Whilst counting seals upon Blakeney Point, a few years back, when  seal close encounters were commonplace, we were counting an especially densely packed seal zone being careful not to unduly disturb the seals whilst avoiding the naturally  protective, close, manoeuvres of the females as they looked after their pups.

From a high point in the dunes Bill and myself noticed an area of seals along a suaeda ridge which we had not counted. To count them would involve a very challenging, delicately stepping, weaving count whilst avoiding the protective ire of both cow and bull seals.

I was naturally cautious, some might say timorous, about the approach to counting that particular area.Bill, however, without further consultation, purposefully strode off and managed to negotiate a tricky path to successfully complete the seal count with aplomb and no reference to just how difficult that part of the count was.

Ever since I think of him as Bill The Fearless.

Malcolm (Al) Davies