In which Struan does something truly wonderful

Yesterday, we surfed for hours. The waves weren’t amazing – small, infrequent, messy – but being in the water was fantastic. Since you’re asking, no, I didn’t manage to stand up on the board. But I am at least kneeling on it now and even – bizarrely – able to steer it a bit in that position. I think I have invented knurfing and I am the knurfer in chief.

Well anyway....during the course of yesterday's 5 hours in the water, Struan lost the big fin on his board. So, today, we went to Guts to get a replacement.

It's a beauty, too. One that Chris has used himself:

It's a little longer than the last one, which makes the board a little more stable...

...and the whole board is a big step up from Struan's first board which he got in 2013 when he (like Ruaridh today) was 17:

I really hope those aren't the same red Converse that he was wearing yesterday...

Anyway, it was nice to have an excuse to go to Chris's shop and look around. Chris shapes beautiful boards and while he and I were shooting the breeze about Mark Cavendish's horrendous crash in this year's Tour de France (did Sagan elbow Cav intentionally or not?) and whether the British Lions have any chance in the third and deciding test match in New Zealand (it was draw in the end), Ruaridh had fallen in love.

Struan, who had been looking at T-shirts, found Ruaridh staring at a board up on the ceiling.

Struan grabbed me and took me outside for a word.

Ruaridh came out too. Struan shooed him away.

Struan suggested we help Ruaridh buy the board - he didn't have quite enough money with him - and Struan was was willing to pitch in a loan if I was.

Struan is a star.

Ruaridh was quiet when we suggested it.

That's a big sign, right?

So Chris got the board down: