yorkio

No, they're not legal tender. But that doesn't really matter because they are legal currency, although from time to time you do encounter gormless shop staff who are apparently completely baffled by the whole notion of a Scottish fiver. From the Bank of England website:

What the bloody hell were you using to peel this pumpkin?

Aha! Thanks for that.

Actually, now that I come to think of it, what is that 'G' in SSG about?

Quite. That said, for the most part, they're a pretty ghastly bunch. Richard Dawkins though? "Anti-religionist Dawkins, the best-known English dissenter since Darwin, is the merciless demander of provable fact." A demander of provable facts, eh? Just how is that a bad thing? And the argument against Charles Saatchi is just plain stupid.

Yep, definite queasiness here too.

My standard advice is to have a look at the Shakespeare Odyssey rods - something round about the 9ft mark and maybe a 6wt or so would probably do as a decent all-rounder. Mullarkey's has the 9' 6/7wt two-piece for £24, although that would be a bit of a stretch to get in a suitcase! They also have an Expedition 9ft 6wt seven-piece for £43, which looks as if it would do the trick. As for reels, I really would say the cheaper the better. As everyone says, unless you're fishing for bonefish or salmon or something similarly rowdy, all they do for the most part is sit there storing your line. (I honestly can't remember the last time I even played a fish off the reel, let alone used the drag!) If you can though, your best bet really would be to find a decent local game fishing shop and go in and see what sort of package they could put together for you.

Whereabouts are you intending to fish? Big rivers? Small streams? Reservoirs for big stockie rainbows? Lochs for small wild brownies? And does it really have to be a travel rod, or just something small enough to leave in the boot?

Chris Sandford usually has a stall at most of the big game fairs, giving valuations and info on antique tackle and the like. Or you could try googling vintage fishing tackle and see what turns up. There's a fascinating article about WJ Cummins at www.bishopaucklandhistory.co.uk/forum//read.php?2,97.

I did just read your post again and it still says "if it's a fake"! I prefer to think that she can actually fly though! (I'm resisting the urge to edit my post to show how I could never possibly have fallen for it! )

So was the ball out of bounds when she caught it? Otherwise wouldn't she have been interfering with play or something? (Quite clearly I know precisely bugger all about the rules of baseball!) Amazing catch though - I couldn't work out how the hell she got that high until the replay…

I think that perfectly sums up why we do it. And also why it's not on TV very often, and never really has been.

Unfortunately, I suspect that for most anglers these days, the heart of nature consists of a neatly gravelled platform on a symmetrical lake where the sound of birds is drowned out by the noise of the generator for the burger van and the rustle of crisp packets dancing in the breeze.

What? So you mean you never made a bobbin from wedging one of your mum's hairclips into a cork?

Yep, if you're using barbless hooks for worms, use a little bit of rubber (cut from an elastic band, for example) to keep them on the hook. You can buy little plastic things to do the job too, but I can't for the life of me what they're called. However, the snipped up laccy band works just as well and one band will yield enough rubber to keep you going for months.

A great idea - I'm very much interested. At the moment, if I'm fishing any water that I know contains pike I go out of my way to avoid doing anything that might attract them!

How about a second-hand John Wilson Avon/Quiver - I don't know about the new models, but the older ones are that kind of mossy green that Peter Waller describes and are very capable all-rounders. (In fact, here's one on eBay right now.) That particular one looks a bit pricy to me, but then again it is in very good nick - I think I paid about £20-odd for mine. They've sold by the truckload over the years so they come up on eBay all the time - if you're canny and prepared to bide your time a bit, you could probably pick one up for not very much at all.

Shame this bit's fly-only then! (I took this this afternoon and it's probably gone down about three feet from yesterday, when it was right over the fields.)

Same here in the North East. The Derwent and the Browney have both burst their banks and the Tyne was 11ft up at Bywell this morning! We've just been out for a bit of shopping and there were a few stretches of road that were so flooded I almost wondered whether we were going to get through! Massive queues in some places, where people were going through on one side of the road at a time. All it's going to take is for one car to break down and the queues will be going back for ever! And it's still raining outside. It's going to take some time for this lot to run off. I can't exactly see myself doing much more fishing this season somehow…

I don't think fish can see sponsors logos though, so they can be as big as you like.

From the BBC story: "The matter had been raised by Plaid Cymru MP Mr Williams, who received a letter back from the hotel complex manager last week saying it regretted the way the matter was dealt with. A manager in the letter said the hotel had in recent months "experienced some rather serious incidents" resulting from the stay of personnel from a local barracks and staff had been requested to be "cautious" in taking future bookings from the armed forces. Managers were asked to assess cases. "In almost every case the booking is accepted. This process does not appear to have happened in this case, for which I sincerely apologise. We also fully recognise and appreciate the tremendous courage and sacrifices made by member of our armed services"."

When I got back into fishing a few years back after some time away, I found John Wilson's Coarse Fishing Method Manual very helpful. There's also plenty in Improve Your Coarse Fishing magazine for beginners and returners.

WSF, as already mentioned. There's also lots of good info - tips, articles, rigs etc - at NESA.

John Wayne?

I'd be more inclined to question her judgement in thinking that Trig and Track are appropriate names for children.