Stealing time?

There are two you tube offerings in which Lawrence Breakspear is interviewed by Steve Williams for Barbel Fishing World (please take the time to watch them - around an hour for the two parts!) Here is a guy with over 200 double-figure barbel, under his belt, waxing lyrical about all things fishing and of life itself.  Lawrence is a couple of years older than me, but very much a part of the Richard Walker school of speccy hunting.



Alan Wilson with, one of several, a Wilstone double-figure Tench that he took during the late 80's - early 90's

He speaks about the "glass ceiling" that all anglers are able to reach - after this level of skill has been achieved then it's all about time (on the bank). My experiences on Wilstone allowed me to see the greatest exponent of "time on the venue" - Alan Wilson; a true giant amongst specimen anglers of his era (he'd take a bit of beating today!) Leon Tandy & Geoff Mills, Ken Brown (still very young!), Lester Strudwick and any amount of other, equally talented, anglers couldn't match the results of this "legend" purely because they had other commitments - Alan had none away from fishing.
I'm not particularly proud of this "mega self-ish" period of my life; but can't turn back the clock so will have to live and learn. Bev has seen my transition from a birder back to an angler (she has no idea about my angling past, although I have tried to explain my antics and obsessional behaviour). But, as I have no desire to repeat the cycle - one failed marriage is plenty heartache for me; here I am wishing I could spend more time in pursuit of a R. Stour barbel, yet with enough restraint to realise that my efforts will be severely compromised by other aspects of being a husband, father, grand-father and employee of FSIS. Fishing fits into my life - my life no longer fits into fishing; and that is a major change.
I can't change the fact that my waking hours are dominated by thoughts of all things barbel - yet I am now old enough (wise?) to realise that there are other factors to an enjoyable life away from the pursuit of fish/birds! So now I am looking at life, my family and work commitments, seeking periods where I can fit in another session on the R. Stour? With less than 7 weeks until the pike tackle gets dusted down; I've got to grab every opportunity in order to give myself a chance of that 15lbs+ fish I feel is there for the taking. As Gerry Raferty sings - "Stealing Time - I won't feel guilty as the time is mine!" For all it's faults, shift-work does have the compensation of allowing me free time when most others are unable to be on the banks.