MONDAY 4 MAY     TORQUAY

My son turns 24 today. I still find it hard to regard the baby of the family as an adult!

I cycled to a shop for milk and a paper – did 2.1kms. This has become a morning routine. It is good to start the day with this exercise.

We went back to the beach at Craignish and gathered “yabbies” with the bait pump, from the sand. Actually succeeded in getting a respectable quantity – our first success with the bait pump! Dodged the little soldier crabs that are everywhere here.

We each broke a thong in the soft, sucky mud of the tidal flats. I have a spare pair in the van, but we will need to buy more for John.

On the way back to van, called into a bargain shop, but they did not have thongs.

After lunch at the van, John spent some time organizing his fishing gear.

We went fishing, about 4pm, from the beach just beyond the Urangan Marina. Had many nibbles and rapid loss of bait. I caught a small whiting – one unlucky fish, that one! We stopped fishing when it began to get dark.

Tea was dart with rosemary and lemon, with salads.

Phoned K to have a birthday talk with him.