Steve Walker

Yeah, that's my view too, much of a muchness - but I'm thinking of things like "it's a bugger in a crosswind" or "the joints stick or wear badly" or "it's fragile" or "you can never get spares" that you wouldn't get from waggling it in the shop.

Last time I looked at it, my old 11m Browning had some damage to some of the sections. I haven't fished the pole in years, but it was something I used to enjoy and I was thinking I might do a bit of it again now I'm back up in the frozen North. I was looking at what was on the market in the £300-£400 range, and it looks like you can get a 13m carp pole which is lighter and stiffer than my old 11m match pole. I don't do commercials but I'm sure something like that would be fine for a bit of canal fishing with the right elastic and would have the versatility for heavier fishing if I felt like it. Lots of options from Drennan, MAP, Preston, Daiwa, etc. Any recommendations?

I think she stretches the boundaries between journalism and activism. Pretty sure she wasnt embedded with those far right activists to produce unbiased reportage.

I'd say that the conflation with neo-Nazi groups is the result of the likes of Antifa calling anyone who doesn't agree with them a Nazi. But she's defended white nationalists, she's obsessed enough with immigration to travel to Europe to try to stop migrant boats (what damn business is that of hers?), she does a lot of dogwhistling that those folks will hear.

She has the same views on the same red button issues as alt-right commentators and she publically defends those people. She worked for Rebel Media. She quacks an awful lot like a duck not to be one. I'm fairly happy with the criteria we currently use to deny access to foreigners who plan to cause trouble. I'm not crying any tears for any of these people; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_banned_from_entering_the_United_Kingdom

So she basically went out to prove that some UK Muslims get stroppy if you offend their faith, by going out and offending their faith and filming what happened. Quite happy with foreigners who come here to stir the sh!t getting banned, whether they're Islamic hate preachers or alt-right troublemakers.

How sad.

Maybe she should have had a chat with that group for some advice about getting into the UK after she'd been banned for inciting religious hatred

Putting a fruit which is emitting ethylene next to one which isn't will hasten the ripening process (though not as much as pumping the gas in from a cylinder). But usually with tomatoes there is a glut, and a slower drip of fruit is desirable. They taste better if ripened on the plant, until the plant snuffs it, when you may as well pick them. Personally, I just turn the green ones into chutney!

It's OK, there are plans to have a Parliament in London where we will elect representatives to make our own laws.

PlusNet / OpenReach screwed mine up too. Took ages after they cancelled an appointment, didn't tell me, didn't rebook another one.

I saw him live in Wyvern theatre in Swindon before he was big. Just him and his piano in a tiny venue. He was brilliant. Saw him again in Birmingham arena, with an orchestra. He was still good, but the first gig was better. Would see him again. As for dodgy lyrics, how about "Christian children all must be / mild, obedient, good as He" - quite apart from the obsession of religion with obedience, we are talking about a historical character who got nailed to a plank for causing trouble for the authorities and who the scripture reports chased the money lenders out of the table with a whip.

"Some of the hymns that they sing have nice chords, but the lyrics are dodgy" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNvZqpa-7Q

Nearest houses with kids at least 1 mile away

Phone, you see why UK float rods are the way they are (long, tippy action)? Casting light float tackle with a short, stiff rod is not easy, and getting line pickup without striking too hard is difficult too.

They are still popular dogs. Just not with the sort of people who want a shark on a rope and treat it accordingly. Plenty of German Shepherds about, which have also been demonised in the past. Any large, strong dog is potentially dangerous in the hands of a moron.

It's interesting how which breeds of dogs are inherently dangerous changes with which breeds of dogs are fashionable with idiots.

Oh, they made it an art form. Constant motion, casting, feeding, catching. Impressive, If pointless.

Phone, you have to cut it back to where its thick enough to bore a hole in it. Or you could do it the traditional way and whip on a wire loop.

Phone, one option for attachment of quills to the bottom end of the float is to epoxy a tiny swivel into them.

Phone, the ends can be pulled out because they are interchangeable. I wouldn't put water in them, you want them to cast like a dart, water will move. And the loaded ones will probably not have much excess shot capacity anyway, you'll want to use the shot down the line. Used to be a couple of completely modular plastic float systems, with bodies, stems, tips, etc. Don't think anyone makes anything quite like that now.

The high end fly rods tend to use fancy materials (though how much difference it makes...) and have fancy fittings, detailing and luggage. But I reckon youre mostly paying for the name.

Martin - Phone might be quite limited on what UK style gear he can get his hands on.

To be honest, you can pay an awful lot of money for a mass produced high end fly reel, which if anything should be cheaper than a pin.

It's funny how expensive good centrepins are, when you think about how few moving parts they have compared to even a basic fixed spool reel.