Human Error - Don't Blame The Rebreather

It all started as any recreational rebreather dive starts; got my gear ready the night before, ran the unit through the necessary checks, packed my bits and bobs, semi dry, towels, bottled water and headed off to sleep.

The next morning I woke up, loaded the car and drove to Cirkewwa, most of the usual suspects were already there or arriving, so between checking my unit and donning my semi dry I was chatting away with my friends and buddies.  Some divers had already entered the water, our small group would soon follow suit and dive the Rozi wreck.  

I finished my positive and negative checks and was about to continue further down my check list when I clearly remember that one of the divers asked me a question about his gear, I went over and we discussed the issue.  Once I returned to my car I put on my unit, grabbed my fins and gloves, locked the car and hobbled to the entry point to get in the water and relieve my back and legs of the strain of carrying a rebreather.

I wore my fins and with the help of another diver done my bailout tanks (air and nitrox), I grabbed my mouthpiece, I signalled that I would jump in the water and so I did.

The water was a bit choppy and I was struggling to clip the bailout back clips to the unit but eventually I managed, always breathing through the mouthpiece not to swallow any water.  I recall feeling slightly “funny”, at the time I thought I was sleepy and kept telling myself that I shouldn’t be feeling sleepy, I was in cold water about to start the dive – I made myself snap out of it … there was an instance when someone spoke to me, to reply, I removed my mouthpiece and then replaced it again …

That’s it …

My next memory is faintly hearing people call my name, a lot of shouting and seeing myself floating face up in the water (at the time I thought, where the hell is my rebreather?).  One of the divers was holding  my neck and head to ensure I was breathing, while a buddy who is also a doctor was shouting “Karla come back with us” and slapping my face … I was towed to the inlet, and carried by several divers to the concrete platform … I saw all this but I couldn't control anything of what was being done to me and what was happening … I felt extremely scared.

The divers who rescued me administered  oxygen and I recall I was feeling dozy and nauseous, which is normal for me when I breathe 100% oxygen at the surface – I tried to remove the oxygen mask several times and I tried to speak but I couldn't formulate the words, the level of fear doubled … I was coming and going I wasn't all there, all I could hear were snippets of words, "ambulance", "conscious", "oxygen", I was stripped from my dive suit and covered with towels still breathing oxygen and still thrashing about trying to get the oxygen mask off [I was later told].

The ambulance arrived and the staff loaded me onto a stretcher and off we whizzed to hospital … I remember being wet and very cold – the ambulance nurse used up all the blankets they had to try and keep me warm.  The nurse informed me that the oxygen in my blood stream had dropped, he kept asking me to speak but I couldn't formulate words the few that came out were slurred speech – I cried all the way to hospital, thinking to myself that was it …

I was rushed into the A&E department at the hospital, the nurses present were told by the ambulance staff that it was a diving related accident and they gave them my vitals … a lovely doctor came to see me and ask me some questions, I was feeling very disoriented at this point, my speech started to return to me … I forced myself to think how I had ended up in the horrible position – what had I done or worse what hadn't I done???

I was soon joined by a couple of friends from Cirkewwa who brought my clothes, personal effects and some towels.  They recounted what they witnessed – it was exactly as I had seen it … I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I had seen my rescue unfold and I was helpless.

Eventually after a lot of thinking it started to came back to me, the moment I was setting and preparing my unit I stopped on several occasions throughout the tests and once I had donned my unit and made my way to the exit point, I hadn’t turned it on !!!

I jumped into the water with a rebreather that was turned OFF, the breaths I was inhaling through the mouthpiece where not being injected with fresh o2.

Over a span of a number of hours the doctor took numerous tests, bloods, pressure, imaging and a brain scan, I was given several doses of saline solution via IV and eventually towards the end of the day I was discharged.

The guilt I felt after this ordeal was immense I had nearly lost my life over a moment of carelessness and distraction and I had scared the rest of the divers who witnessed the incident – Days later I met all those involved in my rescue and thanked them personally, I also explained what lead to my loss of consciences, explaining the importance of all the tests involved in setting up of a rebreather.

I don’t think I will ever fully put this incident behind me – I was lucky my buddies found me floating face down in the water when they did, more time in that state could have given me brain damage or worse still, killed me.

The following weekend I made it a point to get back in the water, to do an easy and pleasant dive – diving is my way of escaping the hustle and bustle of my work week, of personal stress, of worry and tension.  I am worry free when I’m diving I’m thinking only of my unit, my safety that of my buddies and the dive we are undertaking.

I always say that keeping rescue skills fresh is necessary – good thing that as a group of friends we believe in the same mantra and practise and re-do our rescue circuit frequently.

This was not an emergency drill but a real life incident – they didn’t call the customary “Pizza Pizza” which we use when we are training not to alert passers-by or other divers but “call an ambulance”.

I will never stop being thankful for still being around and grateful to those present on the day for saving my life and bringing me back.

Keeping skills fresh

Diving like any other physical activity requires training and after the courses and certifications are under one's belt it is good practice to keep skills fresh ... Personally I tend to practice my skill circuit when I'm doing easy relaxing dives such as the familiar shores dives at Cirkewwa and Zurrieq as well as during long decompression on more demanding dives ... Repeating the skills outside the course framework and during normal dives keeps muscle memory tuned in.

A lot can go wrong when diving on a closed circuit rebreather, knowing how to handle issues that crop up before and during a dive will end the dive with a happy face. During TDI training it was drilled into my skull that before getting in the water I must run a series of tests, these test cover all the steps involved in the setup of the unit, so if per chance a step is incorrectly executed or omitted, when going through the pre dive checklist the error is caught and resolved.

There are three main tests;

Pressure Test

­    With the cylinders open, I run gas through all the buttons, counterlungs, ADV (Automatic Diluent Valve) and both the wing inflators (primary and secondary, since I'm using a double bladder wing)

 

The Electronics Test

­     The cylinders are opened, the unit is switched on and the software runs a number of checks;

o   the temp stick (Sofnoline duration),

o   batteries life, and

o   cell reliability (the cells check the partial pressure of Oxygen),

o   this test also gives the option of calibration which I opt to do every time before a dive, the unit calibrates the three cells and gives an average reading.

Positive & Negative Test

­     Closing the cylinders and the mouthpiece, the air is purged into the counterlungs which are further inflated to their maximum capacity orally through the mouthpiece, this tests the counterlungs and connections under positive pressure.
    After a few moments if the pressure remains unchanged the air is vented from the over pressure relief valve &/ the mouthpiece and any air left inside the lungs is sucked out orally, at the same time squeezing the breathing hoses, this tests the counterlungs and connections under negative pressure.

­     If either of these tests fail, all the connections are checked to make sure they are finger tight closed properly.

Once the unit passes all the tests then it is good to dive.

What if I encounter a problem during the dive?

During any type of dive, recreational or technical I always carry enough bailout gas that will enable me to abort and end my dive safely, should something go amiss on the Rebreather.  On recreational dives I normally carry two cylinders one with 21% - Air and the second with a Nitrox Mix, usually 60% or 70%, on technical and more demanding dives I carry a third tank with a Trimix mix suitable for the bottom depth of that particular dive.

There are a number of skills, which once mastered can get any diver through different situations.  Similar to knowing how to remove and replace a mask underwater gets a diver through, partially, fully flooded mask or lost mask.

Mouthpiece removal/replace

Knowing how to safely and comfortably remove a rebreather mouthpiece is a key skill when diving on closed circuit. For those that are not familiar with rebreathers, the mouthpiece must be closed before being removed from the divers’ mouth.  Failing to close the mouthpiece properly will cause water to enter the unit and flood and damage the electronics.  Once the mouthpiece is closed and removed it naturally floats above the divers’ head, since it is positively buoyant.

One starts to breath through the bailout gas, open circuit regulator.  Retrieving the loop and returning it to the mouth before opening it is very important for the same reasons mentioned earlier.  Once the diver has the loop safely in his/her mouth then it is safe to exhale, any water lurking in the mouthpiece will be purged and the diver can start breathing normally.

Gurgling sound in the breathing loop

Sometimes condensation or a little water in the mouth piece can create an annoying gurgling sound, which can be easily cleared, this is done by closing the mouthpiece, extending the loop above the head, stretching the arms as much as possible and tilting slightly to the right, any water lurking in the loop will be safely drained into the counter lung.

Practicing this skill when there is no water in the loop keeps it fresh for when diving at depth and the skill needs to be performed quickly and effectively.

Bailing out at depth

     

Whilst diving the diver switches to the off board gas, whilst breathing from the bailout tank that way one can identify and resolve most situations that arise. The procedure; Close the mouthpiece and remove it from the  mouth, open the bailout gas suitable for the diving depth, trimix, air or rich nitrox, purge the regulator and breath ... Check the cell readings on the Vision handset and if all is in order, prepare to go back to breathing the CCR ... ahhhh silence at last.

Should the situation not be resolved, switching the rebreather to open circuit, immediately changes the setpoint from high (1.3) to low (0.7), diver should remain on open circuit bailout gas, switch the back up computer to open circuit, check decompression status and begin a safe ascent to abort the dive.

Closing the on board cylinders

Being able to reach the on board cylinders is also a key skill, which is not easy to master especially when carrying one or more bailout tanks.  However with patience and practice it becomes second nature to reach behind and feel for the cylinder knobs and turning them closed.

The manufactures' advice is that the Oxygen cylinder valve is only open by one or two turns max to enable quick closure in case of emergency.

High Oxygen also known as the “Oh Shit !!!” Moment

Several reasons why there could be a High Oxygen warning, these include; an Oxygen Spike, which happens when the descent is too fast, slowing down the descent should resolve the issue.  Another reason could be that the partial pressure of Oxygen (ppO2) is rising quickly, if this happens, the steps to follow are;

Switch to bail out, close the oxygen cylinder, check that the pressure gauge goes to Zero, flush the loop with diluent (this reduced the existing ppO2 in the loop), by pressing  the diluent button and at the same time, pull the overpressure dump valve cord (this is done to avoid a rapid ascent to the surface). Open the O2 Cylinder slowly, check the readings on the handset and check the pressure on the pressure gauge, return to breathing from the loop and monitor the readings on the handset.

I must admit it is an unpleasant experience to hear the buzzer going and see the heads up display flash bright red, the moment I look at the handset and notice a high oxygen warning I’m never happy, but keeping the “Oh Shit” drill fresh gives me confidence that I can perform the skill and solve the problem safely.

In the four years I have been diving Closed Circuit I have encountered very few problems which couldn’t be solved – I am very happy diving my AP Rebreather and if I had to recommend Closed Circuit Rebreather diving to my buddies I would say;

1. Make sure you follow instructions, checklists and manufacturers' warnings.

2. Do not sign up for Rebreather Diving if you’re planning on cutting corners and saving money on batteries, Sofnoline & cells – you’re cutting corners with your life!

3. Take care of the unit, it will take care of you.  Maintain the Rebreather, rinse the unit and lungs after every dive, service it as per manufacturers' instructions & replace consumables as and when necessary.  Send the electronics for periodic servicing to the manufacturer.

4. As in Open Circuit Diving - Know your equipment, set it up diligently and always use a check lists.

Gone diving

The preparation for a dive is nearly as exciting as the actual dive …. I often say this statement and I believe it.

Usually I receive notification of an organised dive in the start of the week, for the dive to take place over the following weekend.  This gives me something to look forward to during my work week and gives me ample time to plan and get my gear together for another underwater adventure!

Since Zeus is behaving very well lately I try not to miss out on any dives unless I have more important commitments planned, hmmm what commitments?  I immediately get on with making arrangements with one of my dive buddies who either dive open or closed circuit.  We discuss dive plans and what gases we will be using for the specific dive. Following that I arrange to have my tanks blended or topped up as necessary, I analyse and label them.  If I’m diving beyond the recreational limits, deeper than 45 meters then I will usually go for a 10/50 Trimix as my diluent gas, 60% Nitrox & Air as a bailouts.  For more demanding dives beyond 75 meters, I will carry a third bailout tank with a suitable Trimix for that depth, which will be used in an emergency until I can switch to air and Nitrox at shallower depths.

Following my training and out of habit I share my dive plan with my buddy/s to make sure we are all on the same page, planned dive time, max depth, available gases, plus a contingency plan, 5 minutes longer 5 meters deeper.  This is usually done over email or Facebook.

Come Friday, I get my rebreather put together, the unit would have spent a week dismantled and airing out.  I follow my check list to a tee; checking if I need to change the Sofnolime, I check the units electronics (batteries, cells and other hardware/software checks), I make sure I have the diluent I’m using set up on the Vision Electronics. Finishing off with a positive and negative check to make sure all connections are sealed tight.  I leave the unit on negative while I turn my attention to the other kit.

I pack my semi dry, booties, socks, gloves and a clean towel.  Then I turn to my bucket of other accessories; check my spare mask, knife, slate & depth timer (with plans written and taped up), reel & smb, torch, fins, regulators for bailout tanks, weights, back up dive computer, my Liquivision XEO (with the dive gas selected and batteries checked) and bezel.   I fill a bottle of water with some soapy water for easy donning my semi, that way I don’t have to struggle, the suit slips on like a glove.  I put a couple of bottles of drinking water in the freezer, and pack my wind breaker, towel and a spare swim costume in my dry bag. Last but not least I check that the electronics spares box (batteries & cells) and tool box are all in order.

The unit is purged from negative and if the dive is happening Saturday I pack everything in the car (rebreather, wet box with suit etc, accessories bucket, dry bag, tool box, analyser (just in case, I always re-analyse the cylinders before a dive), 2 x 3 litre tanks (rebreather) and 2 or 3 x 7 litre bailout cylinders), everything fits – I have a system!  The car spends the night safely locked up in the garage in anticipation of an early morning departure.

Come morning, I have a cereal bar washed down with some fresh coffee, if I dare, since if the sea is a little choppy I know I will be turning fifty shades of green by the time we reach our location!  If thats the case I have nothing except a glass of water.  Take the bottles from the freezer, maybe pick up a snack from the cupboard for later and off I go.  For the deeper wreck dives the boat usually leaves from the South of the island so that’s around 40 minute drive at 07:00 on a weekend, it’s rare to come across traffic at that hour and it’s a pleasant and relaxing drive with the right music.

Once on site, I greet the team - if there are any other early risers and start unloading the car, rebreather, tanks, bucket, suit, water, dry bag all check!  Once the tanks are installed on the rebreather and the bailout tanks have the regulators installed, I run through the rebreather check list one more time, better safe than sorry then I’m good to go – 20 or 30 minutes before the boat is scheduled to pick us up I get into my semi dry.  By this time the sun is up and it’s hot, but getting into a wetsuit which is soaked in soapy water isn’t all bad since I find it keeps my body temperature low.

Before a dive there is the usual banter from the other divers, there is always someone with a new piece of equipment to show and tell.  At the moment everyone is flashing new Shearwater Petrels …. Nice piece of kit I must admit.  Once the boat berths and the skipper greets us all and gives us our places in buddy pairs, we start to haul all the gear on board in an organised fashion (not).  But eventually we all get there and everything is in order.

We get our briefing from the skipper; only to jump in as buddy teams, don’t tug at the shot rope, once surfaced, signal and wait by the shot rope buoy for pick up, and finally the bit I like most, wait for the life ring and clip your stages before being towed back to the boat …. Ah to rid myself of the extra weight before boarding the boat, bliss!

Now for the all-important part …. The actual dive.

Diver teams start donning their equipment and getting ready to jump in after the skipper finds the dive site or wreck and sets up the shot and deco ropes.  We jump off in pairs on the skippers’ signal, swim to the marker buoy, make sure everything is ok and we are comfortable, signal descent, acknowledge with an OK and deflate wings to start the descent.

Once beneath the waves I have two concerns, is the shot leading to the wreck? and is my rebreather performing; are the cells reading ok?  I keep an eye on my buddy whilst we descend to 60 or 70 meter.  This takes some time (3/4 minutes) especially if there is a current.  Once we reach the wreck, I take note of the location of the shot. After that it’s all about exploration; if this is my first visit I try to take it all in, if I’ve already been to the site, I usually try to head to parts of the wreck that I haven’t fully explored.  It’s amazing no matter how many dives I make on the same wrecks, I always see something new, something I missed on previous occasions or something that another diver uncovered or moved on the site.  The wrecks that are found in the southern waters of the island are either World War I or II, they vary in size but for sure they never disappoint!

Lately I’ve been working on improving my trim, while swimming around I try to keep my trim in mind, challenging myself to penetrate tighter spaces than I would normally consider and minimally disturbing the environment/bottom.

Time is always flying when you’re having fun!  Soon it’s the 15 or 20 minute mark and we need to signal to return to the shot unless we are further away in that case we would be on our way earlier than the planned ascent time.  Once at the shot we start the long decompression to the surface.  Deco is usually around 30/40 minutes before we are bobbing at the surface waiting to be picked up.  During the ascent I keep close enough to the shot that I can grab the rope in case of emergency, if there is a current then I ring my thumb and fore finger, during this part of the dive the rebreather is trying to keep to the set point of 1.3, while I’m ascending to shallower depths and the existing content in the counterlungs is expanding rapidly.  I remain focused on reading the cells, monitoring my partial pressure and exhaling occasionally to keep a minimum loop volume and the current deco stop limits and keeping eye contact with my buddy. When we reach our 9 meter mark, we usually swim off to one of the shorter ropes on the deco station, where deco is continued.  As buddy pairs or team members we like to stay close at this stage, since anything can happen during deco as much as while performing the dive at the bottom.

Once the decompression is complete, and so is my buddy’s we remove the back clips of our bailout cylinders, signal to surface, acknowledge and surface.  At the surface we inflate our wings and signal the skipper that we are OK.  Most recently I have adopted a different method to feed my wing, I am using the Air bailout tank, so while the boat is approaching I close the tank, purge the regulator and unclip the LPI from my wing.  I have tried on several occasions to undo the LPI with an open cylinder but it’s a skill I have yet to master! Once the skipper throws in the life ring both tanks are ready to be clipped on, as soon as both divers have ridded themselves of the cylinders, the skipper pulls us back towards the boat.

Back on the boat, I turn off my unit, unclip all the clips and tie it securely it to the bungees, I collect my fins which would have been removed earlier by the skipper and stuff everything in my bucket.  I’m usually bursting to pee …. this would be a good time to get back in the water and relieve myself. AS buddies we all give a helping hand to help the other divers back to the boat, thus relieving the skipper from having to tow each diver/team back.  After the roll call is complete we head back to shore.  Everyone is talking over everyone else, “did you see the grouper?” “did you see the torpedo?” “what about the huge moray eel hidden in the loo?”

Most of the time everything is bigger and larger than reality …. But it’s not our fault, everything appears large underwater, it’s a fact!

Back to shore, all the divers unload their gear, and bring their cars around to load and head off for a cold Cisk or Shandy.

Until the next one....

 

Papa's 70th

2011 & 2012 have really been quiet eventful for my family, I’m an only child therefore my family is really my parents and I.  A while back I told myself that I would spend more time with both my parents and do things that they enjoy and that make them happy.  This post is all about one of those moments I spent with both my loving mama & papa .... a day I will treasure in my heart and record in my Happiness Jar.

On the 31^st March the Catholic Church celebrated Easter Sunday, which in itself is a very important celebration of the risen Lord, however for me it had another meaning, one that is closer to my heart.  My father turned 70 … a blessing for us that he is in relatively good health after all he has been through.

The picture speaks for itself

On Easter Sunday morning we met at their house and headed to the Ferry in Cirkewwa to take the 9:30 crossing to the sister Island, I like to call Little Rock – Gozo.  The weather was beautiful, just a tad of a breeze but otherwise lovely.

We got to Gozo in time to drive over to the other side of the Island, a quiet town called Gharb and attend Easter Sunday Mass, because it was Easter Sunday and also because the Church is home to the Portrait of the Madonna ta Pinu, as I explained in a previous post this has a strong meaning for my mother.  So we couldn’t visit Gozo without visiting the church and giving homage to the Madonna who has kept dad safe and healthy year after year.

Marble Angel

We arrived a little bit late, I’m pretty sure it was the first time my mother entered a church while the celebrant was half way through his homely, incidentally he was urging churchgoers to make it a point to arrive before mass actually starts … I’m sure she was forgiven just for being late once … me well I’m not sure I can seek forgiveness since I’m a repeat offender!

Mama & Papa outside the Sanctuary

After mass we drove to Marsalforn and had lunch at a lovely restaurant close to the sea called Murella – we had a lovely meal, I had their speciality – Fried Gozo Gbejna (which is a local soft cheese made from sheep’s’ milk).  Gbejniet (plural for Gbejna) are delicious raw with some olive oil – fried they are divine, as a main course I had one of their Speciality Pizza with Mozzarella di Buffola … YUMM!

Mum had Aubergine Brusketta followed by an Aberdeen Angus Burger and dad had the fried Gbejna and burger same as mum … he hadn’t indulged in anything so rich in months – since it was his birthday mum let down her guard.

For pudding I had a portion of Cassatella Siciliana a Sicilian ricotta dessert while both my parents had fresh fruit salad.  After a meal like that all we felt like doing was have a nap in the sun ... but we didn't give in.

On the way to the ferry we stopped for some fresh air at Calypso Cave overlooking the picturesque Ramla il-Hamra (the red beach) …

Posing with my lovely mum

Our Trip on Google Maps

A lovely end to a beautiful day, we must really do this more often … nothing is more fulfilling then spending quality time with both my parents.

A lonely boat sitting outside the Mgarr Harbour in Gozo

When the pumpkins didn't come out to play

A few weeks ago (this post got stuck in drafts) I called mum and she let me know that dad had expressed the wish to visit The Annual Pumpkin event held in the small village of Manikata ... The event was planned for Sunday and on the Saturday previous we had a freak storm with rain and wind ... However the weather cleared up and the forecast was looking very good.

Come Sunday the sun was shining nice and bright ... So I drove to mum's to pick her, dad and little Honey ... Our recently adopted dog.  5 minutes later we were driving up the hills to Manikata ... It's a very small village so when I didn't see any cars and no traffic on the one road in the village ... Well I thought to myself ... Where's the fair ??? The sun is shining, there are no clouds in sight and my tummy is rumbling for pumpkin ....

The car park was packed ... But there are no pumpkins, no stalls, no kids running around  ... Mass is being celebrated at the nearby church so we're guessing everyone is in church and last night's freak storm scared the pumpkins away ...

Mum being mum had Plan B ... Defrosted rabbit waiting to be cooked ... I on the other hand had Plan C ... Drive around the sea side and stop for a leisurely lunch ...

Plan C

We decided to take the road leading from Manikata to Anchor Bay and the tourist attraction Popeye Village it's beautiful vibrant colours and flat calm sea ... It was picturesque ... Regretfully I didn't take any photos I was too busy absorbing the scene and teasing Honey.

The Chapel at the edge of the Cliff

The Madonna dedicated to
l-Ahrax tal-Mellieha

Onto to the next site seeing location, we drove by Mellieha Bay and into Ahrax tal-Mellieha a rocky cliff site famous with campers, ramblers and unfortunately hunters and bird trappers ... Dad told me he didn't recall ever going to the edge ... So I drove all the way through to the end of the road and as it happens the end of the Island from that point.  We visited the small chapel dedicated to the Madonna it only has two benches inside, it's more of a shrine than an actual chapel ... A lot of photos and mementos petitioning the Madonna for intervention and miracles.

The Alter protected by Gates



Beyond the Blue Gate

 

Breath-taking drop and beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea

The view from the edge of deep blue sea only brings to mind one thing ... Diving ... And possibility of undiscovered shipwrecks that might be out there ... Far off into the Mediterranean.

After a short walk we got back into the car and drove the way we came taking the first side road into Little Armier ... Populated by boat houses used by summer holiday makers in the summer months ... Now abandoned to the elements ... As we started to feel peckish we looked for a nice place to get some good food ... And since Honey was with us we had to check restaurant policies before picking out a place ...

First place accepted dogs and we sat at the water's edge and asked for the menu, we were told that unfortunate they had a problem and couldn't serve food.  Second place had a big sign that stated "no dogs".  Third time lucky ... Finally no signs and a full menu ... Yeah !

We settled at a table under an umbrella, Honey sat on one of the chairs on her beach towel and drinks order was placed ... Ah Shandy ... Nothing beats a cold Shandy on a warm sunny day.

Dad decided on getting pork chops while mum and I had scampi ... I took a trip down memory lane when I used to dine out with my parents and always had scampi for dinner.

Cornetti, followed by a walk by the sea side ... With Honey exploring the shore line and dad getting some sea air while sitting on a rubble wall.  Once we got back to the car I decided to drive a little further to Cirkewwa and check the dive site ... Just for fun ... Turns out mum had no clue that that's where I did most of my diving ... So she enjoyed the short visit ... While I chatted to some of the ATLAM Club members who had just finished a photography competition.

On the way back all went quiet ... Good food, sea air, and a tad of exercising tired everyone up ...

An impromptu day out turned out into a lovely few hours with my loving parents and a little black dog that's become a part of our family.