One’s a Gherkin, the other’s a Merkin.
As usual, you’ll be wondering: ‘Yes, but Eddie, what’s this got to do with fine split cane rods, and how the very thought of them might actually help us through the current crisis?’
Alfie, my faithful hound and workshop guardian, is a Jack Russell-Patterdale cross. People ask-‘Which breed is he?’ After a bit, the J R/Patterdale thing gets a bit boring. ‘Actually, he’s a Merkin Terrier’ I reply, straight-faced, ‘From Redditch.’ Well, he has got short curly hair and Redditch, his birthplace, was once the centre of the fishing tackle trade.
We’re still cycling to work every day. Different times. Same location. No lunch or tea breaks. No jolly chatter. I’m embarrassed by how much work we’re getting done. You, my piscatorial friends, are keeping in touch too, buying rods, ordering rods, looking forward to receiving rods. It’s a great comfort to us. Thank you and best wishes for Easter.