one is swimming, check to see if there's a reason. Northcott Mouth, where the woman drowned on Monday, is my local beach. It is a very special place. My wife, my sons and I go there to surf, swim or just be together almost daily through the summer and frequently in the autumn, spring and winter. To us and to many other locals, including the lifeguards who patrol it and the lady who runs the tea garden nearby, our little cove is a secret paradise, so dear to us that it is in some ways an additional family member. It is where we celebrate birthdays, unwind at weekends, spend our holidays, relax with friends and, in darker times, seek solace and comfort, or wash our troubles out of our hair. To get an idea of its glories on a good day (and also its fierce power), take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyTUOkYPo\\... So as you can imagine, we are all extremely distraught that somewhere that is so special to us has now claimed the life of a woman who came to enjoy its wonderful charms, particularly as the death should never have happened and could have been avoided. I'll come to the sad truth behind the drowning later, but first a few words about our beach. Yes, it is dangerous. But no more so than any other beach on the north coast of Cornwall and many other places on the coastline. In certain conditions, just about every beach has a