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He is also a very keen angler, having come back to the sport five years ago 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.
Pilgrim’s Progress – read it everyThursday!
More Close Encounters…Of An Animal Kind
In a recent PP I looked at some of the bird life I had encounteredduring my fishing travels. Well, it certainly got me thinking. Thisweek’s PP is all about some of the other encounters I’ve had whileout by the waters edge.
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I’ve spent a lot of time in Africa over the last few years andhave been really blessed to see all kinds of different animals intheir natural environment. In many ways the mammal life of the UK isquite tame by comparison. However, there are a few highlights thatcome to mind as I look back over my fishing trips.
Sitting by a canal in Staffordshire my eyes were suddenly avertedfrom the float to movement on the far bank. Straight away I foundmyself watching the antics of a weasel. Much smaller than its cousinthe stoat, the weasel is a truly beautiful creature to watch. Theyare not animals that one tends to see very often, but this one reallyput a show on for me. Totally unaware of my presence I was able toobserve it for some time as it made its way through theundergrowth.
The same thing happened with a badger. Certainly, they seem morecommon these days, but unfortunately most of these magnificentcreatures are viewed as road kills rather than live in their naturalenvironment. Fishing the river Teme one beautiful summer eveningagain I was distracted by movement on the far bank. For a few momentsI was able to watch a badger as it made its way along a well wornroute in the dense undergrowth.
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It all seems to happen on the far bank, because it was also therethat I saw my first mink, again on the Worcestershire Teme. Althoughthey are alien to our nation and indeed do a lot of harm to ourindigenous creatures, I must say that I was impressed with the way itmade its way along the river bank. From working its way through theundergrowth to the way it tackled the river itself, I could see hownot a lot would be able to escape this animal as it hunted. In the100 metres or so that I was able to observe it I was left in no doubtthe future of any small mammal or bird that would have encounteredthe mink as it moved effectively along the river.
But not all animals are shy of course. How many of us haveencountered the customary cow (or cows!) that will literally standand stare until..well..the cows come home. I have lost count of thenumber of times I have suddenly had the feeling I’m being watched,only to turn around quickly and find a cow breathing down my neck.Considering their size, they are actually quite harmless, and it isreally curiosity that draws them to the angler. But before you gettoo complacent, make sure that it doesn’t have horns and a ringthrough its nose. Particularly if you’re in your new Jan Porter gear,if you get my drift.
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But I must reserve some of my funniest comments for another typeof animal, Homo Sapiens. Believe me, I’ve got so many stories to tellabout my encounters with people that I could write a book. Suffice itto say I will keep it short and relate just a few.
During the summer on the lower Severn one encounters the DiscoBoat. The first you know about it is when the loud ‘boom boom’ startsto make its presence felt as the mobile night club makes its wayupstream on its weekly Saturday night pilgrimage. By the time itreaches your swim, it certainly announces its arrival.
Let me say, the first time those young ladies on the boat startedto shout things at me, I blushed. By the time they reached my swimthey must have been well oiled, as I’m sure they wouldn’t shoutthings like that if they were sober. Of course, being a man of thecloth I pulled my hat down over my ears to drown out their shouts andpretend not to hear…or look (but I won’t go into that…)
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Last winter I fished a set of pools that are in a very roughneighbourhood. If I tell you that the muggers go round in three’syou’ll understand where I’m coming from. I’ve had two couplesfighting behind me as I fished. When I say couples I mean a manfighting with a woman. And when I say fighting, I mean fists. And onboth occasions the woman didn’t necessarily come off the worst. Ihave my mobile phone permanently switched on to 999, so all I have todo is hit the button and I’m connected with the police. OK, maybe Ielaborated a bit on the last point, but who would blame me if Idid?
I also find it quite funny when I get talking to a fellow anglerwho uses a lot of expletives. They sometimes really go on and the airbecomes quite blue. I usually let them go on for some time before Ilook for the opportunity to gently drop in to the conversation thatI’m a Minister. You should see the look on some of their faces!!!
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It actually happened in a real classic way when I was fishing withEddie Bibby and Graham Marsden last summer. Along comes the ‘Chuffin’Yorkshireman’, to put it gently. He really lets rip big time. I thinkthe school that he attended as a youngster didn’t use adjectives, sohe was forced to learn his own. Anyway, later, Graham and Eddie had awander over to his swim and ‘just happened’ to mention to him I was aMinister. ‘Chuffin’ heck’ (or words to that effect!) he replied. ‘Whydidn’t you tell me?’
So next time you’re out at the waters edge, be careful with yourp’s and q’s, otherwise you could find yourself in a future Pilgrim’sProgress…
Next weeks Pilgrim’s Progress takes a look at the canal, that often passed by waterway, as far as specimen angling is concerned. Out On The Towpath
The Reverend Stewart R Bloor
Sedgley International Christian Ministries
PO Box 1216, Dudley. DY3 1GW.
Telephone : 01384 – 828033
Web site : www.sicm.org
e-mail : missionscentre@sicm.org
