Our visit to the beach at Whinnyfold took on an entirely new dimension the other day.  When I take the grandchildren there, it is usually to throw stones.  (How they love to do that!)   But Friday resulted in a close encounter of the crustacean kind, thanks to the young man who was delighted to show the grandchildren a big lobster which he had caught in his creel.

We watched as he prepared his boat which was hauled up on the shingle, and set off to check his creels ,under the watchful eye the seal who makes a regular appearance when we go down there.  Seals love to watch children;  but it seems that the seal was interested in the boat too.

A little while later he was back on shore and was delighted to show off his catch to the grandchildren, indeed offering them the opportunity to pick up the lobster, after he had safely secured its claws with rubber bands.   Blair was brave enough to have this close encounter.  I am sure he will remember the experience.  He did borrow a glove for the occasion, not that gloves are needed to handle lobsters, we were told.  No, it was protection for the boatman from any jellyfish which may have attached themselves to the rope from creel as he hauled it up into the boat.