Who needs a free weekend ?

Tiger, tiger...................

We have over a number of years had the opportunity to visit many foreign parts, including China, Sri Lanka, Equador and the Galapagos Islands, South Africa and Kenya  to name drop a few. Maybe I'll tell a few of our stories in future blogs, I certainly have plenty of photographs on disks and sticks.

Anyway none of our exotic trips stick in my mind more than a visit to India in March 2010 for my 61st birthday, in fact the actual day of my birthday. Primarily because at crack of dawn we set out to spot tigers after a few days of fleeting glimpses. Pauline in fact demanded that our guide gave me a birthday present. And so he did, no doubt in fear of his well being.
Shortly after we turned into the reserve there he was in all his glory spread across the track! He ambled along the track for some distance allowing to take many photographs before heading off into the forest.
A sight that will be with me for the rest of my natural.                                                                                                          
                          It would now appear that the Indian government, not able to listen to people, much like our own government, are wanting to stop tourists tiger spotting.
Whilst on our trip we had many discussions on this very subject with people from The Corbett Foundation and our guide Harendra Singh. They told us that despite many tourist paid for game wardens there were still poachers working the reserves from time to time, and shipping of the parts of tigers for big money. Mostly in China for "medicines"
The view was that without tourists there would be no money for wardens to protect the tiger, and as a result poachers would very quickly wipe out the dwindling population.
So from today's Guardian some disappointing and sad news. I hope that good common sense prevails.

From today's Guardian

March 24th 2010

One more go!

Back to the first lake

I decided to give the first lake a couple hours tonight and set myself up next to the island.
I also decided that I would try my very best to test out for the size of the roach and crucians.
Stuck with bread flake for the two hours into darkness and fished laying on.
A buzzard was overhead mewing for a while and a kingfisher put in an appearance, bloody woodies getting on my nerves with their tussles in the branches around me. It would appear that there isn't a market for pigeon flesh, because there has been a population explosion around these parts, no interest to the shooters perhaps?
No crucian, but a few roach of no real size.
Only disturbed by one carp and it took me for a good run around for a while,  because I had hooked him in the tail. As soon as I realised what had occurred, brute force became the answer to getting it into the net or a hook slip. Netted eventually a 6lb mirror!
So, I'm pretty certain there aren't any good sized fish in this lake, probably stunted because of the large rudd population. I think I will probably give it a miss for the time being and have a look at a couple of the fairly local day ticket fisheries and give the second lake a bit more exploration, before heading back to the rivers.

Look what I've found

Peace, noise,harvesters and nibblers!

Quiet tonight!

I left the house at 5pm this evening for another few hours down the second lake in the valley.
Arriving lakeside it was noticeable that there was not a single water fowl to be seen, very quiet except for the constant cooing of the woodies. Not any real sign of fish either apart from the hundreds of tiny fish dimpling the surface.The wind was blowing a bit down the lake and there was rain in the air, then I remembered I'd left the bread on the work surface.
Ah well time to try out the Pallatrax paste and what was left of the Tiger hookers and perhaps the plastics.
Well, not a nibble! Tried everything not a touch.
It rained a bit, but not enough for me to dash back to the car for water proofing, blown on the wind and away pretty quickly.
Decided I wasn't going to give up, so kept on trying, it wasn't until about 8o'clock that I got my first fish, a carp  and very soon was into a couple more, all on the paste. By 8:45 I was thinking about when to call it a day, but sat listening for a while as a lone tawny owl made his way along the wood line behind, giving out his plaintive call but getting no response.
There was a church bell going all out in practice no doubt, somewhere in the near distance.
Then the geese started their noisy way back to the lake, firstly in small chattering groups of four or five then in larger numbers, I wonder where they had been? The mallards came wandering along the bank and out of the wheat field about the same time, so noise everywhere.
Anyway, it was now very difficult to see the float and I decided to call it a day at about 9pm.
The lake is about 2/3 miles from my house, along a back lane just about fit for two cars to pass.
As I approached the long straight I could see in the short distance a row of vehicles, lights flashing, it was a convoy of the harvesters finishing for the night. I needed to be in a position to let them pass, fortunately they waited for me at the right angled bend.
I of course gave them right of way and very shortly trundled on home,passing the White Hart and nearly dropping in, but I was good, I have to think of my health!
I was hoping for something different to come along from this lake, but it appears the carp in all shapes,colours and sizes are the main inhabitants, although activity close to the opposite bank gives me an idea that the may be a rogue trout in residence taking insects for most of the evening off the surface film, and occasionally scattering the fingerling's.

bottom half goldfish!!

Back to lake number one I think!

Home again time

Maybe is wasn't!

Needed to dig up all my onions and shallots the other day because most had been eaten down to the bulbs!!
Blamed the slugs and snails, but maybe it was something else!!

Lucky it was too small for a meal!!

This and that and some fishing

Health

Don't think I've mentioned it, but I decided back in January that it was about time I really lost some weight, so I went on the cut down on carbohydrates diet. So no spuds, no rice, no pasta and no bread. I've strayed a bit over the 8 months, two holidays didn't help, but I've managed to get 2 stone off.
Anyway a couple of months ago I received a letter from my doctors practice offering an "MOT", having had company medicals for most of my working life, I thought that after ten years that I should take up the offer.
So last month a went for the tests which included a fasting blood test, a glucose tolerance test.
Primarily this is to check out if I had diabetes, as my younger brother suffers as did my mum. This is among the other stuff when you're getting on a bit, they have a look at!
The levels weren't looking that good, so I had to go back this month for the same fasting test, basically you don't eat or drink from 9pm, arrive at the surgery at 9am get a blood sample taken, and then drink , 410ml of Lucozade as fast as you can, then go and sit quietly for two hours.
This I did and then had another blood sample taken. This is sent off to the lab and you get an appointment with the diabetes nurse set for a fortnights time.
Basically the nurse tells me a fortnight later that  I do have type 2 diabetes, not bad enough to require treatment, but a change of lifestyle is needed.
The diet I'm on covers most of this, and if I stick too it will get my weight down and so that effectively is the easy part, just less fat.
The drinking has to be reduced and I'll have a think about that, the 3 bottles of wine at the weekend will be easy to half, the beer we shall see what is needed.
So wish me luck, not that I need it, just need to put my mind to it.


Old friends

During the last month we have been to Alcester and to Milton Keynes to see old friends who have not been seen for about five years.
Plenty of excuses for the long delay, mostly down to me really, as I went through one of my five year life phases. So friends reinstated and plans for more meet ups in the not too distant future.

I was beginning to think up excuses not to go down to London to see my old International Drinking Society mates at the end of this month, but thought better of it. So a trip to Ivan's on the 23rd is lined up for b&b and meeting with the ol'boys at a pub, yet to be decided by the host on his birthday, but certainly  in Greenwich

Olympics

Well, that's the first part done and dusted without any of the problems so well publicised by our doom monger press. We really must all give some consideration to those areas of the press who do very little to raise the confidence of the people of this country, or indeed our sportsman. The easiest way is to not buy those negative organs of doom, or better still fill the internet with some form of protest against the ill will generated by them at every opportunity.
I'll have a think about that.
In the meantime, thanks to the Olympians, the volunteers, and also to the BBC, they got it it right!
So come on people, less negativity and it would all be a much nicer place for us to live.

Counting sheep

Another 6 sheep joined the 7 already in the field next door.
They all  showed  the appearances of being tupped with a blue dye across their backs.
It would appear to me the existing flock may be getting a bit old for lambs, so I'll try and find out what the intentions are, maybe my lamb will be a hogget!






And finally

I took the opportunity to fish the 2nd lake again this evening arriving just after 4pm.

Graylag

As I turned towards the lake from my parked car, I bumped into this little group!
Their cousins the canada geese were on the lake.

I also found a new entrance with less of a rutted road and almost ran over a Water rail on the way in,I'm now able to id them with certainty!

Canada

Anyway the fishing I moved down the bank a short way, and will keep doing so to get a real feel of the water. Still the same depth here, so I tackled up with my Young's 1.3tc barbel rod and my Purist ll a small quill straight through to a size 12 barbless.
I decided that I would concentrate on bread flake to try and see what may be in here. After a few rudd, not so many of the hoards in this lake, and a couple of small roach the carp moved in.

During all this time I kept hearing behind me a bird call that I thought sounded like quail, they were in fact partridge, I had never heard them before, they strung out along the woodland boarder along the field giving and getting answers to their territory calls.
Anyway I was regularly in contact with the carp and stayed until just after 9pm and landed the biggest of the day at just under 10lb, it gave me a fair tussle on the gear. I do like the control the centre pin gives.

About 6lb

I think a change of tactics needed to try and get to the bottom of what this lake holds.

                                                                                                   

Nearly time to go