And meanwhile...

Sunday, 14 November 2021 at 08:31

...Jon sent across an image for what might become the cover of what I'm pretty sure will be my last ever book, The River of All the Goodbyes. It'll take a while for the text to see publication because there's all the proofing of the dictionary, Names of the Fish, to do first, and that will be a fiddly job. Nevertheless, it was grand to begin to think about what The Goodbyes might look like once it sees daylight.

A new old rod

Saturday, 13 November 2021 at 20:16

This Milwards Swimversa was probably made around 1960. I had the rod restored by Paul Cook last year and Paul did a wonderful job, eliminating a minor knock in a ferrule and straightening the tip. Today was the first time I'd had the chance to rechristen the rejuvenated Swimversa; I did so on the Test at Timsbury, where Howard and I were pestered by (often very large) trout - all carefully returned - while trying to catch grayling. We did catch some grayling between us and I was delighted to see the Swimversa take on a curve it hasn't experienced for what I imagine are decades, but the highlight of a fairly slow day was, for me, a reacquaintance with...

...Graham!

Saturday, 13 November 2021 at 20:11

Yes, it's been a long time since Graham and I worked the same swim, but here he is, looking almost as small as when I last encountered him. He's travelled well, mind you - all the way from the Itchen to the Test. Swimversa, Speedia, 3.2lb. reel line,2lb. bottom, size 18 barbless hook, single red maggot.