderful tales to tell of his life and work, I knew this already but the format was great and I had such fun. Think Parkinson in the old days, with a piano and a host who could sing too. Mark Stratton is an old friend of DK's and with his broad experience of film, TV and theatre he and DK kept the audience in thrall with stories of showbiz and the characters involved. I haven't laughed that much on a damp Thursday evening for ages!
My pathetic, but crafty dogs were really unimpressed by the weather, they hate rain and wind. Just as I was about to get into the sea today I looked round and they had gone. DK whistled his loud whistle but they didn't come so I trudged up to the dunes and there they were, hiding in a dip, sheltered from the wind and rain by marron grass. We need a beach hut...