I know what you are thinking

You are thinking this is just a seagull, but you are wrong. This seagull is flying over polder and that is an actual dyke behind him.

We cycled, trained and biked to Texel today, the southernmost of the Freisan Islands, renowned for its bird life. We saw spoonbills, henharriers and a host of other fascinating wildlife, all in the teeth of heavy rain and a strong southwesterly- impossible to get the camera out. Hence the seagull which was the only feathered thing about when the rain stopped briefly.

But did we care? Not a bit, we had a blast. And I cycled two miles through central Amster dam in a howling gale with no lights at 111pm. Henceforth let no-one call me a wimp.