Portobello Beach Edinburgh Day 342

For whom the worm squirmed - a quartet of very friendly Porty folk digging for live bait for their expedition tomorrow. "See the bait in the shop - its a' awfa price. This is free, ken!" They were off to Eyemouth tomorrow for their first ever foray out with a skipper. They are in pursuit of cod and mackerel. What about bass? In response to my ignorant question they gestured towards the Leith rocks and a suggestion that if I took some of these worm up there on a line I could have a couple of bass fresh from the Forth for my tea today!

Worms of a viral kind are in the news today as the world slowly, slowly wakes up to the dangers of trolling on social media sites as another tragic teen suicide is linked to alleged on line harrassment, hate and defamation. There seems to be a great deal of pent up hate lurking out there in cyber space. I hope the signs of a sea change in our tolerance of such online threat and intimidation are not simply a "silly season" maritime mirage but something far more virtous than virtual.