Restoration of faith

Since Saturday afternoon my little world has been in a state of high alert due to a most wonderful demonstration of thoughtfulness. Fear ye not, The God Squad haven't succeeded in signing me up, nor have I discovered a, long forgotten, joy in sobriety; it has been far more surreal than any of those scenarios. Regular visitors will be aware of my desire to catch a thirty pound carp on a split cane, Dick Walker" Mk IV carp rod, having been gifted one by my family as a sixtieth birthday present in December 2015. What I failed to recognize, at the time, was quite how special their gift was. It was a limited edition Mk IV made especially for the January 1959 Earl's Court Boat Show and was to mark the end of a design, known as "the onion handle" and see the introduction of "the doughnut handle". Just to make it that little more special all the aluminium fittings were anodized black. E-bay is a wonderful playground, and a few months later I was able to get another Mk IV, although this one just a 1957 reconditioned affair. What was important, at the time, was that I had a pair of rods and would be able to go fishing with a, similar, set up to that which Dick Walker would have used back in his day. Two rods were always the limit when I started out, but, then again so was the compulsory close season, an appreciation of watercraft and angling etiquette!
It was only after the death of my father that I became drawn by the childish folly of using a pair of these 1959 "Boat Show" rods. Would it be possible, within the constraints of an ordinary working guy and all that other reality crap that gets in the way, or was I just dreaming?

On 07.02.2017 I'd ended my post, "Moving on", with this sorry tale - just another manifestation of the lure of the dollar?

"...... with this at the forefront of my thinking that I made contact with a guy (who will remain nameless/blameless) about the possibility of purchasing another "onion handled" 1959 Earl's Court Boat Show Mk IV. He had advertised it on e-bay with a starting price, not buy it now. I made e mail contact, saying that I would happily match the asking price and travel to fetch the rod, cash in hand! My only thinking was that I would have a pair of these "variant" Mk IV's  and it would be quite quirky - I only have £350 to play with. The reply was very positive, but with one major stumbling block - the price was £30 more than the original one?  Thus beyond my limit. I replied, saying thanks, but no thanks, for the offer - I got a very weird response - it's only £30? No! it's £375 and beyond my justifiable price range. My reason for inquiring was purely because I feel these antique rods were built to be fished with, not collected. If the guy had any notion of my reasoning, therefore beyond the accruing of wealth, then surely it is better to keep this rod within UK angling circles than sell it to a collector - never to see the water side again?  He finished his parting e-mail with "Hey Ho!". That pretty much sums up my own feelings about the situation. It would have been a nice, but not essential, addition to the continued enjoyment of my angling adventures. Move on."

In an original rod bag - they don't get much better than that!

And that was it until Saturday afternoon! After an initial contact, via my blog comments facility, I got involved in a fantasy e-mail exchange with a guy, whom I have never met, about the wish to own a second "Boat Show Mk IV". Would it now be possible? All I can say is that the effort of Nigel (which may, or may not be his name?) is something which restores faith in humanity. The amount of work, he undertook, to make this come about is testament to a proper "nice guy". The rod arrived yesterday, and was exactly as he'd described, and sent accompanying photos. Not perfect, it must be stressed, but certainly good enough and very serviceable within my own angling expectations. So I am now the very proud owner of three B James & Son, split cane, onion handled, Richard Walker Mk IV carp rods, two of which are that matching pair I'd so desired! How can this be so?  Well, that's a little secret between me and my new mate! What it does mean is that my quest for a split cane thirty will be done using a pair of rods that originated in my dreams and have come to fruition because of some strange quirk of fate. Surely very good omens?

Ready for action - the two "Boat Show" Mk IV's in the sling