Ken L

Hard to see what he's doing there, but I found this - go to 4:40.

I view a stockpile of food as insurance. We probably won't see the apocalypse, but bad things happen. https://hwfo.substack.com/p/the-surprisingly-solid-mathematical Maybe they're worried bout a Carrington event. We got lucky last week and solar maximum isn't until next year.

Having had time to take a proper look this morning, I'm pretty sure the rods etc are actually seconds. Some of the decals aren't on properly, some of the rings aren't quite in line etc. I doubt any of that will make a significant functional difference, though, and the prices look to be in line with what we've previously seen on the customs declarations for similar rods from other manufacturers (Greys) that are made in China. They obviously should have declared that they are seconds, but I'm not complaining.

My stuff arrived. There are a couple of bent eyes on one of the 1.75 rods, but everything is perfectly serviceable. The 1.75s look nice, with a holographic brown finish and green whipping. The tip rod is basic, but a spare for less than a tenner has to be worth a punt.

Better to nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure....

Sounds like the lot near you are Ahmadiyya folks. The get some serious grief. There's good and bad in every group, but that doesn't mean that we should accept being replaced in our own country.

I'm sure 'tinternet told you that the Kalergi Plan is a debunked "far right conspiracy", just like "The Great Replacement". The only people dumb enough to believe that are those who have never visited Birmingham, London, Leicester etc with their eyes open.

Good ol' Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi.

You imagine a file - with a big red sticker on the front hat says that your loved one's affairs can be discussed with you. No more. Physical files are largely a thing of the past. Everything will be scanned in and stored as a PDF - often as an image, so users can't even search the documents using a machine. It's all a bit crap. As for the ongoing push to put all public services on-line, I despair! There seems no awareness that doing this disenfranchises whole swathes of society.

Will do - but I doubt they'll stay in stock that long. I'm thinking barbel and zander, so I won't be able to test them until the season opens.

I just bit the bullet and ordered the two 1.75 rods, a feeder rod, a huge landing net (required on some local pools that stock cats) and a longer net handle for my usual specimen net. The whole lot, including postage was £73. Thanks for the heads-up.

Some good deals on there. If the 1.75lb rods were shorter than 12 foot, I'd have had a pair.

Did it smell of garlic and olive oil?

It seems that Africa's cacao production is also being devastated by a virus - a virus that could go global and make chocolate prohibitively expensive.

That's pretty much what I was planning for option one - and of course, these days, floating braid mainlines make such tactics so much easier, and circle hooks will make it safer for the fish.

I have the option to fish a large, deep reservoir for pike in the autumn. This is well outside my comfort zone, but I see two possible approaches. 1. I can drift suspended deadbaits - if so, at what depth? 2. I can pop up large deadbaits on a 4oz lead, walk them around a bay, and twitch them back. Any thoughts?

My back is actually a bit better now, but my knees are knackered.

First visit to the reservoir this year on Thursday. It was colder than expected, and I only managed a couple of fish. The first one fell to a foam spider on the point, and the second to a buzzer pattern. It was my first time fishing an indicator, and it worked perfectly, with me striking at both fish before I felt a pull.

Great fish. As a non-Facebook user, I found it here. https://www.anglingtimes.co.uk/news/stories/potential-british-record-roach-landed/

The last one I bought was about four years ago and is a Xiaomi. It does what I need, but it's hardly current tech. I tend to treat stuff like this as disposable. Most will let you play videos and access the web without any issues. Edit: Just be sure to decide weather you want to use a SIM, or just wifi before you buy.

Cheap Android tablets work just as well as an i-pad, but I much prefer a PC plugged into the TV and a wireless keyboard.

The sodium nitrite is what stops you getting a whole body botox.

Butter is definitely a healthier option than margarine, with it's hydrogenated (trans) fats. Been watching the seed oil thing gain momentum for a while, although I haven't really done a deep dive. Does the video go into why they are "bad", or does it just do a general waffle about them being "inflammatory"?

Cold, windy and wet. I think I'll put off my tench foray until next week.