Few words - mainly pictures

Man; am I struggling at the moment? Very simply I can't find any carp and have been chasing shadows and playing hunches. Either, which way, the result is the same - silent alarms and the rod cradled, untroubled, in the rests. One fish in twenty three sessions is a very damning statistic, yet accurately reflects the campaign thus far.

When I'm on early shifts I collect Emily from school, Monday to Thursday, and this week we've decided that we needed to do something different than going back to Nanny's and playing on the I-pad. In the four days we've done quite a bit. Stroking lambs, riding on a zip wire, the pub, pre-baiting my swims and finally seeing Emily catch her first fish - all in school uniform.

You'd have thought she might be a little more impressed?

I had my company medical, on Wednesday, and am pleased to report that I'll still be making ink for another year, God willing! Whilst I was undergoing the examination, the insurance company employee engaged in all the usual banter associated with such a pointless exercise. I moaned about arthritis and getting old, but still managed to add the positive bits about the joys of being a grand parent. She looked on horrified, her kids were eleven and four, grand parenting still not on the radar - yet!

Not catching carp does have some strange benefits, as I've discovered. Steve Gale once made mention of "big skies" on his superb North Downs & Beyond blog. Ever since I have found myself in wonder of this phenomenon whenever I'm out on the flatlands and have started to point the camera in their direction at an increasing rate. The results have been very pleasing, although not always able to capture the feel of that moment?