We Started Taking Down The Christmas Decorations,

before Diana left for work, 

after she left it took me the rest of the day putting all of the baubles and door garlands in boxes, and then the difficult bit, taking down the tree and getting it it its bag, then the bit that does my back in, getting all of boxes and tree upstirs, eventually it was all done, after a coffee I opened the parcel with some books in that I had ordered, firstly, The Unnatural History of the Sea by Callum Roberts, from the blurb:

 'Starting with the eighteenth-century voyages of Vitus Bering, Roberts leads the reader through a wealth of maritime history revealing countless examples of overfishing. By quoting everyone from naturalist Georg Steller to western writer and trophy fisherman Zane Gray and swordfish boat captain and author Lynda Greenlaw, he covers a wide range of perspectives from those who know the seas better than most',

The Search for the Giant Squid by Richard Ellis, from the blurb:

'The most mysterious and elusive of all sea creatures, the giant squid – at least sixty feet long and weighing nearly a ton – is also one of the largest. Yet for all its magnificent size and threatening undersea presence, Architeuthis has remained a mystery. Until now. In this marvelous and beautifully illustrated book, marine biologist, explorer, and artist Richard Ellis presents all that is known about the giant squid. Delving into myth, literature, popular culture, and science, he brings readers face to face with this remarkable creature',

Encyclopedia of the Sea by Richard Ellis, from the blurb:

'With more than 450 of the author's own drawings and paintings accompanying the text, Ellis reveals the many wonders of the oceans – abalone, zooxanthellae, and everything in between. We learn about the peculiar behavior of Vampyroteuthis infernalis (the "vampire squid from hell") and about Mocha Dick, the real sperm whale that may have inspired Melville's Moby-Dick; where the crown-of-thorns starfish gets its name and how the rare coelacanth, cousin to a species extinct for 70 million years – and one of the most mispronounced fish in the sea – was rediscovered. We visit lovely and exotic locations from Venice to Ni'ihau (Hawaii's "forbidden isle"), and consider both the fearsome kraken (a mythical sea monster often seen by Scandinavian clergymen) and the notorious real-life pirate Captain Kidd (whose hidden treasure was never found)',

I now have a few books to take with me on our next trip to Thailand, although I will not be taking Encyclopaedia of the Sea, as it is more of a reference work, I am fairly OK with freshwater fish and plants, but when reading other books I occasionally come across a creature in the sea that I wish to know more about, so this book should fill the gap nicely, 

it was then time for my evening meal, a quick sandwich before I was out, 

and off to the club, the tennis courts being put to good use in this chilly night, 

into the club house where I meet up with Steve, Frank also arrived later in the evening, after we said our goodbyes we made a move for our homes, arriving there I had beaten Diana home, when she arrived it was feet up for a coffee and a chat as we watched a Have I Got A Bit More New For You, before we were off to bed.