Saturday 11 February

With nearly 2,000 hits from Mauritius, the people there appear to be flocking to my Tropical Cyclones blog as TC Giovanna is grumbling away, 250 miles to the north of that island. The storm is at present a category III hurricane with winds of 120 mph near the centre. It will gradually strengthen as it moves away west towards Madagascar and Mozambique.

Today was a pleasant day, although the sun remained shrouded behind cloud. It felt relatively mild, certainly when compared to the overnight lows of -15C in southern England. We're having spring tides at the moment, leaving us with very low ebbtides. Went out to the Newton Basin and collected 3 oysters and 2 scallops. As I type this, that area is now under 16 feet of water.

I am disgusted with the petulance of grossly overpaid footballers who do not know the meaning of the word sportsmanship. Manchester United played Liverpool (winning 2-1), but beforehand two players from both teams refused to shake hands as they had an on-going feud. My suggestion is to sack both players on the spot for gross professional misconduct. That'll teach them.


The RNLI lifeboat passing the lighthouse


Scallops and oysters


Low tide