National Marine Week

In this afternoon's positively Caribbean sun Rebecca and I roved to West Runton beach to make a short video on Marine Protected Areas and The Wildlife Trusts' upcoming National Marine Week. If you follow the National Marine Week link you'll see a splendid photo of an edible crab against a chest sporting an NWT logo. This is no ordinary chest; it's my chest, taken by artist John Hurst on West Runton beach three years ago.

Today a new photo was taken, as we made the video; this one has a head, but no crab. The old one is probably preferable.

Under a Caribbean sky on West Runton beach, photo by Rebecca Worsfold

I can't visit West Runton without mentioning Louise and Martin and their staff at the super-friendly Beach Café. If NWT needs posters in West Runton Louise is on the case, if NWT needs a retweet or a mention on Facebook Louise is all over it, if NWT needs a delicious cup of coffee after a long day on the beach she's poured it before you've even asked. No-one does more to help NWT promote the message of marine conservation at West Runton than Louise and all our friends who work with her. And if that weren't enough, Louise has 750,000-year-old fossil hyaena poo in her kitchen.

My friend David North, who is head of education at NWT, wrote this morning about various things and asked me to give his love to a Mediterranean gull at West Runton. This has become our totem bird on the beach, always there and always a delight to see. I saw two today, a smartly scaly juvenile and a moulting adult. David, I gave them your love.