January. A thick head and heavy limbs. Uncomfortably numb. Comfort comes in sleep. A gentle drift into dreams. They aren’t always pleasant, and many are bizarre and untouchable, but my subconscious is kinder to me now than my conscious. No guilt for not doing, for spending too long in bed. For not being gratefulContinue reading “Curled up”
Category Archives: Fishing Blog
Autumn winds
I made an unexpected return to the Wye valley a week or two back. A celebration for Nick’s 50th to which I was generously invited. I only fished for the final couple of days but missed very little earlier in the week. On the Monday, Nick and Tony had arrived to find a river inContinue reading “Autumn winds”
Wye do we fish?
A week ago I was heading north-west with Chris and Merv, the passenger window down and a familiar tale of footballing woe emanating from St Mary’s via the speakers of the car radio. The day was soft and hazy. The sun warm and the breeze light. We chatted, laughed and spoke excitedly of the fishingContinue reading “Wye do we fish?”
Off-line
It’s been a peculiar 10 days or so. Having become conditioned over the past fifteen years or so to a life online, a cow with an interesting appetite has thrown our routine into a vague chaos. A fallen tree had brought down the telephone cables a mile or so down the valley, breaking a telegraphContinue reading “Off-line”
Cold winds
I am hunched on the sofa. Hat and (fingerless) gloves on. Extra socks, extra jumper and I’m considering putting on my thermals. Outside, the sparrows are bickering on the birdtable as if their lives depend on it. For once, perhaps, they are justified The temperature struggled up towards freezing yesterday, but won’t make it thatContinue reading “Cold winds”
Dorset Life
I had a couple of hours free yesterday afternoon, and, thanks to Ben (my brother-in-law), I had almost a pint of maggots in my bait tub. With relatively clear skies and an air temperature reluctant to raise itself above zero, grayling were the obvious fish to chase and I nipped down to the River Frome.Continue reading “Dorset Life”
The last tench of Summer
I played Santa last Christmas. At least, I played a very small part of being Santa. My mother had filled a sack with presents and set up the moment – all I had to do was slip out and ‘deliver’ it without any of my nephews or nieces suspecting anything. As it was, I didn’tContinue reading “The last tench of Summer”
A new season in the Sun
Tench were the target, as they so often are on Opening Day, but it was difficult to ignore the carp nosing through the lily pads in front of me. I had taken a carp rod, the one that Andy had leant me on our Ashmead jaunt in the autumn, and I threaded the rings andContinue reading “A new season in the Sun”
Too much…
Had the coarse fishing season ended a week ago, then I really wouldn’t have minded. Having book-ended the weekend with trips to a new stretch of canal, I found myself in such a contented state that the standard late season urge had all but gone. Friday had been damp, especially in the morning, but weContinue reading “Too much…”
October
Gosh it’s been dry. Aside from the dew, which frosted last week, we haven’t had significant rainfall for weeks. Then, last night it finally came, and today has remained damp and dank – just as a Monday should be. The rain has probably come a little late for the mushrooms. Normally by now, every jarContinue reading “October”
Kevin Parr 