More reading time!

Home visit


We decided over the weekend to go back to Romford on Monday to an obviously suffering Mum, who despite her protestations wasn't sounding too good over the telephone.
Arriving early afternoon after a diversion around  a mobile crane turning over on the A14, it was obvious that she wasn't very well at all, and was in some pain.
Fortunately her doctor had prescribed some extra strong pain killers and anti biotic for the "water infection" and they arrived shortly after we did, so we got her dosed up.
Cancelling the papers at home, we had decided we would be staying for as long as she needed us, or  certainly at the very least until the end of the week.
So we fed her up, she hadn't been eating or drinking all weekend, kept her comfortable until her regular visiting nurse turned up on Thursday to deal with her operation wound bandaging.The wound will never heal, but will get worse, we are told.
Anyway, as soon as the nurse went she went into her moaning about everything mood, so we knew she had recovered......the drugs were working!!
When she is in her moaning mood we know it's time to go, otherwise we all start. So we decided to go out for a curry in Gidea Park and out of the way for a few hours.
Very good it was too in Zaffran's, a different menu to the usual, tasty and well prepared.
Back at Mum's we told her we were going home tomorrow, and so we did after replenishing her larder!

Books


I took along 3 books.
My own copy of one to finish, after a bit of a struggle Barbel Mystique by Dr Terry Baxter.
I found it far to flowery, and I certainly don't understand poetry that has no rhyme!
At 283 pages, too long to tell story of one's barbel fishing over the years in my view.

The others were review copies from Harper.
Paul Cook's Lost In a Quiet World, which is about Paul's formative world of fishing in an estate lake until the age of about 15.
Not a bad read, but is only part of his story I'm sure, so probably more to come. I didn't put it down so it held my attention for a few hours
The next was Chris Turnbull's Reflections, all in all a better read, with Chris running through his specimen hunting days from Tench, carp, crucians and barbel through to his trips to Thailand and finally to grayling. Again a book that didn't get a rest, well apart from a curry visit. Recommended!

Both books are extremely well produced by Harper, showing off the artistry of both individuals in a good light.
The books are now going off to Barbel Society members for full reviews for Barbel Fisher in time for Christmas presents lists.They will then be made available for the Society's R&C auction at the end of October/early November (Details to follow in due course)

I am now awaiting my personal copy of Maurice (Mole) Pledger's book While my float's still cocked.
To be launched this Friday 22th July.

Mole's artwork

With Mole being on hand and painting at the CLA game fair at Blenheim Palace next weekend on Coch-y-Bonddu's book stand.


I'm getting back into this reading lark, I suppose it's the next best thing to being there!!.


Fishing

All going well, I'll be on the middle Trent on Thursday for some barbel fishing.

The Avon Roach Project


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH_3D0feF7U&feature=player_embedded#at=72

The Barbel Society: Barbel School

Just back from a very successful Barbel Society weekend  of fishing and tuition on the River Teme.
 20 booked to be given advice and instruction, and 20 turned up.
A well organised and run school, this,  the very first, was on Dave Mason's Top Barn stretch. He, Rob Swindells and their Teme Severn team looked after everything.
http://www.temesevern.co.uk/anglers.htm
One lad caught his first ever barbel, in not so perfect conditions, so a well chuffed individual and hopefully a new member of the Society.
Not seeing a great deal of point in going fishing and sleeping, for the first time I actually slept in the car and didn't suffer too much, even though I'm all for the creature comforts.May try it again to get the best of an early morning or the early evening without the worry of a few hours drive after!

Been away again

Mum

Just back from a rush trip down to Mum.We returned from holiday to find she is suffering some severe pain in her back. Doctor says it's her spine, Locum prior to that said a water infection!!!! So we await an XRay. 

Mum says(once again)I don't want all this, never thought I would live this long.

Off to the River Teme tomorrow for the weekend, I may move straight on to Romford afterwards to at least cook  her some hot food, any excuse at the moment not to eat, well other than a bit of of toast !!

It's that man again!

July issue Coarse Angling Today and two pages on Summer barbelling

Back again

Obsessive and selfish abandonment ?


We're just back from a week in Limone on the shores of  Lake Garda. 
Lake Garda is apparently typical of a moraine valley, having been formed under the action of a Paleolithic glacier. It is Italy's largest lake at 51.6 kilometers long with an average depth of 135 metres. 346 metres at it's deepest point!
Anyway, I thought I would put that bit in because I think it's  relevant to what follows.
As is usual for me on holidays where I have a chance to do nothing most of the time, I take books along to read.
One book in particular which I picked up to read whilst sitting on the hotel veranda over looking the lake,in the company a bottle of Chianti, was Jon Berry's 190 page Beneath the black water.

The room's view!

 I say picked up, what I really mean is, I couldn't put it down!
It took me about three and a half hours to read, my location probably helped.
The Chianti was quite warm by the time the bottle needed to be emptied!


Basically it's about Jon's, initially obsessive hunt, trolling for salmo ferox, over perhaps a serious three year period in the glacial created lochs of the Scottish highlands.



From sometime in 1997, he abandons friends, girl friends and a wife,he also mounts up substantial debts to hunt down ferox trout. 
He also writes about his on and off quest over 12 years, including fishing the lakes of Cumbria and the loughs of Ireland for ferox. 



Sitting by Garda it set me wondering, and this is where the relevance comes in, if such creatures exist within it's waters, it's certainly known for it's charr and  trout, so maybe?
Jon certainly describes the Scottish lochs in much the same way, except this one, apart from it's beauty, is far from the desolate highlands described, it is choc a block with tourists.
Even so my mind did wander a little whether people fished Garda for ferox


I picked the book again a couple of days later, and for the first time since reading Johann Wyss's, Swiss Family Robinson in my youth, I read a book again.Three hours from start to finish non stop.
So as you can imagine I found the book highly readable,  perhaps for me mostly thought provoking!
Whatever happened to Martin? I asked myself after both reads.A very close friend of Jon's who started on the quest with him, and suddenly, "I never saw Martin again".
It takes all sorts, and none of this is a knock against Jon personally, he admits it himself.
I tried to see myself in his shoes and to be honest I couldn't, my temperament is perhaps far from selfish, I certainly have never been obsessed enough with anything to abandon people/family.
Certainly not fishing!
Fishing for me, is not about one species, or even really worrying about catching fish, it's not life changing, well it shouldn't be.Should it?
Get hold of a copy, whatever your views on catching fish may be, it is a very good read

I didn't take my travel rods with me by the way, sitting on a lake in temperatures well into the mid 30's, although tempting,didn't appeal. Plenty of chub about, awaiting the tourist crust!