Huzza Fish!

In the immortal words of my favourite book- Moby Dick (which I have never been able to read to the end yet-though my favourite chapter is about chowder). I would like to pay homage to dolphins- or Huzza fish, as they shall henceforth be known.

For in the words of Herman Melville "he always swims in hilarious shoals, which upon the broad sea keep tossing themselves to heaven like caps in a Fourth-of-July crowd. Their appearance is generally hailed with delight by the mariner. Full of fine spirits, they invariably come from the breezy billows to windward. They are the lads that always live before the wind. They are accounted a lucky omen. If you yourself can withstand three cheers at beholding these vivacious fish, then heaven help ye;"

I challenge any man to look at these happy creatures cavorting through the water without yelling -"Huzzah!!!" I know I Can't!

Strange Beasties #2 (Part 1) A series on exotic sharks. The Pool Shark.

Well, thankyou Captain Adam for your fine suggestions. I was intrigued to find out that pool sharks actually exist- and it made a nice change for me to focus on a still/chlorinated water animal, rather than my normal sea beasts.

It always amazes me whenever people do not believe in evolution- how could they not, looking at this fine example? Far from it's bloodthirsty sea loving cousin the pool shark has totally adapted to it's new environment. As well as obviously being more manually dextorous- from the reports that I have heard, the shark has also changed diet. Apart from the odd really stupid/shortsighted bather, this shark primarily survives on a diet of bar snacks (mainly salt and vingar potato chips and pickled eggs).

Strange Sea Beasts #1 The SeaHorse

Using the example of the famed marine biologist Bernard Heuglemans, and his seminal work of (1967) (which I will explain more about as soon as I find myself a secondhand copy) I have decided to classify every strange sea beast -known to man and "doubted" by "skeptics". (For a true and accurate recreation of that sentence, it must be read with a scowl at the end, and a two finger wriggling gesture-for the inverted commas.)

I did not actually believe in this strange sea beastie, until I was enlightened as to it's existence by Margaret at Statistics (which is where I am currently working when not haunting the sea-side like a lost ghost). She even has photographic evidence to prove her claim. (with her kind permission I have posted it here for you to see also.)

I just find the likeness to it's land borne cousin incredible. Unlike those other little pissy things......

Dicing with Death and Giving the Benefit of the Doubt.

Now, as regular readers will know, I am no stranger to dicing with death. In fact it regularly comes to my doorway, and we will often swap polite chit chat, or knock up a quick stir-fry.

Having read the story of my birth, I am sure that you are all thinking "Gee I bet that poor lassie moved inland, and swore never to look at the sea again in her whole life!"

But there you are wrong.

Above is a picture of my preferred place of residence.
Sunny Newcastle- situated smack bang between the harbour and the sea.

"Why? Why!" my parents ask (or more accurately wail) "must she always be tempting cruel fate -knowing as she does that the cruel tentacled beastie has chosen her as it's prey. "

I choose to live here- facing fortune square in the face. Though often looking from side to side for signs of rippling in the water indicating which direction the tentacled grappler may come. I love my life, and I find that it is richer for it's uncertainty and adventure.

I like to give this sea creature the benefit of the doubt. Is it my destiny to meet my doom by it's tentacle? Or is this strange creature in some benevolent way looking out for me, with a plan to claim me as one of it's own?

Wise words.....

"Men of the future-perhaps very soon-can live as fishes!"
-Jacque Cousteau

While..."HOT!"
is all I have to say!