Jim's Birthday

This is what I always do on my bithday; I fish. In Scotland I used to fish for salmon. I only caught one once on my bithday. It was the smallest spring-run salmon ever caught on the River Spey. Now I fish for rainbow trout in reservoirs. The fish are stocked from fish farms in early March and you get to fish for them about now. On Friday, I turned out for the first day of fishing at Grafham Water, which is only ten minutes from our home. It was the first fine day for some weeks and hopes were high. Despite the perfect conditions, no-one had really seen a fish by lunchtime, so I drove to the far side of the lake and started again. The boat anglers were doing great, but nothing was being caught from the bank. I guess the constant pressure from the boat anglers drove fish inshore, because I caught eight in the afternoon, including one wild looking fish (silver with no spots and skinny as Jean Shrimpton). Fish cakes for tea!

My actual birthday is today. I was supposed to be on a training course for taking kids afloat on the river, but the river is in flood. I spent the day on my tractor instead. While I write this, Hanna is cooking a steak supper for me and we are listening to "The Imagined Village" which is a celebration of English Folk Song in the 21st Century.



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