In Cricket a Bowler will occasionally deliver a Googly to catch the Batsman by surprise. The Bowler achieves this by spinning the ball, the Batsman will be expecting the ball to swing in one direction but it will swing the other way.
Today I took Emily, Oliver and Emily’s friend, Lucy, fishing. Well, not quite fishing because that might lead to catching a fish or at least spending time sitting down, rod in hand, waiting for a bite and gazing at ocean. But with Emily and Oliver fishing has a slightly different meaning. Firstly there are three rods to set up; this is done by me whilst Emily and Oliver go off rock hopping, skimming pebbles (“Daddy I got five bounces!”), and doing battle with Darth Vader. Then, when the rods are ready, the real fun begins. “Daddy, how do I cast again?”. “Daddy I’ve caught a fish! Oh, no I haven’t, I’ve hooked a rock!”. “Daddy, my line snapped!”.
We need to work on Emily’s casting technique. The ocean is a pretty big target – especially if you’re standing on a rocky promontory. But Emily occasionally delivers a Googly that catches her, along with passers-by and the fish completely by surprise. The result is the hook hitting anything except water. I noticed that Lucy always took several paces backwards each time Emily prepared to cast.
With Oliver hooking rocks and seaweed, the fish must have given up on any chance of some sport and gone off to look for more worthy opponents. Either that or they were concerned by the large Seal hunting nearby. So, after about 30 minutes the children wandered back to the campsite. I followed, acting as Fishing Gear Sherpa, and arrived just in time to meet Mark and Penny who had decided to join us for a dinner of Hot Dogs and Burgers. We know how to dine in style!