Today we have an octopus! Granny and Beloved needed fresh seawater for the kitchen rockpool, so went down to the once ghost village on the west coast (now taken over by locals at the weekend; who restore the houses, sit on the beach, play bolas, have barbecues; it was humming today.) Nieves on the beach with her children came over suddenly bearing a bucket plus octopus - occasionally they get stranded at low tide. Did we want it? We did. Octopus has now taken over crab's hiding place under the filter. The previously all powerful, all-devouring crab shows every sign of knowing that crab is an octopus' favourite snack; it's cowering at the top of the tank. Beloved and Granny are hoping that in fact it's too big for the octopus to manage - one this size last year was, though it polished off smaller ones.

The octopus has made one swift foray already - immediately retreated. If the crab is too big for him, the hermits will continue to suffer. If not the octopus had better enjoy his feast. Thereafter his diet will be frozen squid or shrimp. (By eyes if not hands on experience, Granny has learned a lot in the last year as to the diet of invertebrates. Octopus eat fish too. But everything seems to leave gobies and blennies alone. It must mean they don't taste nice. ) Grannyp