I woke up feeling quite exhausted this morning. I tried to to some writing, but didn’t seem to get anywhere. I’m staying at my Father-in-law’s in Poole, as I’m doing sessions at the new Hamworthy Library opening tomorrow. He’s off on holiday, so I’m here all on my own with Jaffa the very old ginger cat. Jaffa sleeps most of the day, but when he wakes up he wanders around the house meowing his head off, looking for someone to make a fuss of him. It’s quite endearing, but not at three in the morning!

I decided to walk the beach this afternoon. It was glorious – almost warm. Well, not cold. I found one or two shells that I liked. The razor shell had a pattern on one end which I thought made it look a bit like a Viking carving. I also found a complete oyster shell, which is really rather beautiful. There were lots of lumpy shells on the waterline. They seemed to be lots of shells stuck together. I found one I really liked. I was about to put it in my pocket, when one of the shells moved. Most of them were still alive! From one angle they looked like a paw or a fist. I’ve got a pocket full of other stuff. I was going to photograph them, but I was distracted by a cup of tea and a slice of cake!

If you are near Poole, come along for a story tomorrow lunchtime at the fabulous new Hamworthy Library.