I’m not long back from an excursion to the beach with Lisa and Miri. A cloudy day – high, pearl-grey light clouds and no wind. The ocean was calm, apart from the waves crashing and breaking right near the shoreline – limpid, pale, green-grey silky rippling water reflecting the light grey skies above. So bravely with gritted and clenched teeth I crept into the cold water. (The reality is that the water is the same temperature as in the hot days of summer!)

After the initial shock of it, and then swimming madly about to warm myself up, I was able to relax and enjoy it – it was wonderful. There was hardly anyone there – maybe a dozen people along the whole length of the beach, and barely half a dozen of us in the water.

And the exciting thing was that we were joined by several dolphins! Miri who was sitting up on the beach had the best view – they were swimming only about 20 metres from the shoreline, just lazily moving along, slowly gliding up and down through the water.

I didn’t see them at first – I had swum over to the south end of the beach, to the big rock breakwater wall, so that by the time they passed by me, they were 80 metres away and I could only just see their fins gliding up and down out of the water. But so exciting! Miri said the middle-aged adults on the beach squealed with the joy and delight.

Moments filled with wonder and joy!