Idyllic interlude

What a day! Light south-easter, not a cloud in sight, no sign of the storm that passed by over the last few days. I was right - three days and it's almost back to shorts and slip-slops. The early sunlight as dawn broke over the valley reflecting off the surf at the Outer Kom was irresistible and I went out for an early walk with the Bungypump poles to take in the ozone down at the rocks. A few early walkers had the same idea - it would be a crime to miss this natural splendour by sitting at home and checking your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The air temperature was perfect, neither warm nor cool, the waves a deep aquamarine frothing into the whitest white, their crashing silenced by the offshore breeze. The oystercatchers, now boosted to 15 in number, were all over the rocks, presumably looking for mussels (no oysters here!) or whatever other shellfish form their diet, and a couple of incongruous Egyptian geese paddled in the puddles under the lighthouse. A seabird flew overhead, squawking as it did so as if to warn of descending missiles, and sacred ibis flew randomly overhead, singly rather than in their usual orderly V-formation. It looked like being a relaxed and rather lazy day by the seaside for all.

Not so the human inhabitants, who were soon out in force, jogging, dog-walking, cycling, organised aerobics on the beach - all thoughts of winter already long forgotten. Now that we don't have to water our gardens for a few days, we seem to have so much spare time.

The sultry summer heat is now definitely a thing of the past, and we can settle down into sunny, mild stretches for a while, interspersed with short,sharp wintry days.

What a marvellous place to live!