He is also a very keen angler, having come back to the sport in 1995 following a break of several years. In this regular column he will tell us about his progress as an angler – his thoughts about the sport, what he learns, the fishing trips he makes, the anguish, the humour, in fact everything he experiences as his angling career develops. | |||
HOW DO I GET TO DO IT SO OFTEN? – WELL, NOT AT ALL IN THE LAST WEEK I suppose there are not many people reading this that haven’t uttered the immortal words at some time in their life – ‘there must be somebody up there that doesn’t like me’. Well, I’m not really a candidate for that, am I? And not that I have been tempted in any way to think that way, but I’m sure that many would forgive me if I had, considering the recent run I’ve had. Basically, if something could go wrong, it’s happened in the last few weeks! They say it never rains, but it pours, and that’s been my experience recently. Well, what’s that got to do with a weekly fishing column? After all, I’m not setting out to bore you with all my disasters. But what it has meant is that I haven’t been able to wet a line over the last week or so. Not for lack of trying, mind. I did manage to get to the River Teme in Shropshire for a bit of fluff flinging.
Cutting a long story short, I did something that I haven’t done for a long time – ended up in the river! And I’m not talking about a deliberate ‘waders job’ either. I’m referring to the old ‘fell down the bank and plunged’ trick. Standing there, chest height, I saw the funny side of it. That was until I remembered I still had my rucksack on my back, which contained such things as a mobile phone and camera, which like Gremlins, should not be exposed to water, otherwise they metamorphose into something else! In the case of cameras and phones they become nice looking items that don’t work any longer. And I even made the car park at Kingsmead in Berkshire. Arriving for a three-day bream session, all was well until I noticed steam coming from under the engine, as I pulled onto the car park at the venue. I couldn’t fish knowing that something was wrong with my car, so I called the AA, hoping to get a broken hose fixed, or something similar. Well, the bottom line was that evening I never even cast a line, but ended up getting towed back up the M40, courtesy of a big yellow lorry! A broken head gasket, combined with a few other illnesses that my car has picked up in the last month, meant that repair bills have rocketed into the four-figure bracket. Having such a slow mechanic hasn’t helped either. My car has literally been on garage ramps more than it’s been on the road recently.
Time to go fishing? Anyway, I thought I’d answer a question in this week’s Pilgrims Progress that I have been asked on a number of occasions. ‘How do you get to go fishing so much?’ has been posed to me so many times I wish I had a pound for every occasion – and even moreso now, with my car repair bills spiralling out of control around me. Isn’t it funny how people get the wrong perception – how judgements are formed without really knowing any facts? I’ve certainly witnessed that, by being on the receiving end. It is no secret that I get to fish a lot more than the average angler does and of course, some put two and two together and come up with five. ‘He must have a good job, all that money, and all that fishing time’. It was even suggested once on a fishing forum that I must have been doing something ‘dodgy’. (I don’t think some people realise that they are committing libel with some of the statements that are made on public forums). The reality is that yes, I suppose I do have a good job. That’s if you are referring to the sort of flexibility that means I can fish three times a week. Although I do clock in between forty and fifty hours a week on average, I often work two or three days solid, thus releasing plenty of time for fishing (excepting the last week or so, of course).
I’m not cheap – I’m free! But every silver lining has a cloud, and believe me, for every person that would envy my flexibility of time, when it came down to pounds, shillings and pence, I’m afraid the number of takers would drop dramatically. As the Director of a Registered Charity (SICM) I don’t actually take a wage from the organisation. (I’m able to fund myself from other legitimate ways, just in case you’re wondering!). That way I don’t feel bad if I take a few days or more off to go fishing, as in effect I work for ‘free’. There, I told you the queue of volunteers would diminish, didn’t I? Of course, it’s not just the employment situation that enables me to spend so much time fishing. I’m very blessed to have a wife that fully understands how important my angling is to me. We both have the attitude to life that quality is better than quantity. We’ll never be ‘rich’ but as long as we’ve got enough just to get by, we’re contented. As long as we’ve got enough to pay the bills, put some food on the table that’s all we’re after as far as material possessions are concerned. Oh, and a little bit over to go fishing is not unwelcome, of course! So there you have it – that’s how I get to go fishing so much! Now all I need to do is think how I’m going to pay those car bills! | |||
Well, the car problems dragged on a bit, which meant a fortnight passed by before I was able to do some fishing again. Still, I got there eventually! And the title of next week’s PP encapsulates my feelings perfectly. ‘IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK – THE FISH ARE A BONUS!’ is next week’s offering. Check out FISHINGmagic next Thursday and find out how I got on when I finally managed to make it to the water’s edge. The Reverend Stewart R Bloor Pilgrim’s Progress – read it every Thursday! |
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