In Devon and further afield

'Okay, I'm going to the toilet now,' I say.
GrandDaughter stands up and waits for me. 'Come on.'
'I won't be long; you stay here.'
She shakes her head and holds out her hand.
'Can't I go to the toilet on my own?'
GrandDaughter looks at me, a puzzled expression on her face. This does not compute. She shakes her head to dismiss the thought. 'Come on,' she says.
I give up.

* * * * * * * * *
While we were in Devon it was Younger Son's birthday. He spent it diving and barbecuing on the beach with local children. This morning we skyped him. He said it had been a good week for diving.
'We swam with a turtle, we saw a moray eel and (other fish) and a shark swam past us.'
'A shark?'
'Yes, we were diving at Shark Point.'
'Shark Point?'

There are some things you shouldn't tell your mother.

For a while Younger Son seemed to lose his way in life. He drifted and dabbled and seemed aimless and unhappy. Then he returned to university, found a subject that interested him, met the girl who would become his wife and turned his life around.

Now he and Nuora are in the beautiful Perhentian Islands in Malaysia where they've set up their own marine conservation project. He has started work on his PhD and is working hard creating a home and a future for them both. We are incredibly proud of him. He and Nuora took a huge step when they decided this was what they would do and they're working hard together to make it a success. And when it is it will be of great benefit to the local community and the marine environment generally.

We love them both very much. (But, yes, I wish they were a bit closer.)