Apologies to Thomas Hardy for nicking his title, but events have taken me back to Norfolk this week, not to... Read More
As I’m a part of the Thomas Turner group, I wonder if I can prevail on my great pal John... Read More
Suppose you want to put two pals on an English salmon this coming autumn, where would you advise? The South... Read More
Over the past year, I have frequently highlighted the artists of one sort or another operating around the angling scene.... Read More
Edward Alston is now safely ensconced in Warminster, and on good enough terms to start the letter “Fred”. (Though he... Read More
I have to admit that deciphering Alston’s handwriting does not get easier, and I hope that anyone interested will find... Read More
I am not here to praise Fishing Breaks or suggest that you book a day on a chalk stream with... Read More
Many of us were brought up in our fishing infancy by the wise words of Mr Crabtree, aka Bernard Venables.... Read More
I’ve already mentioned I came so very close to buying an Andrew Davis Avocet at the Redditch Tackle Show, and... Read More
Over the years I have found that there are some columns that write themselves, and others that are a struggle... Read More
I assume that one of the pleasures of collecting, or even handling, an item of vintage fishing tackle is imagining... Read More
It seems that we are back to the formality of “Mr Buller” once more, and the handwriting is even more... Read More
After the festive period has been and gone, I felt a quick return to the Alston letters would be of... Read More
I am, of course, obsessed with the Wye now, like I was as a child in the very early Sixties.... Read More
Yesterday was a balmy day for early October, and by 11.00am the air was alive with insects, the reed beds... Read More
A very dear friend gave me a strange dish a few weeks back, something I guessed had once been used... Read More
I don’t know if you have fished for asp, but if the chance arises, take it for sure. You ‘Aspers’... Read More
I spent a nostalgic Sunday assembling the Buller/Alston correspondence into some sort of order, and being generally appalled by the... Read More
I do not want to spin these out, and the following three letters are not perhaps of the utmost importance.... Read More
In nearly all ways this letter speaks for itself. Buller’s “The Domesday Book of Mammoth Pike” was published first in... Read More
Since my recent piece on the Exe I’ve been made aware of RETA, and many thanks for that Godfrey! The... Read More