It turns out my ankle has a fractured bone, so I now have a cast on it for the next six weeks. I hope it will mean more blogging and maybe revamping my website, but much of the time at the moment I’m just feeling like reading and watching DVDs, and doing crosswords and sudokus.

I’m posting some favourite beach photos to celebrate my birthday today. These first two are of Carrickalinga North Bay, alternatively Dame Roma Mitchell Bay, in South Australia, taken by my son, Tim Raupach:

Kids always have favourite colour, but as an adult you often don’t. After years of not having a specific favourite, I realised that this almost-not-there nearly transparent turquoise is mine. I find it almost achingly beautiful.

Then there is this one taken on the wild east coast of Tasmania on the northern beach of Macquarie Heads, looking out to … South Africa. The straight is called Hell’s Gates.