When a Pastime Becomes Quality Time

Being back in the UK has enabled me to return to one of my favourite activities - Sports-Fishing in lakes and rivers with my buddy (son) and very talented angler, Matthew.

A day spent with Mattie on the banks of river or on an idyllic old manor lake such as Old Bury Hill, is a day well spent. In fact I can't think of anything I'd rather do.

Mattie and I get the chance to talk for hours, interrupted only by the frequent landing of fish and Mattie's desire to feed the many water fowl around, such as Mallard ducks, Canadian geese, coots, moor-hens and swans.

Yesterday I woke up at 5:15 (earlier than on a normal working day) to get ready for the 30 mile drive to our favourite lake, Old Bury Hill.  At 5:35 Mattie rang my mobile just to make sure I hadn't overslept.  By 7:00 we were ready to start fishing.

Old Bury Hill lake - Dorking, Surrey

.

It wasn't long before Mattie got into the thick of the action - and went on to catch around 20 sizable fish (twice as many as I did).  Mattie has obviously picked up his angling skills from...er...me!

From a dozen bream...

...to a few carp...

 ...and a tench, made it the "first" time this pupil has beat his teacher. Needless to say I was delighted for him.

While on the subject of angling and just before anyone wishes to criticize the sport, I would like to remind you that fishing is NOT a cruel activity. Research shows, beyond all reasonable doubt, that fish do not suffer any adverse effects from being landed and released by sports anglers. There are many reports of the same fish being caught by different anglers on the same day, proving the fish have not suffered any trauma and resumed normal activity soon after being released. A fish's mouth is it's tool and strongest part of the body. The tiny pin prick caused by the hook is not detrimental to it's well being. If fish felt pain when hooked they would not pull against the hook and increase pressure. A bull or cow will follow whoever is pulling it by the rope attached to it's nose-ring - because it feels pain or discomfort if it doesn't. The very opposite of a hooked fish's reaction.

More importantly, angling allows us to fulfil the basic human instinct of hunter-gatherer. Just as a cat will hunt a mouse or bird, even when not hungry, the angler catches his quarry to hone his survival skills and satisfy his primal instinct to hunt.  As the old saying goes "give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day - give him the rod and line and he will feed himself and his family from then on."

 And no, I'm not trying to convince myself.

:)

Stephen Hawking: Even a Genius Gets it Wrong Sometimes

I was surprised and disappointed to read that Stephen Hawking (the cleverest man in the world...and an atheist ) has decided against travelling to Israel for a conference, after bowing to pressure from American professor Noam Chomsky and some 20 other academics.

Chomsky's reason are, and I quote "Israel systematically discriminates against the Palestinians who make up 20% of its population in ways that would be illegal in the UK"

Chomsky is a hypocrite of colossal proportions by siding with the Palestinians who, incidentally, discriminate against their own women, or 55% of its population in ways that would be totally illegal in the UK.

While I'm the first to agree that Israel have over the years blatantly discriminated against the Palestinians, the same 20% who refuse to accept Israel's right to exist, I don't think an academic boycott serves any purpose whatsoever. In fact the sciences are about the only activity where Israelis and Palestinians work together - as equals.

Israel is not perfect by any means and has done many things wrong, as have all other nations, but at least it does not discriminate against its own women.

Israel is a democracy - Palestine probably never will be.

Judaism can and does co-exist with democracy - Islam can't.

Israel has more Nobel Prize winners than all of the Moslem world put together.

Come on Stephen, do as you had intended. Go to Jerusalem and spread your wisdom and atheism.Go to Israel and speak to both Israeli and Palestinian physicists who will welcome you and don't listen to the double-standard rhetoric of two-faced academics.

If you don't attend the Jerusalem conference the sensible people of the world, such as myself, will in future expect you to boycott all Islamic nations for the discrimination of women and gay people.

Oh, and by the way, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair are both going to Israel, and we all know those two care more for the human condition and have worked harder for social justice than pompous Chomsky and his geeky pals ever will.

Dear readers, your comments on this matter would be appreciated.

:(

A Sign Of The Times?

The orderly North Korean society appears, at first glance, to be together: but the dividing line between those who lead and those who are led is as clearly defined as the imbalance of power. The chosen crowd watches a military parade as a third of their fellow countrymen watch their families die from malnutrition.

(C. Sony Photo Awards)

Protests at imposed austerity in Greece create unrest on the streets of Athens. Why should the masses pay for the mistakes of countless avaricious bankers?

(C. Sony Photo Awards)

The self-destruction of Syria continues unabated. The world observes but does not intervene. No oil there. Nothing worth fighting for. Unlike Iraq, Kuwait, Libya... 

The lack of sincerity will continue to fuel the fires of resentment.

(C. Sony Photo Awards)

And countless human beings seeking freedom...

...while countless others seek the opposite - their minds locked in dogma, superstition and, worst of all, religion.

But life goes on in the hope-filled minds of the innocent who share their gift with obliging friends...

...and in the life-long companions who share their undying love.

(C. Sony Photo Awards)

But there is hope. An abundance of hope. The milk of human kindness nourishes those in need...

...and never before have so many helped so many

A sign of the times?  What do you think?

:)

In Praise of Beauty - Part 2

Beauty, be it in Nature or Art, has always fascinated me. I live mostly in a constant state of awe and wonder. Not a single day goes by when I don't see something worthy of my utmost admiration.

Long may it continue, for I will never tire of admiring beauty.


Beauty such as in Sofia C, from Portugal. The epitome of feminine elegance and refinement, and in an arty shot that could grace the cover of any magazine...

 and on to the exquisite finesse of this translucent rainforest butterfly...

and the majestic snowy owl...

or the autumn sun forcing it's way through a blanket of rain clouds...

or even setting, after a long day of laborious luminescence...

 and...the town I love so well.

:)

Friends Fill my Life With Joy

Last Saturday I drove down to Farnborough in Hampshire to meet for the first time a man I have come to know over the last two years through his blog writing.

Dicky Carter and I had a couple of beers and a good chat - the kind of informed conversation expected from long-time friends.

We met up in The Crown And Cushion pub in the rural setting of Hampshire. A typical olde English Inn dating back to the 16th century, The Crown and Cushion oozes warmth and old world hospitality.

Dicky was exactly as I expected. His views and opinions matched my expectations to a tee.  I was instantly convinced he writes his fine blog openly and from the heart.

I would have liked a longer session and could easily have sat in that cosy pub sampling all the fine ales and continuing our interesting conversation, but I was en route to Basingstoke, a further 45 minutes away.

It was a pleasure meeting Dicky - I hope we can meet up again soon.

On to Basingstoke I went to meet up with Claudia, my dearest friend from Madeira, and her husband Marco. Claudia's work led them to leave Madeira some 6 months ago, much to my delight.

I arrived at her address just as the heavens opened up with a monsoon-like downpour. Claudia came to meet me from the car with an umbrella small enough to make not the slightest bit of difference. But it's the thought that counts.

It was lovely to see her beaming smile and to greet her with a huge hug, so far away from our familiar setting of Madeira. We went straight to the local pub to meet up with Marco, who was having a pint with some friends.

After the brief interval of dining at their home (my favourite Portuguese dish of bacalhau) we went straight back out to the pub, where a night of excellent live music made me feel as if we had never left The Warm Up Cafe.

Marco, Claudia, Lisandra and I at The Warm Up Cafe - Madeira
about a year ago. The night we all wore Johnny Walker
promotional fake specs

Back at the house some few hours and many beers later, we continued chatting until 4am. Just as my eyelids began to struggle to stay apart, we all called it night and staggered off to bed.

My phone woke me up at 8am with a call from Mattie asking if I was already on my way to pick him up - an hours drive away - to take him fishing.

I got out of bed and made my way, silently, to the kitchen downstairs, in order not to wake my hosts. Just as I turned on the kettle I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Claudia appeared seconds later, smiling and looking none the worse for wear, and promptly insisted on making me breakfast. My objections were not taken seriously and soon the exotic aroma of fresh coffee brought me out of my alcohol-induced drowsy state.

I left some minutes later, jumped in the car and drove away, just as a wave of sadness engulfed me. On  the rear view mirror I could no longer see Claudia, and I was missing her, all over again.

So looking forward to the next visit.

:(