10 years

Friday 31st January 2003

Yesterday was our celebration of living in the Lincolnshire Wolds, we arrived 10 years ago yesterday, after an overnight in Boston which found us leaving in the early morning following a night of severe blizzard conditions, and wondering the best way to get to our new home.
We plumped for the main road route rather than the 10 miles shorter, but more direct B roads, we assumed that the A16 would be relatively clear, and our better option.
As it turned out it was, although the road was strewn with abandoned vehicles, there was a clear paassageway through the drifts.
We eventually arrived at our new home to find our removal lorry tilted at an impossible angle, it appeared that on arrival it had parked on what the driver thought to be a pavement, but in fact, disguised by the snow was a grass verge and the lorry had sunk up to it's axle in the wet mud, and was very close to balancing on our new neighbours six foot wooden boundary fence!
We had no keys to the house as one of those last minute things occured, as they do with house purchase.
So we headed off on the A631 to Louth across the Wolds, fortunately the snow ploughs had been at work and it was a relatively easy journey across.
The vendors solicitor advised us that the final monies had not arrived, but was assured that they were on their way.
So we went to Ye Olde White Swan, as you do, and waited.



We had a good lunch and rang the estate agent, the keys were now available, so we picked them up, called the removal firm driver and let him know we were on our way.
So with some trepidation made our way back over the Wolds.
On arrival, we found that one of our new neighbours Geoff, had arranged with a local  farmer to come over and pull the removal lorry off the verge.
So we were in, and in very short time our removal team were on their way back to Milton Keynes..

The last 10 years

We've had a great 10 years, we were very quickly into village life, joining the pub darts team and the Black Horse pub fishing club.
This gave us a great opportunity to meet and get along with the locals.
Having allied myself to the Black Horse, it took sometime to venture into the The White Hart across the road, but we did, and found ourselves with a real ale paradise, which after the closure of the Black Horse, the landlord selling up and going to live in Spain, became our new home from home. The Horse becoming a wannabee restaurant, alienating many of the villagers, but it's now closed and for sale again.



Later in 2003 I met for the first time Ron Clay from contact on Fishing Magic and fished the tidal Trent at Sutton with him, caught my first Trent barbel of about 4lb following his tuition, and the very next season I joined the Barbel Society because they now owned that very same stretch a water..

My Dad died in January 2004

I fished the Hazelford stretch as a guest in October 2005 and improved my personal best barbel to 9lb4ozs and in June 2006 was invited to join the syndicate and met one of the nicest blokes I've ever met Mike Osborne, there were a good few in that syndicate though, Steve Brown to name just one.
In 2005 I won a guided day and at this time was lead to believe I had achieved my first double, from the Loddon, a fish of "10lb 8ozs" I never saw the scales and have had concerns since that time that it actually was. The the usual snide sniping comments of the internet doubting the veracity of the scales, things I heard after also gave me some nagging doubts.

What do you think ?

Anyway in November 2007 I caught my next double where I actually saw the scales, this was weighed for me by the aforesaid Steve Brown, he was also there in August 2008 to weigh and confirm the size when I achieved my current personal best.
In 2008 I also became editor of Barbel Fisher, my first attempt issue number 25, and I joined the Barbel Society committee.
My next job was to rescue thousands of over ordered Barbel Fisher's dating from 2002 from a former committee man's garage in Essex.

I left the syndicate at the end of the 2009/10 season.

My Mum died in December 2011

I resigned from the Barbel Society committee early 2012, editing and assisting after resignation the new man Rob Hilton on his way, Rob's another cracking fella ( he's got a few words on the little man), to complete my final and 10th Barbel Fisher, number 34 in the Autumn of last year.

What's next ?

Yesterday, as I say we celebrated.
After my trip to Grimsby we went to lunch in what I believe to be the best restaurant pub in this area, The Ship Inn at Barnoldby le Beck and finished off in the evening in the White Hart, I'm not certain the nightcap on getting back home of two large Irish, was such a good idea though!

Well I've already highlighted what's next for us in this blog, and we've been thinking about it for a while.
Whilst our little village has everything we want at the moment, and we've many local friends, next year I'm 65 so it's time to think what may happen if I can't drive, The Boss never liked too, and hasn't since we've moved up here.
So next year we will start looking for a move on to be closer to a main railway line to London with good access to a town, maybe even in a town. We'll start at Newark and move south or west.

or get one of these!!
For The Boss