The Glorious 16th.
Midnight tonight. Tick. The minute hand of the Smith’s Empire movement clock confirms that it’s now the Glorious 16th. All over the country, tench floats are glissading towards patches of tiny bubbles, unseen in the pitch dark but felt and sensed even by their aroma. Reg, a tench fanatic, is hopelessly overexcited. ‘Stan!’ he calls out to his mate in the next swim. ‘How much does the ticket cost to fish here?’ Stan, equally excited and besotted with tench, answers- ‘Four pounds six ounces.’ Reg is confused. He tries again. ‘How much did that tench weigh Stan?’ ‘Three shillings and sixpence’ comes the reply.
Let’s leave Stan and Reg to their tench fishing and take a look at Stan’s rod. Here it is.
An Avocet by B. James & Son of Ealing.
Earlier, as they were setting up, Reg asked Stan about his new rod. He’d noticed it didn’t have any intermediate whippings. Stan told him it was a nude Avocet. Reg said that he thought that was a naked bird. They both laughed at this tremendously funny double entendre. This was in 1953 when woke meant that you’d finished sleeping.
You can click on the image of the B. James Avocet to find out more about it.
Andrew Perris asked me ‘Can I film you catching & eating a trout?’
Mayfly.
‘Well that depends Andy old love. I’ll have to catch the trout first.’ Mayfly -see above was shot by Andy and it lasts for 1 minute 56 exquisite seconds. I know you’re busy, but even you have time to watch this.
We’ve known each other all our adult lives. Local boys. Dads fished the same water. Andy was going to go into farming. Preferred photography. Snap snap. Grin grin. Wink wink. He’s now a seasoned, successful and highly respected professional with over three decades behind the lens. He specialises in food. He’s working on a new portfolio of films about food and producers. This is seriously interesting and visually arresting work.
Please click on this link to find out more: www.andrewperris.co.uk
Before Brexit, Andy was an accredited member of Germany’s union for film makers and performers in the adult entertainment industry. The acronym for this is GRUNT but I’ve got no idea what it stands for because I don’t speak German.
Auf Wiedersehen und alles Gute,
Eduard, Colin & Alfred