SUP paddling at Midsummer

After a couple of photos of my new toy on the grass I finally got someone else to take a picture of me as I paddle around.  I'm still a bit wobbly but after 3 days of practice I've done several 20 minute out and return trips without falling in.  However, this photo is taken on day 2 and I had fallen in.  It was starting to go right but I got a bit cocky and decided to try paddling backwards. I realised the weight shift used as you paddle backwards is very different to the weight shift when going forwards. I realised this while horizontal to the water, about a tenth of a second before the splash!
We had a great day on this official Midsummer's Eve, sharing van life with Livia and Roger, and another old friend , Roy, who slept in a tent but is thinking of buying a camper-van. We had a mid-afternoon Prosecco to get us in the mood. (I still managed to paddle around the bay with a Prosecco inside me.) A bit later we started a long round of delicious food, wine, and chat. We also discovered that the anti-mosquito device we bought a year ago actually works. We set it going and the mozzies stopped biting us. It clears an area of about 4X5metres on a still evening. Perfect for sitting around a table chatting.
We finally let tiredness catch up with us just as midnight approached. It was still so light we didn't know it was so late.  The sky was stunningly beautiful but that's a tale for tomorrow's blip.