Vagabond

Good thinking When my No 1 daughter was reading geology at Imperial in the late 1970s, she needed a bicycle for digs to uni and back Received wisdom was that the life of a bicycle in London in those days was about 11 days before it got pinched So I purchased a reasonable S/h ladies' bicycle and a small tin of reddish-brown primer. Painted frames, handle-bars and wheel rims patchily - so with a little oil and chain grease it looked a rusty old wreck. The bike lasted the three years at Imperial and during her subsequent PhD at Exeter.

Just back from a three-day fishing trip (only small perch in two scorchers followed by a thunderstorm) Always found thunderstorms good, but not this time. Anyway, delighted to find the Kevin Maddox book in my letter box - many thanks Chesters - excellent packing too - custom made from cardboard, so that although the outside of the parcel looked as if the Guildford GPO had used it as a soccer ball, the book was absolutely undamaged.

That's very sporting, you have PM and many thanks

Thanks guys - that is one angling book I don;t possess - when was it first published ? I would guess 1970s/1980s Tying eyed hooks in the dark was common knowlege amongst night fishers for carp n the 1960s

In those days I cycled to my fishing venues. Had a cyclists cape and before the days of egg-beater reels would hand-coil the line onto the cape (remembering to reverse the coils before casting) Rod propped on an idle-back broken from a convenient bush (no stainless-steel rod-pods) Bite indicator/tension adjuster was a lump of mud squeezed on the line. (No electronic Delkims) Fishing in the steam age - as good as it got Oh, BTW night fishing then was sort of semi-legal Many venues were fished on a lassez-faire principle - we didn't have formal permission, but then, OTOH nobody had said we couldn't fish there - probably because they were unaware of their waters being fished. Not showing a light was a good method of keeping it that way.......

Yeh, but,but,but.... You would need a hand to hold the hook, a hand to hold the matchbox, a hand to hold the match and a hand to hold the line. (Have NEVER used a Ronson-type lighter - abominations.) That makes four hands - even the Ronson-toting philistines would need three. My method = No need for light

...and here’s another ! Went fishing at a local pond Wednesday **. Remembered rod, reel, net, tackle, bait and seat. Forgot specs, Cue :- “My eyes are dim , I cannot see, I have not brought my specs with me.... “ Threaded up rods OK, attached float, but couldn’t thread on a #14 eyed hook..... Until.... I remembered an old skill from the 1960s, In those days , no nonsense with beta-lights and head torches - we fished in darkness, and had to learn how to tie on a hook in the dark. I have never seen it mentioned here, but I can still do it ! Method Hold bend of hook in left hand and bring eye up to touch the tip of your tongue. Hold line between finger and thumb of tight hand with about a quarter-inch projecting and poke at your tongue with it – THROUGH THE HOOK EYE. Your tongue is sensitive enough to allow you to do that. BTW It only works for stiff line such as monofilament, No good for braid ! Once threaded, you OUGHT to be able to tie a grinner by touch alone The first time I was told about it (by Chevin if memory serves) I didn’t believe it either ! So, if you are incredulous, do what I did – get off your f... a... Find a hook and some nylon, shut your eyes and try it. Tell us how you got on. If I have resurrected an old angling skill, my day is made - but did anyone else know this already ?

Cory - I'm sure your Scottish education included the advice to "answer the question set" I asked about windmills specifically - no marks for a pontification on direct solar radiation and geothermal energy. and BTW if you "capture" a proportion of the sunlight, what happens to the plants that used to utilise it to photosynthesize the primary production that underlies all food chains ? Note I am asking questions, not asserting anything. ...and yes, we all know that solar energy drives the winds that drive the windmills - so don't go off on another tangent.

Well, there is certainly a lot of wind energy in the above three posts ! But note carefully I did not take sides, but asked a question - which is still unanswered. What "premise" stinks, Phone ?

Here is a little exercise that may appeal those that advocate "renewable energy" Work out the TRUE cost of producing energy from wind farms, a/ in cash terms, b/ in energy terms You need to know, amongst other things, how much energy goes into mining, smelting, fabricating, erecting and maintaining the windmills, (including the machines that make the machines) The total energy produced by a windmill during its lifetime. The man-hours involved in all the above The amount of political obfuscation surrounding the projects will make the task harder - which is why I want YOU to do it, rather than try myself. The answer ? Dunno, but the adage "You can't get energy for nothing" occurs to me.

I remember the evening of the FIFTH of June. Nobody mentioned any details, but "They're on their way" was the whisper everywhere, Pretty obvious really, one day there were stacks of military convoys of tanks, field guns, lorries and bren-gun carriers - the next day.....all gone. News Chronicle headlines on June 7th "WE HOLD THREE BRIDGEHEADS"

Both the last two (Noakes and Norwegia) were aged 83 - my age . That reminds me to appreciate my fishing trip tomorrow morning.

Thanks ayjay and to satisfy the pedantic "Talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate mineral with a chemical composition of Mg3Si4O10(OH)2." Very soft, and in powdered form known as French Chalk, Natural rubber powdered with French Chalk and kept in a cool dark place seems to avoid denaturing almost indefinitely as I said above in post #5 Pleased to hear of other improvisations - ingenuity is the hall-mark of many successful anglers

No Chesters, they perceived the results but most of them didn't understand why.

Religionists have been doing it for thousands of years - without even understanding what they were doing

A mate of mine had an Ariel Square Four 1000cc Mk 1. Sounded like a Lancaster bomber with fuel consumption to match I had a drive or two on it - was not impressed - leaked oil everywhere - even worse than the average Triumph My ownership of Ariels was limited to Red Hunters - I used to buy cheapie/clapped-out motorcycles and do them up for sale

But they did Lots here - mainly American http://www.bing.com/search?q=Maxim%27s%20steam%20aeroplane&pc=cosp&ptag=C1ABE91C7D8F5&form=CONBDF&conlogo=CT3210127

Very true, but in this case the rubbers were with the quills at home. The old cycle valve rubber (bought in bulk and chopped up as and when required) was ideal - I still have some, packed in powdered French Chalk and as supple as ever after over 50 years.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=WKikAKtv&id=2FBEE28DCA1A1AEDDA36A2FD11F6F270A0D4BF1E&thid=OIP.WKikAKtvEMcXxd1cSDry2gEsDh&q=Scott+Flying+Squirrel&simid=608027298834940794&selectedIndex=6&qpvt=Scott+Flying+Squirrel&ajaxhist=0 I had Norton, Royal Enfield, Triumph, Ariel, Vincent, BSA and Velocette pass through my hands, but never one of those magical Flying Squirrels. I was promised first refusal of one, but the owner sold it whilst I was away on National Service. His reason - "In case you got killed" He doesn't know how close he was to death when he told me that.

Love it !! I remember sitting somewhere, filling my pipe ready for lighting up when I left, and some officious twerp barking "NO SMOKING" at ,me "I'm not smoking" I replied OT "You have a pipe in your hands" Me "I have a pair of shoes on my feet, but I.m not walking"

I am just packing a shoulder bag for tomorrow's fishing trip. Must put in my tube of porcupine quills. Forgot it last week and was faced with having to free-line on a very twiggy bottom whereas for best results a bait fished an inch or two above the twigs is better. Improvisation is the name of the game. On the banks of the pond grows Pendulous Sedge Carex pendula, with flowerheads some 4 to 6 inches long. Picked one , attached one end to my line with a clove hitch and hey presto an instant waggler float. Bite detection was OK, and tiddlers could be swung to hand. Any fish above three or four ounces is strong/neavy enough to straighten out the clove hitch** and thus cause the sedge to drop off - but there were plenty of fresh sedges to provide fresh "floats" As one gets older there is this tendency to forget things, but the improvisation learnt in one's youth (war on, tackle scarce) often comes to the rescue. . **Which is why I used soft herbage rather than a wooden twig - such a knot in nylon will snap easily if it can't straighten .

Quote from Chesters first link That was published in April 2014 - over three years ago. how many attacks have happened since that have not made headlines ?

Of course it is ! That's why bookmakers , insurance moguls and stockbrokers drive around in Porches.

When I was an MSc student, one of my tasks was to determine the seismic velocity along the fold hinge of the Purbeck Hills, I had special permission to do this on MOD property. Found a suitable hill, miles from public access, climbed to the ridge (lugging about a hundredweight of seismic equipment with me), and set about digging twenty small holes in the chalk to house my twenty geophones. The first hole, on removal of about nine square inches of the turf, yielded a George VI half-crown. I wish Chesters 50/50 rule had applied, as I could have expected 25 bob's-worth of half-crowns from twenty holes, but I only found the one ,

Think very carefully before complaining that licences are rarely checked There are a number of strategies possible in policing our waters Many officers (which means many salaries) carrying out frequent checks would increase the cost of licences - without much to spare for the fisheries themselves. On the other hand, few checks, but draconian fines for offenders, would seem a better option - provided the fines went into the "fishery improvement" kitty. Either way, the sum effect of all the "sins" of all the anglers in the country are trivial compared with the environmental damage caused by industrialists, and even by public bodies. That said, I have never, ever been asked for my licence on a river - that's in 75 years of river angling - even when I went seatrout fishing with an R.B bailiff (yes, that was when we still had River Boards) he didn't check my licence. I was once checked on one of my rare visits to a commercial set of ponds - the bailiff was astounded when I produced a salmon licence ! ............also once at a put-n-take rainbow fishery PS, I have frequently been asked to show my permit by fellow syndicate/club members, have always shown it, provided they show me theirs. (No jokes please ) ... Older members may recall a story of a permit-less busybody who was unwise enough to challenge me in a hectoring manner. I thought I had seen this before ! Just checked back - I answered three or four years ago ! Said the same things then as now