Gillies

From watching them - I dont think that they have not got a hope ... I would not be surprised if Ecuador beat them, naturally I hope they do :-) Monty Burns, I mean Sven ... not taking Defoe or Bent and relying on injured players due to there big reputations to keep the media happy is laughable ... I feel sorry for Peter Crouch, as he's doing a half decent job (much better than Owen could do) in difficult circumstances but yet will need to score a hat-trick or something to be a hero. The Midfields the same - its together to keep the media happy, by not dropping big names .... I wonder how they would look without Beckham, and that Lennon fellow in place ... for early pacey runs. Gerrad and Lampard are world class .... leagues ahead of Beckam (he may be best passer of a ball in the world, but his footballing brain is not to hot right now I dont think). Rooney - for his own sake, with the pressure the whole of England has put on his shoulders as the great white hope, I hope he gets his sharpness and fitness back and manages to deliver ......... the same goes for that Walcott boy, I think he should be given a run out if game does not suit Crouch, just to give him the confidence after all the media hype about him been picked, otherwise his confidence could be severely dented I think. No matter what happens, it looks like Sven will be the scape-goat ... and rightly so I'd say.... picking unfit and untried players ahead of others up front, and having a big name midfield that arent gelling is all his own fault. Oh, and I just love ITV coverage compared to BBC .... listening to Ian Wright is torture for us Scots, I think he must of headed the ball to much as a player, otherwise how is he such a .................................. Gillies

Maybe you have all seen this before, if so here it is again --- I thought it was pretty cool clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-kfLf_RGqk Anyone going to try it? Gillies

As everyone says - it all depends on what species you are targeting. I had a boat match on Saturday and had Mackerel, Mussel, Cockle, Lugworm, Ragworm, Squid and Peeler Crab as baits to cover the range of species that could possibly be caught depending on the ground been covered and also as it seems some days the fish have a taste for a certain bait above another (this is especially true about Haddock up around our parts) ..... but only Saturday I only used Mackerel as the ground we fished primarily held Rays and the Mackerel was working best for picking them up and other speices --- at end of the day I had Spotted Ray, Cuckoo Ray, Dab, Megrim, Haddock, Whiting, Grey Gurnard and Mackerel. When shore fishing, the marks I fish just now hold mostly flat fish and Gurnards as its a sandy or muddy bottom - Turbot, Plaice, Dabs, Flounders, Thornback Rays, Grey/Red/Tub Gurnards, Whiting and LSD ... so I bring Mackerel, Mussels and Cockles usually .... and Lugworms if I can be bothered digging them. If fishing around kelp or rocks for Wrasse - crab or mussel usually does the job for me ... Keep in mind, Im in far north west of Scotland where the waters will be slightly cooler, so best baits for certain species fish may differ slightly to other locations in the UK, but not much. I discussed with another poster on here about how mackerel baits outfish shell and worm baits for Plaice up here, as opposed to other areas of the UK where the shell or or mussel baits are the best. I find fresh Mackerel and Mussel baits a must have to have with me both at sea, and of the shore. I guess baits just depends on the location your fishing, time of year, and species you are targeting .... and you are best trying to cover all bases to improve your chances of catching ... cant beat local knowledge and advice, and if that fails trial and error. Gillies

Looking on dpreview as I do every couple of hours, I see Sony has launched its SLR finally. After taking over Konica Minolta they have been working on the KM stuff to improve it and come up with their own. Dpreview The camera looks very impressive I think --- in camera IS, and dust tackling measures (wish Canon would take that one up) - and they have a very impressive line up of lenses to go along with the camera .... a 1.5 FOV though (like the Nikons), would of been nice at 1.3. Priced very competitively for its specification ........ its going to be interesting to see how it peforms and hopefully it will raise the specs and lower the costs in the Digi SLR world. Gillies Edited as your link opened an email.

Up here in Western Isles of Scotland - most things seem to be on time, although the waters around us are on average 1 to 2 degrees down on last year I hear. From the boat - the Haddock are here in the good numbers we usually anticepate, Cod are showing so far at possibly a slightly higher number than usual, and all the usual other species we get from the boat are around .... from the shore resident flats and Rays have been around since February, though the Mackerel and Herring in my eyes have not turned up "yet" in the abundant numbers that I would expect both from shore and boat - the next two weeks should be a good indicator. From the boat as it is usually up here every year with the marks we regularly fish from the boat, there is not to much fish in 10 to 18 fathoms yet ... they just have not came in yet from the deeper water - I'd expect more of then closer in over the coming weeks - where as the fishing in 30 fathoms - 2 miles offshore there is very good numebrs of fish. Over the past month one thing I have noticed there has been a massive increase in the number of juvenile Codling caught ranging from 20cm to 30cm, so much so they have been a pest ... thankfully, they seem to swim back pretty well. Gillies

Taking into account that Rooney is injured - and may not even play any part in competition. What starting 11 would you like to see Sven field as their strongest possible team? Gillies

Not wanting to turn this into an Scotland/England football team thread ... as Ive been looking forward to a thread about the England world cup bid coming on here ... but, us Scots know we dont have a good team, we dont expect to qualify (we have a poor/rubbish team ... but it is getting better since we had change of management) ... if we were to qualify its a bonus, however from a Scottish point of view we have all the English thinking they will win it ... its good that you have high hopes, but for us Scots - not been caught up in all that 1966 stuff and all the medias hype about the team ... so we dont see it through English Rose tinted glasses, me .... been a Scot, Im just been realistic about the England teams chances ... and of course wanting them to do badly :) Gillies

England has a group of extremely good players I think, but apart from Rooney, they do not have any exceptional flare players that can turn a game with a flash of brilliance (ie Gazza) so I think they will play their usual predictable stuff thats coming from the current squad. A squad of great players, but since it seems to be the media who picks the team .... the 11 men on the field in my eyes never perform together as good as they should do, which is a pitty. Last nights game against Hungary they didnt impress very much, apart from one or two good performances --- Crouch ... ummmmm, I dont know what to make of him, a good goal ... and what a celebration A friendly match - and yet a player as fantastic as Gerrad resolves to diving to win a penalty .... Iain Wrights comments on that didnt surprise me at all ... from him! My predictions for England, I think Sweden will beat them to finish top of the group with England in second place. Who they play up front is a tricky one for them ... not seen anything really of Walcott to make any thoughts of on him, would be a nice fairytale story though if he did well ... but I doubt it. Or he could do an Owen --- score one superb goal, and have the media think he is one of the worlds best strikers for years to come ... I wonder if he got shares in that bench at Real when he was there. Personaly, been a Scot ... I look forward to hopefully seen England falling flat on their face .... and laughing at how the media make Gods of the team one minute, and the Traitors to your country the next. Gillies

Among the battery grips that first came out for the 20D there was a large percentage 90% or so I hear that were defective .... they will make the camera think the batteries are dead when they are actually ok, and the camera usually dies during taking a shot ........ can drive you mad! I dont think Ive ever used Auto on my 20D, have used P once or twice when using flash gun for indoor shots, but prefer Aperture Priority for indoor people shots, outdoor landscapes, object shots etc ... for any shots with movement outside, or trophy shots of people fishing, or action shots etc I always go with Shutter Priority ... varying the speed depending on the available light. Gillies

Ive been toying with the idea of getting one since it came out .... having no crop factor, oh it would be great !!!!! Wish I had not ever had a few trys of a 1D though, cause I really liked it .... what a focusing system ... when you add a Battery Grip to the 5D, its pretty close in price to the 1D Mk2N .... but you loose 4 Megapixel. The 5D craves good glass, you would notice some distortion around the edges without a semi decent lens on it. I'm waiting until after September to see the effect of a new Canon camera will have on prices of the current set up, failing that - think I might just buy one or two better lenses instead ... as apart from the battery grip that makes me want to smash the thing, and pretty irritating autofocusing, Im still pretty happy with the 20D. I'd go for the 5D if your thinking about it !!!! Have a look on dpreview.com and fredmiranda.com etc to see what people with the camera say about it, vignetting can be an issue. Gillies

Its a very interesting and topical debate - that of Salmon Farms, but there are lots of sides to the arguement I feel ... since I'm located in the Isle of Lewis in the North West of Scotland it is a topic that is close to home for me, and I hear debate regarding them often. Its big business up here, and the farms are everywhere ... dotted around the coastline in many sea lochs. The farms In my eyes - yes they are a huge scar on the coastline, and yes as far as I know (have been told) they do damage to the coast line and the environment. But as mentioned before you have to look at each side of the coin, and also look at the broader picture. When it comes to angling - It is well know and documented that Salmon and Sea Trout catches by the rod angler throughout Scotland on Salmon Fisheries have decreased dramatically over the past number of years - signaling less and less Salmon and Sea Trout in the systems - electric shocking of juvenile and adult fish in systems has also proved this. The reasons for this drop in fish numbers though can not be wholey blamed on Salmon Farms I feel, they are just a small factor that has contributed to the drop in Salmon and Sea Trout numbers. My local Salmon system has seen the catches through the 90s drop to levels of almost non-existance, the reason for this has been down to poor management mainly. The figures for Salmon catches from the mid 90s until now read as. 1997 - 19 1998 - 43 1999 - 23 2000 - 34 2001 - 112 2002 - 63 2003 - 78 2004 - 128 2005 - 260 The system came under new management in 2001 however, and increased surveilance for poaching seen an increase in catches initially .... and with a stocking programme also introduced, the 4 year cycle shows massively increased catches by the rod angler on a relativey small system - which has been very positive so far, I look forward to seen how 2006 fishes. Looking at the broader picture from the outside, it could be argued also that Salmon Farms have helped increase numbers of Wild Salmon in systems (a bold statement, that could be argued tooth and nail). There is a huge demand for Salmon to eat throughout the UK --- to satisfy this need, we need farmed Salmon, because with declining stocks of Wild Salmon over the years, if Supermarkets, Restaurants and Fish Shops were to rely on Wild fish then it would be a huge strain on the already severly depleted and dwindelling Wild Salmon stocks on systems throughout Scotland. There is also the legislation that has been brought in (I think - I may be wrong) that means Fish Shops, Supermarkets, and Restaurants that are 'Fish Buyers' have to show where their fish come from ... this could be seen as an added aid for the Wild Salmon, as it lessens 'to an extent' the purchasing of illegally caught Wild Salmon (removing - again 'to an extent' the days of the illegal Salmon netter selling fish through the back door)... and besides, if farmed Salmon can be pruchased so cheapily, it almost prices Wild Salmon out of the market on a broader scale, as to the run of the mill consumer - Salmon is Salmon ... wild or farmed ... so to be more cost effective Fish Buyers would look for cheaper Farmed Salmon as opposed to Wild Salmon (this is where cheap Norwegian imports becomes a worry when thinking economically). The point of jobs in a fragile rural community - in the Western Isles of Scotland, Fish Farming provides jobs for a very large number of people with various skill sets ranging from Accountants and Managers to Fish Processors and Delivery Drivers, there are so many jobs, there are more jobs available than can be filled by the local work force, mainly in the more less skilled areas, hence an influx of Latvians and Polish into the fish farming work force - but also for a local non-skilled worker the Fish Farm is a lifeline in a community which they may otherwise struggle to gain employment. On the environmental effect - yes, I believe harm is been done around the sea bed, coastline and in the water, there is also an issue that has been debated regarding the problem of Sea Lice on Sea Trout and the finger is been pointed by some at fish farms for this problem. I caused a stir with this debate last year catching Sea Trout from a beach almost 10 miles from the nearest migratory fish river, the fish were overly covered in Sea Lice with unacceptable numbers ... and this beach is at the top end of the Isle of Lewis, a beach well filtered by the Atlantic Ocean --- so this made some of those whom argued the point that fish farms are causing an increase of Sea Lice think a little about their arguements, and open up the debate even more. For me taking everything into account regarding Salmon Farms - I beleive that Salmon Farms in a sense have become a "Neccesary Evil" ... as I mentioned before - yes they are a scar on the coastline, yes they cause environmental damage .......... but, there is a huge demand for Salmon for human consumption, and the Salmon Farms satisfy that demand ... in turn taking the pressures of the Wild Salmon stocks in a sense to help aid their recovery. Taking that into account, as well as the employment that they provide in rural communities, I really dont have to much of a problem with them - a worry would be if these fish farm companies pull out due to cheaper Norwegian imports etc the economic and finacial consequences to rural communities would be terrible due to the job losses - and its something I possibly seen happening in the near future. Maybe better management of Salmon and Sea Trout systems to increase stock levels (which many systems have in place now, and are seen the benefits), and better measures brought in by Salmon farms to reduce any enivormental damage they are causing, along with making sure farmed fish are not escaping into the wild to the best of their abilities ..... this in my eyes would help a wee bit. Anyway, thats my view on the topic, I am not very qualified to give any valid arguement --- but in my eyes its a bit of a double edged sword as there are so many arguements for and against the fish farms, for everything I say for them I think of lots of reasons against, and vice versa. I'd like to see fish farms look at how they farm the Salmon and contain the fish - and hopefully evolve what they do just now to a more environmentally friendly and contained solution. Gillies

It all depends on the copy of the lens, Canon, Sigma and Nikon dont have the best quality control .... one copy of a lens can differ quite a bit to another. My Sigma 20mm F1.8 I sent back twice to get a copy I was happy with. The kit lenses have been so mass produced, there are loads and loads of different opinions on the lens, and rightly so as there is such a variation in the quality of image it delivers. The 18-55 kit lens that I got near 3 years ago with my 300D has served me very well, and still does - I was a lucky one to get a good copy. The lens has survived a few falls, heavy rain, waves out at sea, and rolling a good distance down the hill in snow (turning it to a snow ball) ......... still, it continues to shoot as good as it can. The Sigma 18-50 not surprisingly comes out top, been that bit faster at F2.8 - the Nikon 17-80 ... thats an extremely handy range, wide at one end, telephoto at the other. I read an interesting article lately by a pro photographer about wide angle lenses and landscape photography, stating that a shot taken with a good copy of the Canon 18-55 that does not show to much vignetting, when a little bit of photoshop post processing is added to an image ---- it takes a good eye to tell the difference between a cheap 18-55 lens post processed shot and a shot taken by either the Canon 17-40L or Canon 16-35L. For prosumer lenses - I think they should take 3 copies of the same lens and carry out the tests, and then make judgement --- there is just so much varation in quality on prosumer lenses, a judgement made on a single copy of a lens could differ greatly to a judgement made on another copy. One camera Im looking forward to seen is the new Panasonic Digi SLR with the Leica lens, it is an upgrade to the existing one that has Leica lens.... which got good reveiws I seen, apart from bad noise issues. If that is sorted out, it could be a pretty good Digi SLR to look at. I could never see me leaving Canon, as I have so much Canon EF fit gear ... but, for a smaller camera it could be worth a look. Gillies

Just checked, metal tripod mount of Canon 20D and 300D .......... so I'd assume the 350D and 30D are the same. Gillies

Canon Plastic Lens mount ???? think you might be getting a wee bit mixed up there (you had me just double checking my cameras and lenses ) they are all metal .... on the camera (my 20D and 300D), and on the lenses - apart from on much cheaper lenses, the lens mounts are plastic --- this is so on the kits lens (18-55) that can come bundled with the camera, and the cheap (but extremely sharp and good) 50mm F1.8 which is also plastic ......... thats two plastic lens mounts I know off, I'm sure there are many more. Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Olympus Digital SLRs will all give you fantastic results for the money you spend on them ... I'd suggest shopping around for a camera which comes along with a kit lens to get you started, and then add a telephoto lens to it ... ie you would have an 18-55 then add a 70-300 or 70-200 to it. Been a Canon man, I'd be biased towards the Canon ............. a number of people on here use the 350D and seem very happy with it. The Nikon D50 was Nikons answer to the Canon 300D (both superb camera), the 350D is a vast upgrade from the 300D, and almost comparible to the 20D. www.warehouseexpress.com have very good prices on the camera, and Im sure cheaper can be found if searching around. Gillies

What sizes --- ummmmm nothing big at all, Pollack to around 6.5, Haddock to 4, Cod to 5 .... all the fish are just coming in just now from the deeper water, so catches should vastly improve in June onwards. Mackerel - like the Haddock and Whiting have been pretty spent, so skinny fish - although long. The Red Gurnards have been pretty good, last time out had 3 of them well over 1 lb. Looking forward to hopefully a good summer, it has been an enjoyable winter and spring - last year had near 30 species over the year, hopefully have much of the same. Gillies

Have got over 30 of them since February, but yet to get any that are of a very good size .... biggest was 7 lb 8 oz. All the Thornbacks were caught during the day, so I expect changes of a bigger one would of been in the evening time. Gillies

The Western Isles of Scotland is a wee bitty far to come, but over the past month or so I've had. From the shore. Thornback Ray, Plaice, Turbot, Dab, Flounder, Pollack, Mackerel, Herring From the boat. Haddock, Whiting, Cod, Ling, Red Gurnard, Grey Gurnard, Mackerel, Pollack, Coalfish, Sandeel I've only been out in the boat twice in past month - so species count very low. Gillies

I normally keep away from these kinds of politcal threads ... but up here in the Western Isles of Scotland we have had a an influx of Polish and Latvians - they are basically cheap labour, working on fishing boats, and working in fish processing factories (doing the jobs that cant be filled .. and doing it cheaper)..... they are earning a living, happy ... cant take that away from them. Something good offered to them in their eyes, and they have taken it up. I dont know how it is in other parts of the UK, they seem to be becoming intergrated here - with a number of the females ones been in the family way to locals (so hard to type that sentence and not make fun or some kind of comment ). There are some bad eggs among them though, such as the Pole who stole my sisters mobile phone, ones whom stole money from people at our club, and the one who threatened the bar steward at our club cause he wouldnt give him a job. So many forgein workers coming into the country and getting so many handouts from the government --- and you and I have to pay for it all ... ouch. Due to the nature of my work, my main gripe just now is outsourcing - I lost my job two years ago, as the faltering idiot company I worked for started outsourcing to India, the quality of the work they delivered was terrible to say the least (I work in computer software) and would almost have to rehash almost all the work they delivered - more a hinderance than a help, eventually to cut costs our office was closed, and I was jobless --- since then I have been happily working away for myself. I was talking to a colleague whom works for a Scottish Power as a software developer the other day, she was saying how they are going to have massive job losses in their IT sections as the company is outsourcing development to India and Poland. The workers there all had to laugh - as they got a document from the companies management saying that outsourcing is not the reason that jobs have been going ---- but for large companies to remain competitive to win contracts in IT, they have to look to outsource the work to cut costs and win contracts. Her department now has 6 Indians over from India, over learning the ropes just now .... so the writing is on the wall for her department been closed down some time, and the work going over to India with these Indian fellows at the helm. Again, she tells me that the quality of development delivered from India is not always up to scratch, and has to be redone. It is said by a lot of people whom work in IT that I know here in the UK and over in the USA that the majority of IT development work in 10 years time will be carried out in India or Poland. I dont even want to sart on outsourcing of call centre jobs .... Its just the way of the world I guess, to remain competitive and deliver products/services at lower costs with maximum profits --- outsourcing to India, Poland ... taking in people from Poland and Latvia to do jobs locally at a cheaper rate. I dont like the way its all going, leaves a sour taste in the mouth, nothing can be done about it ... I dont blame the Poles, Latvians ... or Indians. I blame the mickey mouse government we have. Thats my thoughts on it all. Gillies

This is superb, well done, and echoing the above comments --- "you are a much braver man than me", its my biggest phobia - wasps. Superb photos, and I look forward to seen how it all turns out! Well done. Gillies

I'll second Warehouse Express .... I get all my stuff from them, cant fault them. Gillies

Sassenach is Scots Gaelic for Englishman .... Sasain is England. Various different spellings of the words. Gillies

I liked Rabsters - Dripping Tap shot best, nice use of the camera ... good bokeh, nice and sharp main subject, caught a nice drip, and the shot is well composed. Well done. Gillies

No problem John - nice photos on your site !!! Gillies

John - think you mis-read my posting! If you read my posting again, I am referring to the sensor size, that their is a 1mm difference. Physcially, yep the 20D body is bigger than the 350Ds. Gillies

So sorry to hear about your loss Emz, knowing how much of a dog lover you are can only imagine Magic had the best possible life it could of had since you got her. Gillies