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This is going to surprise a lot of people. I have a confession to make...
I've taken the plunge. There was no point in fighting the inevitable. After all, electric is the future.
So I've just taken delivery of an electric-powered Hyundai. Just waiting for it charge up before I put it through its paces.
Photos to follow...
Much of the meadows around Wadenhoe are a blaze of purple from the beautiful cranesbill (wild geranium). Hard to believe that some gardeners kill it off as a "w**d".
Britain's Pompeii: A Village Lost in Time is a fascinating BBC documentary in which the lovely Dr Alice Roberts explains what's going on in the archaeological dig at Must Farm, near Whittlesey - the remains of a 3000-year-old Bronze Age settlement in the Fens.
Unfortunately, it gets off to a bad start when Dr Roberts describes the Must Farm site as "wedged between the M11 and an old quarry".
In fact it's over 30 miles from the M11. It's wedged between McCain's chip factory, the A605 and the Peterborough-Ely rail line.
That may sound pretty trivial, but dumb mistakes like that are the kiss of a death to a factual documentary. If they can get the location so spectacularly wrong, why should we trust what else they have to say?
It's sad to see the BBC's standards slipping so far.
I'm delighted by the enthusiastic response to the latest book from the Hickathrift Press: Endless River - Poems of Andrew Stephen.
I was involved in the editing and design of the book, of which I'm very proud.
Marc Starling has written an excellent review and kindly given me permission to reprint it here . . .
I am very pleased to review Andrew’s latest book, an anthology of his poetry, written from boyhood to the present day. As explained in the Foreword, the collection stems from the happy rediscovery of a box file of long-forgotten poems, several of which have been re-worked, along with many new compositions.
Several of the poems will rekindle school-day memories, and Andrew is generous in acknowledging the influence of his English teachers. Both King’s Lynn and wider Norfolk feature widely, along with some of Andrew’s other passions, such as railways, travel, Cambridge United and country walks. Family is a frequent theme, celebrating love and fatherhood. Personally, I found ‘Alzheimer’s – A Case Study’, a tribute to his mother, heartrendingly poignant.
Inevitably for a long-serving teacher, we have poetry inspired by the world of education. Few of us who have experienced a tedious staff meeting or INSET day will be surprised by the poem ‘Meeting’. The pair of poems, ‘It’s My Heritage Too’ resonated for me, particularly the pleasure in realising, ‘my pupils imposed their youth on me’ – something with which I can gratefully empathise.
There is much wistfulness and melancholy here, reflections on lost loves and friendships, but always transcended by Andrew’s characteristic hopefulness and positivity. The realisation that the briefest of human encounters can remain with us for the rest of our lives is another experience I share.
In his foreword, Andrew describes the influence of T.S. Eliot, and this is evident in his style, particularly for me in the four Prologues with which the collection opens. As a musician, I find musicality in the rhythm and pulse of the poetry, including the occasional imperfect cadence – and that’s a compliment! Andrew has an ability to convey so much in one word or short phrase, to take the reader to a particular place or time, or to cause you to know well a human being you’ve never met. The book leads seamlessly to the final poem which gives it its title, and which leaves the reader thoughtful and enriched, ready to continue with life’s journey.
Andrew is fortunate in his editor, Dave Phillips, who has designed the book immaculately, with adeptly chosen photographs, apt quotations, and a perceptive Endpiece.
Buy the anthology, pour yourself a glass of whatever you enjoy, settle in a quiet corner, and indulge yourself with a little well-deserved tranquillity.
Marc Starling
June 2024
ENDLESS RIVER - Poems of Andrew Stephen is available in hardback, paperback and Kindle ebook on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Endless-River-Poems-Andrew-Stephen/dp/B0D54LPYXP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3BMVQ1SXX2PTY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LWxDFvlD6yoIc4__gsFq8SjaQwdifhQfPC0YoNe4gblRTejvNbXGN8Ca1X25W5iOta9kYH07tVx-VmxKsAHV7yI_C_jj7MjE3C1xZp1d1NY.LHZ7AzsKGsaVabFxQr3Alu5C6yVN4oDyVvRCbyo1mSg&dib_tag=se&keywords=endless+river+andrew+stephen&qid=1718175480&sprefix=endless+river+a%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1
EXACTLY 30 years ago I was in the middle of the most extraordinary angling adventure. It began late morning on June 10th 1994 and ended the following morning, June 11th.
Fishing an Irish lough with my mate Graham Billing with artificial plug baits I hooked and boated the following succession of pike:
29 lb 1 oz
8 lb 12 oz
14 lb 12 oz
9 lb 12 oz
12 lb
26 lb 1 oz.
That sequence of fish included my personal-best pike (29-01). I also beat my long-standing lure-caught best (19 lb 1 oz from a small fen drain in December 1972) three times over.
This purple patch came during week-long trip to Ireland where we took only lure-fishing tackle. By coincidence, Graham's best pike of the trip also weighed exactly 29 lb 1 oz - but his was the longest and thinnest pike I've ever seen. It fell to a plug on a small river. Stupidly, neither us thought to measure its length but I'd say it was at least 48 inches - and more likely 50 inches. Look at the photo and see for yourself.
I've also included images of my 29 lb 1 oz, the 26 lb 1 oz (the blood was from a damaged gill raker) and my near-miss at 19 lb 12 oz.
I'll be telling the full story in a forthcoming issue of Martin Mumby's excellent Catch Cult magazine.
EXACTLY 41 years ago today, battle commenced for the richest prize in match fishing - the 1983 King of Clubs tournament in Ireland, with a top prize of £300 (a small fortune in those days).
It was won by the late Peter Hodge, a hairdresser from Bridgwater. Fished over three days in the River Erne and various lakes around Cavan, Peter came from behind on the last day to overtake two-day leader Jack Howcroft of Bury, Lancs.
Peter said after picking up his prize: "It's great, because this competition is not just for top anglers, it's also for club anglers like me giving the average angler a chance of stardom."
The three matches were fished on Erne at Belturbet, Lough Gowna and the Woodford Canal at Ballinamore.
The competition was jointly sponsored by Bord Failte (the Irish Tourist Board) and B+I Line and was fished by 120 of the top match anglers from all over the UK, including England internationals Dennis White (who finished seventh) and Dickie Carr (third).
Bridgwater-based Peter Hodge was 36 at the time. He went on to become one of the most respected match anglers in the South West. He died a few years back and at his own request was buried in a wicker coffin, made of the same material as his favourite fishing basket.
The attached photos show Peter receiving his cheque and posing with other anglers who mad the frame. The catch photo is of Barry Nicholson with 26 lb of bream from the Erne on Day 2
Exactly 41 years ago today I was in Ireland, staying at the Aclare House Hotel near Drumconrath, County Meath. I was covering a fishing trip for disadvantaged kids from the North West, sponsored by Bord Failte (the Irish Tourist Board), B+I Lines and BBC Radio Lancashire. Paul Harris, the well-known angling adviser to Bord Failte, is pictured at Lough Sillan, giving a few tips to 14-year-old Chris Finnegan of Burnley, while being interviewed by Jerry Keeble from the BBC.
It was the day of a General Election back home in the UK, where Margaret Thatcher scored a landslide victory over hapless Michael Foot. But that all seemed a long way away as we all got happily drunk at the Aclare House Hotel. It was my first taste of Irish hospitality and the staff at the Aclare House Hotel were amazing.
The party was still continuing the next morning, with Bord Failte's Gerry Flynn playing the squeeze box in the hotel car park, with the hotel's owner and staff joining in the merriment. I was feeling under the weather, so the owner (whose name, sadly, I have forgotten) gave me a small bottle of a colourless liquid. "That'll cure you," he told me. It was poteen - and he was right.
From here we headed on to Cavan and the Hotel Kilmore, which was HQ for the first King of Clubs fishing festival. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.
The two-man mission by my friend Mark Williams and I to expose and thus improve the BBC's pisspoor editorial standards continues. Today: Geography.
Yesterday's BBC 1 flagship News at Six managed to move Bournemouth, Dorset, approximately 25 miles to the east (see on-screen graphic).
This must have been a bit of a surprise to the residents of both Bournemouth and Portsmouth, Hampshire.
Good to see the BBC on the ball this morning. Clueless.
News from the Hickathrift Press....
The appearance of Andrew Stephen's Endless River is imminent at Amazon, where it will be available in paperback, hardback and Kindle e-book formats.
As a taster, here is a snapshot image of the cover (front and back), as submitted to the printers. Please note that the white "hole" on the back cover is where the bar code will go.
Hope you like the design.
This is Andrew Stephen's published debut as a poet - and it's been a long time coming. The retired English teacher began writing poems as a rebellious teenager at the dawn of the Seventies, but he didn't decide to share them with the world until the enforced isolation of the covid pandemic renewe...
Yesterday afternoon I launched a new page to promote Hickathrift Press - a small publishing outfit that I am setting up to produce some brilliant and exciting new books.
Less than 18 hours later it already has 57 followers. And later today I'll be publishing its latest release - Endless River, the poems of Andrew Stephen. More on that later.
In the meantime, please do check out my new page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559759611097
Publisher
Well it's not MY sort of thing!
At 12 noon, Nigel will stand on the steps of St. John the Baptist church in Axbridge to read out The Royal Proclamation (see below) which has been specially
I've been asked to write about my early career as an angling journalist for the brilliant Catch Cult magazine. Images used I the article include my first pay slips from Angling Times in 1972 - £8.50 a week!
Here are a few page proofs supplied by Martin Mumby, the magazine's editor...
Even more true today than when John Smith uttered these words three decades ago . . .
Somerset Apple first with the news - remember where you read it!
https://somersetapple.co.uk/news/exclusive-leigh-redman-is-labour-candidate-for-bridgwater
Somerset Apple first with the news - remember where you read it!
He announced he had been selected on his Twitter (X) feed.
How can such cruelty be allowed in the UK? This is truly shocking. Reporting this story left me in tears.
https://somersetapple.co.uk/news/six-months-growth-for-uk-car-production
Volumes for export, rose 4.6% to 59,249, representing a rise of 2615 units, with three-quarters (74.1%) of all cars made in the month shipped overseas.
For the last couple of hours I've been working on this story about a bridge collapse tragedy in the USA. It involves constant updates as more news comes in. I work for a Somerset news website, but this story transcends borders.
The film that started it all. This version includes two shorter updates about the Gaywood catchment – they follow on from the original film."Norfolk's Forgot...
An inspirational Somerset life story for the weekend . . .
The role really interested me, and I applied for the police almost immediately, a completely different career tangent to what I was expecting. What I also
Shocking, tragic news . . .
https://somersetapple.co.uk/news/two-charged-with-murder-following-death-of-two-week-old-baby
https://somersetapple.co.uk/news/barbie-65-today-and-what-a-doll
Happy 65th birthday, Barbie, from all at Somerset Apple! HISTORY Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Barbie was named after Ruth Handler’s
Taunton
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