On a Friday at the height of summer, day trippers gathered at the coast in Dunbar to sunbathe and swim in the North Sea.

I passed KT laying out a blanket in a suntrap on the grass as I made my way to the steps down to the narrow swimming channel. Then I dropped in the water and enjoyed the 100  metre tide-powered ride. TPR followed close behind me.

At the end of the channel I noticed a couple of men in academic dress. They demanded that everyone exit the water immediately. We all had to make room for a small tractor that was on its way to my next door neighbour’s house to start a garden makeover.