Vicarious Revenge

Just now, as I was sitting outside drinking coffee, there was an infernal racket in the hedge. Sam was sitting beside me in case I got lost: he peered intently across the garden.

A squirrel charged out of the hedge with next door's white cat in hot pursuit. After a frantic chase scene, White Cat was victorious. I swear I heard the crunch of bone amid the squealing.

"Shouldn't you be doing that?" I enquired of Sam.

Sam said nothing.

The Amphibious Hat

hat
Originally uploaded by tamaranth.

This is my hat, swimming.

It's made of plaited paper and it came from Matalan. It didn't float. But it was perfectly wearable (and nice and cool) once I'd fished it out.

I don't think I've ever swum as much as I did last week. In the pool -- hardly any of our fellow holiday-makers bothered with the pool, which was fine by me -- and in the sea (well, that was mostly bouncing around in the lovely clean surf). It was lovely.

Easy to see how so many ships were wrecked on this misty, sandbarred coast: there's a vicious undertow, and breakers miles long, and sand that engulfs everything with remarkable rapidity.