Scores on the doors

The final day of 2017; time to reflect on the past twelve months and the direction my life has taken. Success and failure, alike, they contributed to get me to where I am today. So who's to decide good or bad? Well, obviously, it can only be me because I set the targets, and expectations, of what I seek.
My angling never really got close to where I wanted to go with either my perch, and more importantly, that carp I so desire. Outside influences did, once again, impact on my ability to spend as much time, during the peak period, in pursuit of my prize as I planned. Nothing I could do about it, but I am hopeful that we've turned the corner and 2018 will allow me to focus efforts towards delivering on that promise to my father?

Not too much to ask? - Two sixty year old, split cane rods, and now a thirty pound carp - please!

Birding was a non-starter, in all honesty, my year total just passing the 200 mark and included species seen on Tenerife and Kefalonia! I didn't see my first Stonechat until November and only saw one Wheatear over the entire year! It took a major effort, started on 26th November, for me to discover a way to make birds play a role in my outdoor time again. Since actively making that effort to record the species I encounter whilst out with the rods, I've racked up a list of 68 species in just over five weeks and refound that missing spark!

Canary Island Chiffchaff

Berthelot's Pipit - I needed both of these species to assist my year list pass 200

Other natural history has been on the periphery of my radar, especially the butterflies and dragon/damselflies which have crossed my path. The use of macro photography has enhanced these experiences, although I remain blissfully ignorant of the identification of many of those I've seen abroad. It's important that I enjoy, not name, those creatures I am fortunate to encounter. And on that note, I am old enough to make my own decisions about what I can, and can't, include on any list that I choose to maintain or compile. So to all those waiting on the stroke of midnight to armchair tick some species, whilst erasing others - pinch yourselves, wake up and get a life! Only competitive sport needs rules, natural history is a journey to be explored and enjoyed, not an Excel spreadsheet, box ticking, exercise!

It just remains for me to thank everyone who has helped make the blog such a lively and enjoyable project for me. To all visitors and contributors, alike, I thank you for your support and wish you a peaceful and safe 2018 - all the best - Dylan

In mudded water

The weather has been all over the place for the entire holiday period, never the same two days on the spin. Down in this little corner, of East Kent, we've had sub-zero night times, gale force winds, torrential rain, blue skies and today, day time temperature of 13 C. Little wonder that I struggled to get a bite this afternoon/evening, pike fishing out on the levels.

Plenty of surface water on the fields as I made my way to the chosen drain and I knew, even before I arrived, that the water would have far more colour than is normal. I was well prepared, my bag contained some sardines and mackerel - both, naturally, very oily baits, plus I had fish oils, syringe & needle, dyes and buoyancy aids (Fox 22mm Bait Poppers) at my disposal. I arrived just after noon and had two baits out by 13.20 hrs, both heavily laced with fish oils (Pilchard & Lamprey) and "popped-up".

If I've learned anything about pike fishing in flood conditions, then scent has far more importance than anything visual. By popping the baits up, it simply ensures that they are more easily located and the fish oils work that much more effectively by being above the drain floor. Any current will have a greater influence on the dispersion of those added attractors, introduced via the syringe! As this was to be my final session of 2017, I worked hard at my bait presentation and was eventually rewarded with a small jack, on the sardine, and lost another fish barely five minutes later. Show over, despite staying for a further two hours.

The "apex predator" in UK freshwater ecosystems, those eyes were not evolved for
sneaking about the dark, dirty, waters of a flooded drain.

Next session planned for New Year's Morning, I'll be out at silly o'clock, to see if I can start 2018 as I finished 2017? Catching a pike!

Moving forward - 2018

It's nearly seventeen months since my father passed away and still the estate accounts have yet to be settled so we can, finally, draw a line under this particular episode in our family history. The family's solicitor, is confident that I will be able to sign the relevant paperwork, early in the new year and the bulk of our inheritance can be distributed between myself and two brothers in accordance to my parents wishes. What a bloody palaver, all in case the Inland Revenue are cheated of a couple of pence in death duties? Shame they are unable to apply this same level of diligence to the tax returns of Amazon, Starbucks and E-bay?
I'd been thinking of retirement, in the knowledge that Bev and I will be comfortable, although not rich, as a result of the hard work of my parents. But why retire? Spending money while I could still be earning? Conversations with several people have led me to conclude that all the time my health remains good and I am enjoying myself, then stick with it. Every penny earned is my own; with no mortgage, our only out goings are those associated with daily existence, food, utilities and council tax, etc. In the background is the unknown value of my Unilever pension package which is something I will be investigating early in 2018. "Everything, as we say at Fuji, in the garden is rosy!"
So what am I hoping for in 2018 and beyond ? Health and happiness is a well worn cliche yet I still hanker after just such simple goals as my life moves forward. I'm going to replace the Mazda 5 MPV with a van, purely because it is a more practical vehicle for transporting smelly fishing tackle. Some alterations to the bungalow are also on the horizon, but exact details are still to be finalized. I have to admit that I'm in a very nice place, at present, where I am now head of the Wrathall clan and able to repay the faith that my parents had in me by passing on those values, that I've been taught, to the grand children. Am I up to the task? I can only answer by saying, if I fall short, it won't be through lack of trying. The eldest son, of the eldest son, I have now to shoulder the responsibility that comes with that position.
The christian teachings, that are the very basis of my parents being, are not shared by my brothers and I, but are not discounted because we're opposed to the faith, just never brought into the whole "God Squad" fairy tale. To have witnessed the peace with which Mum and Dad departed this world has to be testament to the power of faith - I'm still searching and haven't found what I'm looking for - as yet! Realistically (and this is cold logic) I have another twenty years ahead of me in which I am able to preach/teach the virtues by which my life has been governed - hopefully my wisdom will fall upon fertile ears and the family values be entrenched at the roots of our next generations - moving on through the eons of time and space!

Harbour star

I'm unsure of the exact date that Simon Mount discovered the first winter Iceland Gull, in Ramsgate Harbour, but feel it must have been present for over a month now? I had noticed that it had been reported recently, on the KOS website as being present, but as a juvenile?? Surely if records are to be taken seriously, then they should be accurate, or is that just me being a twat? If it doesn't matter, then records don't matter and exactly why I have no role to play in the whole pantomime that is amateur natural history recording. Just an opinion - don't lose any sleep over it!
With the sun shining brightly, from a cloudless sky, and temperatures barely above freezing, there was no great desire to get out with the rods. I waited until well after noon before deciding that a wander down to the harbour might be a worthwhile effort. Bev tucked up comfortably, in front of an open fire, I headed out into the chill to see what I could find in the couple of hours I had available. Binoculars to hand and the long lens kit slung over my shoulder I had a lovely stroll along the coastal path down into Ramsgate and the harbour basin beyond.

The bird was still present and performing superbly for a steady stream of admirers. For the majority of the time I was watching; it was the closest gull and looks very likely to be a candidate for a January 1st tick for all the Kent Listers involved in that New Year's Day ritual. I'm off fishing early that morning, but might just make a detour to grab that insurance tick, on my way home? Nothing much else worthy of note. A few Fulmars are already back on their nesting ledges, below Winterstoke Steps, and a couple of Curlew flew towards Pegwell as I walked home. Turnstones, Great Black-backed, Herring and Black-headed Gulls were present in decent numbers around the harbour, but it was a lone Redshank which stood out as a surprise, as it fed quietly behind the Maritime Museum. I can think of worse ways of wasting a couple of hours!

Greatest Showman

After a pleasant morning spent watching Benno catch a jack, from the Royal Military, Boxing Day evening was spent with Bev at The Vue cinema at Westwood Cross. We'd gone out to the pub on Christmas Eve (my idea) and this was what Bev wanted in return. Bev doesn't do pubs, I don't do cinemas, don't watch that much t/v, but  made a promise and found myself wonderfully entertained by this musical extravaganza, which owed as much to the special effects as the actors, singers and dancers involved. Historically incorrect, from start to finish, it is a story inspired by the life of Barnum, not a bio-pic, it doesn't stop the film from being enjoyable. Hugh Jackman (P T Barnum) delivered a line which hit right at the very heart of who I am. "You never made a difference by being the same as everyone else!"

I came home very happy that I'd gone along with Bev's suggestion and had to admit that seeing a film, in a modern cinema, is an experience for the senses that I found bloody amazing. Sound and vision being pushed to new limits by ever advancing technology.

In between fishing and going to the cinema I had found myself engaged in a rather strange exchange of opinions with a total stranger, via the comments facility on Derek Faulkner's Letters from Sheppey  blog. I think that he and Derek have a bit of previous and I just missed the point? Not sure?
Was there an attempt at irony or sarcasm involved with the original comment? Only the author could know the answer to that question. I have since made an effort to discover more about the Yorkshire Pudding and wow, what an original, popular and prolific blogger. I don't suppose we'll ever meet, or even have need to exchange comments, but it does reinforce the importance of being an individual and remaining true to yourself, as taught to me by my father and summed up wonderfully by Hugh Jackman - "You never made a difference by being the same as everyone else"

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all you wish for yourselves - have a great day where ever you are and whatever you're doing.

Some morning

I couldn't face the ravages of the R. Stour eels for a second day, so went across to the levels for a short morning session on a small drain. Christmas Eve and I'm under strict instructions to be home by 11.00 hrs! I only took two rods, the split cane Mk IV's, and was fishing by 06.45 hrs. It remains unseasonably mild, the car display reading 8C as I parked and had risen to 10C when I left. The westerly breeze was more boisterous than of late, but not a problem. I had plenty of layers to prevent myself from getting cold. It was less than forty minutes before the sardine rod was away and I did battle with the largest pike I've taken on the "cane". 13 lbs, on the button, and my tenth double of the season. I was well pleased. Less than twenty-five minutes later, the same rod is away again, this time a jack of 5 or 6 lbs graces the landing net. Happy days!

I was sure that I'd get another chance, but had to wait until 09.45 hrs before the sardine rod was, once again, in action but the fish came adrift after a few seconds - hey ho! If I'd had been asked, before leaving, which bait I would bet on, then it would have been mackerel without fail. Didn't get a sniff today; just demonstrating how little I know. I arrived back home, almost on time, and was straight away involved in cleaning up the bungalow in preparation for the "big day". Looking out of the kitchen window I spotted a Green Woodpecker on the garden fence. Quickly alerting Bev to this first for the "in the garden list", I grabbed the camera from my study and managed to record a few record images, through the double glazing, of this smart visitor.

Absolutely no thoughts of fishing/birding tomorrow, it's all about the grand-children and family for the entire day. Benno and I are out Boxing Day morning for few hours of piking social, although we haven't decided where we're headed as yet? I should like to end the post by wishing everyone, who has visited this blog over the year, a splendid festive season and offer my sincere thanks for your support. It makes an old man very happy! Take care and stay safe - Dylan