There’s nothing like three youngsters between five and twelve to get you out on the lough.. The Hawkins have just spent a week, the first three days of which was just Sam (12), at his request. Always good fun to have around. I had to be on the mainland for much of the visit so I missed some of the action, but Tom caught his first fish, a good number of mackerel were grilled or smoked and a few crabs dressed; and the boys found a raft above high water on the other side of the island, which was laboriously towed round to the cabin for future unspecified use..John may come over in October to give me a hand repairing the last five sections of jetty, a much needed overhaul which I’ve put off for two seasons; I don’t think it would stand another winter and I certainly don’t relish the thought of landing and leaving in bad weather without it. The present jetty was built by my brother David twenty years ago, which says something about the quality of the engineering – he brought a JCB over by barge – but I’ll be happy if we get another five out of my own efforts.
