In reply to Post #148
My school days at craven arms was a great experence i made so many freinds who some i am still in touch with but most have passed on, most are burried in halford church yard but my young days were full if i was not fishing i would be in some wood or up at sams the one wood was called nortons camp god it was full of pheasents in those days i think it was all part of the onibury shoot i would go up in an evening take my air rifle they always ran around like chickens i would pick a couple off quite easy my parents were always pleased with a couple of birds as it altered our diet the keeper always set a few snares wich i would find by the hedge row leading into the wood i would take a few rabbits i soon learned to reset the snare i would clean up the ground before moving on the keeper did not know i had been there i would carry an old post office bag and put all the game in it, some times it would become to heavy to carry as i was only a young un so ,i would hide a few and fetch them latter i got quite well known for my poaching down the terraces where i lived as i fed most of the residents they were always gratfull and returned the favour by giving us home made bread, some made butter it was lovely on big slabs of home made bread we always had somthing to do in the summer i would be out from dawn untill dusk, in season birds nesting i had quite a collection sam , my keeper freind had a huge collection but when i knew him he had packed it up he would say to me look but dont take hold them in your memory when he died i was devestated as i said before they found him up the woods lying there with his gun in his hands i think the egg collection ended up in some musem his house stood for many years curtains hanging in tatters pains of glass missing then it disapeared pulled down all thats left is a few stones and ghosts from the past and some very happy memories sam and his wife lie in halford church yard with a good many of my freinds they rest in piece in amonst the trees with the sound of the water fall just below the church it brings back some happy memories of times long ago when i caught the trout and perch under the sill of those wanderous falls.
I would walk the river from stoksay bridge down to onibury and spin for the trout i had some great mornings out i would be out first light and be back before the baliffs or keepers were about i would catch what i needed then i would be away i could catch up to twenty trout and would share them out with our neibours they were always welcome as times were very hard. well thats it for now more latter
My school days at craven arms was a great experence i made so many freinds who some i am still in touch with but most have passed on, most are burried in halford church yard but my young days were full if i was not fishing i would be in some wood or up at sams the one wood was called nortons camp god it was full of pheasents in those days i think it was all part of the onibury shoot i would go up in an evening take my air rifle they always ran around like chickens i would pick a couple off quite easy my parents were always pleased with a couple of birds as it altered our diet the keeper always set a few snares wich i would find by the hedge row leading into the wood i would take a few rabbits i soon learned to reset the snare i would clean up the ground before moving on the keeper did not know i had been there i would carry an old post office bag and put all the game in it, some times it would become to heavy to carry as i was only a young un so ,i would hide a few and fetch them latter i got quite well known for my poaching down the terraces where i lived as i fed most of the residents they were always gratfull and returned the favour by giving us home made bread, some made butter it was lovely on big slabs of home made bread we always had somthing to do in the summer i would be out from dawn untill dusk, in season birds nesting i had quite a collection sam , my keeper freind had a huge collection but when i knew him he had packed it up he would say to me look but dont take hold them in your memory when he died i was devestated as i said before they found him up the woods lying there with his gun in his hands i think the egg collection ended up in some musem his house stood for many years curtains hanging in tatters pains of glass missing then it disapeared pulled down all thats left is a few stones and ghosts from the past and some very happy memories sam and his wife lie in halford church yard with a good many of my freinds they rest in piece in amonst the trees with the sound of the water fall just below the church it brings back some happy memories of times long ago when i caught the trout and perch under the sill of those wanderous falls.
I would walk the river from stoksay bridge down to onibury and spin for the trout i had some great mornings out i would be out first light and be back before the baliffs or keepers were about i would catch what i needed then i would be away i could catch up to twenty trout and would share them out with our neibours they were always welcome as times were very hard. well thats it for now more latter
In reply to Post #149
I have lived my dream i have walked the fields of Shropshire fished its lakes and rivers i have watched the vixen and her cubs i have been lucky in my life time to see pure albino foxes to watch the badgers, out at play to feed them peanuts from my hand what more could one want i have done it all i am at piece and content to still tell my tales from long ago about the times when things were hard and believe me they were you would run around with the arse out of your trousers, no new ones would you get only a big patch to cover your bum, holes in your socks would be repaired darned with a needle full of wool or thread your boots, or shoes, would be repaired the best they could you would rub dubbin on your boots to make them water proof there was no new cloths all those years ago only hand downs from other families that lived in our row of terraced houses, no electricity for many years only the light from the old oil lamp if you were lucky you had the gas and that was all the light we had from the mantels around the house it was my job to check the gas mantels and any needed changing was left to me gas was cheap as we lived in railway terraces i am not sure if it was not free we had loads of railway sleepers delivered every year it was my job to saw them into logs then chop some up for fire lighters when burning on the fire you could smell the tar the sleepers were full of the stuff i had to do this once a week it came before my fishing or being out at play.
But they were also good times you had respect for your elders sadly laking today you could be out all day your parents knew you were safe not like today you left your back door open for all to see and know one would enter mind you we did not have that much to steal they were happy days the schools were strict but fair if you did wrong you would be punished i can still see the head masters stick, it was frayed and split at the ends and would leave your hands blue and pinched were he had hit you the most i had was three on each hand looking back it did no harm it taught you right from wrong at times he would cane you in front of all the school at morning assembly you had to go in although you knew what was coming you stood there in the front 0f the other classes it was done as warning that what they would get if they missed behaved this was life in the forties and fifties how its changed for the better i dont know but there are some caring youngsters about. We went to school in snow hail or what ever weather came we truged the way to school with snow over our boots no time off because of no central heating we had a coke fire in the middle of the class room all our boots and jackets would hang there to dry all day untill we went home some youngster walked six or seven miles home and would be cold and hungry by the time they got there these were the days of my youth i am sorry this is not about fishing but how we lived all those years ago i am nearly seventy so it must have been about sixty years ago how time flies it only seems like yesterday. well more a bit latter.
I have lived my dream i have walked the fields of Shropshire fished its lakes and rivers i have watched the vixen and her cubs i have been lucky in my life time to see pure albino foxes to watch the badgers, out at play to feed them peanuts from my hand what more could one want i have done it all i am at piece and content to still tell my tales from long ago about the times when things were hard and believe me they were you would run around with the arse out of your trousers, no new ones would you get only a big patch to cover your bum, holes in your socks would be repaired darned with a needle full of wool or thread your boots, or shoes, would be repaired the best they could you would rub dubbin on your boots to make them water proof there was no new cloths all those years ago only hand downs from other families that lived in our row of terraced houses, no electricity for many years only the light from the old oil lamp if you were lucky you had the gas and that was all the light we had from the mantels around the house it was my job to check the gas mantels and any needed changing was left to me gas was cheap as we lived in railway terraces i am not sure if it was not free we had loads of railway sleepers delivered every year it was my job to saw them into logs then chop some up for fire lighters when burning on the fire you could smell the tar the sleepers were full of the stuff i had to do this once a week it came before my fishing or being out at play.
But they were also good times you had respect for your elders sadly laking today you could be out all day your parents knew you were safe not like today you left your back door open for all to see and know one would enter mind you we did not have that much to steal they were happy days the schools were strict but fair if you did wrong you would be punished i can still see the head masters stick, it was frayed and split at the ends and would leave your hands blue and pinched were he had hit you the most i had was three on each hand looking back it did no harm it taught you right from wrong at times he would cane you in front of all the school at morning assembly you had to go in although you knew what was coming you stood there in the front 0f the other classes it was done as warning that what they would get if they missed behaved this was life in the forties and fifties how its changed for the better i dont know but there are some caring youngsters about. We went to school in snow hail or what ever weather came we truged the way to school with snow over our boots no time off because of no central heating we had a coke fire in the middle of the class room all our boots and jackets would hang there to dry all day untill we went home some youngster walked six or seven miles home and would be cold and hungry by the time they got there these were the days of my youth i am sorry this is not about fishing but how we lived all those years ago i am nearly seventy so it must have been about sixty years ago how time flies it only seems like yesterday. well more a bit latter.
In reply to Post #150
Things are not the same as when i was young, some times i thank god they are not i would go down to the woods and find the keepers gibbet this is where they hung all the predators they had shot or trapped you would see rats weasels stoats foxes badgers even hedgehogs otters you name it would be there in the late thirties early forties they even used pole traps which caught owls hawks and such i am really glad some of these practices have now gone. But in my younger days especially after the war a lot of the big shoots were revived as a few lay dormant throughout the war years the woods and surrounding land was full of vermin and the big shoots then produced pheasants by the thousands so they had to get rid of the vermin if you walked the hedgerows you would find tunnel trap inside the hedge or on a well worn path the animal had made, it would be the old fashioned trap with its vicious jaws they would dig a little hole place the trap in the hole after settin it they covered it with leaves or grass then put a piece of wood or piping around it the rat or stoat would run through bang they were caught mostly dead instantly the trap would be pegged down you would also find the snares put down for foxes i was with SAM when he found an old boar badger in one it had cleared all the under growth around the snare trying to get away, Sam was a bit braver than i was or ever would be, he grabbed the badger by the neck and used cutters to get it out. The snare had cut deep into the badgers neck but he put it into a sack and took it home where his wife looked after it no need to kill him young UN he would say they don t do me much damage only take a few eggs from any nests they find they were very partial to an egg or two.
Most keepers would have killed it and hung it on the gibbet you would also find poisoned eggs left on the keepers rides they were injected with poison then left until an animal or bird found it they would die instantly a lot of people lost there pet dogs and cats to this awful practice the old keepers would roll an injected egg into the badgers set which would kill it or them instantly how things have now changed for the better as far as that goes its a wonder we had any wild life left but all keepers were not the same some conserved the wild life as long as it was doing no damage but they were far and few between, the main thing was the shooting and if the birds were not there the keeper would soon get the sack he had to put a good show of birds for his boss and guests they were hard times and you could pick keepers up from far and wide so you did your job right or you would soon be out they would also be out at night looking for poachers some would come in gangs and could really handle there selves so the keepers job could be quite dangerous but they had the backing of the police and other keepers it all bolied down to money as times were very hard. well a bit more latter
Things are not the same as when i was young, some times i thank god they are not i would go down to the woods and find the keepers gibbet this is where they hung all the predators they had shot or trapped you would see rats weasels stoats foxes badgers even hedgehogs otters you name it would be there in the late thirties early forties they even used pole traps which caught owls hawks and such i am really glad some of these practices have now gone. But in my younger days especially after the war a lot of the big shoots were revived as a few lay dormant throughout the war years the woods and surrounding land was full of vermin and the big shoots then produced pheasants by the thousands so they had to get rid of the vermin if you walked the hedgerows you would find tunnel trap inside the hedge or on a well worn path the animal had made, it would be the old fashioned trap with its vicious jaws they would dig a little hole place the trap in the hole after settin it they covered it with leaves or grass then put a piece of wood or piping around it the rat or stoat would run through bang they were caught mostly dead instantly the trap would be pegged down you would also find the snares put down for foxes i was with SAM when he found an old boar badger in one it had cleared all the under growth around the snare trying to get away, Sam was a bit braver than i was or ever would be, he grabbed the badger by the neck and used cutters to get it out. The snare had cut deep into the badgers neck but he put it into a sack and took it home where his wife looked after it no need to kill him young UN he would say they don t do me much damage only take a few eggs from any nests they find they were very partial to an egg or two.
Most keepers would have killed it and hung it on the gibbet you would also find poisoned eggs left on the keepers rides they were injected with poison then left until an animal or bird found it they would die instantly a lot of people lost there pet dogs and cats to this awful practice the old keepers would roll an injected egg into the badgers set which would kill it or them instantly how things have now changed for the better as far as that goes its a wonder we had any wild life left but all keepers were not the same some conserved the wild life as long as it was doing no damage but they were far and few between, the main thing was the shooting and if the birds were not there the keeper would soon get the sack he had to put a good show of birds for his boss and guests they were hard times and you could pick keepers up from far and wide so you did your job right or you would soon be out they would also be out at night looking for poachers some would come in gangs and could really handle there selves so the keepers job could be quite dangerous but they had the backing of the police and other keepers it all bolied down to money as times were very hard. well a bit more latter
In reply to Post #151
I have fished from some funny places some very scary i have fished sitting with my back on a head stone in a church yard some of the places i have fished i have felt very uncomfortable not really liking the place, i have had the same feeling when in some woods and was always glad to move away from there. Why i don't know other places i have fished always seemed friendly i have never ever been scared of the dark its the same as day time if you know your way through the woods the only difference is it was dark some of my mates have seen ghosts it has never happened to me so i keep an open mind i have told you all about my father in law in the earlier stories he firmly believed and i have told you all before how he saw wild edric riding his horse over the hill with his band of men and the big hunting dogs they past him by riding across the stiperstones he told me there hair streamed out from under there helmets and he watched them disappear into the distance and listened to the sound of the hunting horn as they vanished from sight this was a few months before the start of the second world war it is said that wild edric is seen with his band of men if Britain is threatened with war my father in law was a sincere man a very truth full person he was a miner when i got married he had left mining because of his health he had caught the dreaded disease caused by the silica dust but i have no reason not to believe him i am convinced some people can see some things that others cant.
Like one such lake in Shropshire i was fishing birch grove at the time long before it went syndicate i was fishing with a friend called Kimberly just up the road was another lake where two of our friends were fishing they were both very level headed and not easily scared i suppose it was around 1-30 our friends turned up in a very agitated state what ever wrong we asked i will not give there names as they are still alive and would not want to embarrass either one or there familys but over a cup of tea it went like this they were really shook up they had set up on the far bank it was a wooded area they had cast out and baited up they retired to there bivies well umbrella with a cover over it they fell asleep but were awakened to the sound of there alarms going of intermittently they both went to get up and noticed just out side the bivie was a man who was pulling the line with his hand which then operated the buzzers it was a moonlight night and they could see this was no ordinary man in the moonlight his hair looked yellow and he wore skins even his foot ware was made out of skins he had a sword by his side my two mates shouted at him he turned to face them he looked a very proud man but just vanished as thought he had never existed then all hell let loose they heard the sound of fighting metal against metal the sound of horses they pulled there rods in and left every thing where it was, and came down to see us i said i would go back with them no way they would not go back until morning we packed up next morning and went back with them we bumped into the farmer and land owner on our way and asked him if ever he had heard anything yes he said a few others have had similar experiences now i can vouch for this it did happen my friends saw something that should of not been there as far as i know they never ever fished the place again it is a well known area and there are a number of burial mounds that have never been excavated as it is a protected site believe if you wish or not believe but it did happen not that i saw anything but my friends were absolutely terrified there is a lot more in heaven and earth we do not understand maybe one day we might untill then i will keep an open mind on the subject. well thats it for now more latter
I have fished from some funny places some very scary i have fished sitting with my back on a head stone in a church yard some of the places i have fished i have felt very uncomfortable not really liking the place, i have had the same feeling when in some woods and was always glad to move away from there. Why i don't know other places i have fished always seemed friendly i have never ever been scared of the dark its the same as day time if you know your way through the woods the only difference is it was dark some of my mates have seen ghosts it has never happened to me so i keep an open mind i have told you all about my father in law in the earlier stories he firmly believed and i have told you all before how he saw wild edric riding his horse over the hill with his band of men and the big hunting dogs they past him by riding across the stiperstones he told me there hair streamed out from under there helmets and he watched them disappear into the distance and listened to the sound of the hunting horn as they vanished from sight this was a few months before the start of the second world war it is said that wild edric is seen with his band of men if Britain is threatened with war my father in law was a sincere man a very truth full person he was a miner when i got married he had left mining because of his health he had caught the dreaded disease caused by the silica dust but i have no reason not to believe him i am convinced some people can see some things that others cant.
Like one such lake in Shropshire i was fishing birch grove at the time long before it went syndicate i was fishing with a friend called Kimberly just up the road was another lake where two of our friends were fishing they were both very level headed and not easily scared i suppose it was around 1-30 our friends turned up in a very agitated state what ever wrong we asked i will not give there names as they are still alive and would not want to embarrass either one or there familys but over a cup of tea it went like this they were really shook up they had set up on the far bank it was a wooded area they had cast out and baited up they retired to there bivies well umbrella with a cover over it they fell asleep but were awakened to the sound of there alarms going of intermittently they both went to get up and noticed just out side the bivie was a man who was pulling the line with his hand which then operated the buzzers it was a moonlight night and they could see this was no ordinary man in the moonlight his hair looked yellow and he wore skins even his foot ware was made out of skins he had a sword by his side my two mates shouted at him he turned to face them he looked a very proud man but just vanished as thought he had never existed then all hell let loose they heard the sound of fighting metal against metal the sound of horses they pulled there rods in and left every thing where it was, and came down to see us i said i would go back with them no way they would not go back until morning we packed up next morning and went back with them we bumped into the farmer and land owner on our way and asked him if ever he had heard anything yes he said a few others have had similar experiences now i can vouch for this it did happen my friends saw something that should of not been there as far as i know they never ever fished the place again it is a well known area and there are a number of burial mounds that have never been excavated as it is a protected site believe if you wish or not believe but it did happen not that i saw anything but my friends were absolutely terrified there is a lot more in heaven and earth we do not understand maybe one day we might untill then i will keep an open mind on the subject. well thats it for now more latter
In reply to Post #152
I had a good childhood although it was hard at times i did most things young lads of my age did wild life was a big passion then as it is now it is our heritage to keep it safe for future generations i can just hear some people say oh yes but not the otter this animal was on this earth long before us and it has roamed the English country side and swam in the river for generations its not the otters fault that its killing fish that's its life how it lives, but i do put a lot of blame for the present crisis on the individual groups the EA are partly to blame English nature is another all conservation groups, there are far to many being let go there are a good many splinter groups breeding the otter and letting them go willy nilly not taking in to consideration the availability of food, as we all know there is no control over the otter not like years ago although i did not like the hunt it did keep the otter in check, and then we had the old game keepers who would shoot one on sight if he was interfering with his game birds or the trout fishery that came under his control but today there is nothing they are much tamer than when i was youth that is because they are used to humans who have brought them up by hand feeding and have looked after them until they were old enough to fend for there selves, i cant see any sort of control in my life time i hope i am wrong but i wont hold my breath.
Enough about the otter, my life was so full when younger the fields then were full of wild flowers the bird life was amazing, so many of our birds have now gone missing birds that i took for granted when i was young there was an abundance of mistle thrushes the grey partridge the spotted fly catcher i could go on for ever i still see these birds but in the quantity like years ago i suppose you can put it down to farming practices pulling hedgerows out draining pools and such there habitat has disappeared the one that still seems to flourish is old foxy he has adapted to life in the cities and is a common sight especially after dark and we have a good healthy population in the countryside another animal that is making a good come back is the brown hair it to really suffered and was killed off by using agricultural sprays that at the time no one realized the danger of using them they really suffered and you were lucky if you even saw one, but now they are making a great come back i put a ban on our syndicate shooting them and we are starting to see a health stock which is great to see i think the rabbit population is now back to the 1950 level although you still see out breaks of myxomatosis it does not kill them all like years ago they have bred a certain immunity to this horrible disease but a few still die but not like years ago they fetch a good price at market a freind is getting three pounds each or six pounds a couple as long as they are ferreted or killed by head shots with his rifle, he has now retired, from work and can be out nearly every day ferreting or shooting at the different farms in shropshire and he really is doing a good job of work for the farmers and also making a bit of cash for his back pocket i wish i had got that much when we were doing it years ago i hope i have not bored you to much going on about our wild life as it goes hand in hand with fishing and it is up to us all to look after it for our gran kids and for the future generations. a little bit more latter
I had a good childhood although it was hard at times i did most things young lads of my age did wild life was a big passion then as it is now it is our heritage to keep it safe for future generations i can just hear some people say oh yes but not the otter this animal was on this earth long before us and it has roamed the English country side and swam in the river for generations its not the otters fault that its killing fish that's its life how it lives, but i do put a lot of blame for the present crisis on the individual groups the EA are partly to blame English nature is another all conservation groups, there are far to many being let go there are a good many splinter groups breeding the otter and letting them go willy nilly not taking in to consideration the availability of food, as we all know there is no control over the otter not like years ago although i did not like the hunt it did keep the otter in check, and then we had the old game keepers who would shoot one on sight if he was interfering with his game birds or the trout fishery that came under his control but today there is nothing they are much tamer than when i was youth that is because they are used to humans who have brought them up by hand feeding and have looked after them until they were old enough to fend for there selves, i cant see any sort of control in my life time i hope i am wrong but i wont hold my breath.
Enough about the otter, my life was so full when younger the fields then were full of wild flowers the bird life was amazing, so many of our birds have now gone missing birds that i took for granted when i was young there was an abundance of mistle thrushes the grey partridge the spotted fly catcher i could go on for ever i still see these birds but in the quantity like years ago i suppose you can put it down to farming practices pulling hedgerows out draining pools and such there habitat has disappeared the one that still seems to flourish is old foxy he has adapted to life in the cities and is a common sight especially after dark and we have a good healthy population in the countryside another animal that is making a good come back is the brown hair it to really suffered and was killed off by using agricultural sprays that at the time no one realized the danger of using them they really suffered and you were lucky if you even saw one, but now they are making a great come back i put a ban on our syndicate shooting them and we are starting to see a health stock which is great to see i think the rabbit population is now back to the 1950 level although you still see out breaks of myxomatosis it does not kill them all like years ago they have bred a certain immunity to this horrible disease but a few still die but not like years ago they fetch a good price at market a freind is getting three pounds each or six pounds a couple as long as they are ferreted or killed by head shots with his rifle, he has now retired, from work and can be out nearly every day ferreting or shooting at the different farms in shropshire and he really is doing a good job of work for the farmers and also making a bit of cash for his back pocket i wish i had got that much when we were doing it years ago i hope i have not bored you to much going on about our wild life as it goes hand in hand with fishing and it is up to us all to look after it for our gran kids and for the future generations. a little bit more latter
In reply to Post #153
i was in to everything when i was young it was a bit of a shock when i left school, we had moved back to the village of my birth Bayston hill the year was 1957 i started work as a butcher boy but it was not for me i worked with butcher called williams for the coop he was a nasty old character and punched me around quite a bit i think he thought he was a boxer but it was me he was punching so my job with him did not last that long i went to light the water heater this one morning two minutes past and there was a big explosion the heater blew straight off the wall and through the ceiling he blamed me he went to punch me so i gave him one well i nutted him that was the end of that the fire service was there and the police, i walked out telling him where to stick his job i ended up working for a big firm called C J pierces of dawley they put sewer pipes in, i started as a tea boy i was on sixteen pounds a week at the age of sixteen i earned twice as much as my father it was well paid they were all Irish navies but i got on well with them i eventual;y ended up working in the trenches my money went up to twenty pounds a week it was a lot of money i could afford to get new fishing tackle i still did my share of poaching the pheasants and the Irish lads would order one for Christmas it was a marvelous firm although you had to work hard the Foreman was a Irish man call mac Phillips, every one used to be scared by him he would shout at the laborers get your backs bent i would laugh at him what y laughing at young man he would say, you i would answer he would fall about laughing at least you don't seem to worry about me, they were terrible if they got rained off it was straight to the local pub god did they drink they would take me with them it usually ended up with them fighting falling out between there, selves there were three pubs on the village and some of the landlords would not let them in well they were banned but i love them they were very good to me.
At week ends usually Sundays i would be off fishing i would fish the big lake that was in the middle of the woods which was known as the sarn but in fact it was Bomere it was called the sarn because it appeared in the classic movie gone to earth by Mary Webb it was strictly private and well keepered i would fish under the keepers nose his name was Gerry Haiz there was also a number of under keepers it was a huge shoot the other head keeper was old Frank Bell from condover i would fish the smaller lake Showmere just below the keepers cottage i would hide in the undergrowth and float fish i would catch bream after bream they were only about four pounds but they looked huge to me the Rudd used to grow quite big you could not get your hand around them but you had to wade through the small ones first i had a few near escape from there, none of the locals would go near the place, just behind the lake was a big release pen it was full of pheasants how many they put down i don't know but it was in the thousands i have told you all i would have a few away using fishing line with a current or sultana on the hook the birds could not resist them i would kill the ones i caught and put them in the old post bag which i also used for my fishing i had the best of two worlds i caught the fish and the pheasents in the same session they were lovely days and i still have some happy memories i really wonder what the owners would say if they saw it now as things have changed so much over the years. well thats it for now more latter
i was in to everything when i was young it was a bit of a shock when i left school, we had moved back to the village of my birth Bayston hill the year was 1957 i started work as a butcher boy but it was not for me i worked with butcher called williams for the coop he was a nasty old character and punched me around quite a bit i think he thought he was a boxer but it was me he was punching so my job with him did not last that long i went to light the water heater this one morning two minutes past and there was a big explosion the heater blew straight off the wall and through the ceiling he blamed me he went to punch me so i gave him one well i nutted him that was the end of that the fire service was there and the police, i walked out telling him where to stick his job i ended up working for a big firm called C J pierces of dawley they put sewer pipes in, i started as a tea boy i was on sixteen pounds a week at the age of sixteen i earned twice as much as my father it was well paid they were all Irish navies but i got on well with them i eventual;y ended up working in the trenches my money went up to twenty pounds a week it was a lot of money i could afford to get new fishing tackle i still did my share of poaching the pheasants and the Irish lads would order one for Christmas it was a marvelous firm although you had to work hard the Foreman was a Irish man call mac Phillips, every one used to be scared by him he would shout at the laborers get your backs bent i would laugh at him what y laughing at young man he would say, you i would answer he would fall about laughing at least you don't seem to worry about me, they were terrible if they got rained off it was straight to the local pub god did they drink they would take me with them it usually ended up with them fighting falling out between there, selves there were three pubs on the village and some of the landlords would not let them in well they were banned but i love them they were very good to me.
At week ends usually Sundays i would be off fishing i would fish the big lake that was in the middle of the woods which was known as the sarn but in fact it was Bomere it was called the sarn because it appeared in the classic movie gone to earth by Mary Webb it was strictly private and well keepered i would fish under the keepers nose his name was Gerry Haiz there was also a number of under keepers it was a huge shoot the other head keeper was old Frank Bell from condover i would fish the smaller lake Showmere just below the keepers cottage i would hide in the undergrowth and float fish i would catch bream after bream they were only about four pounds but they looked huge to me the Rudd used to grow quite big you could not get your hand around them but you had to wade through the small ones first i had a few near escape from there, none of the locals would go near the place, just behind the lake was a big release pen it was full of pheasants how many they put down i don't know but it was in the thousands i have told you all i would have a few away using fishing line with a current or sultana on the hook the birds could not resist them i would kill the ones i caught and put them in the old post bag which i also used for my fishing i had the best of two worlds i caught the fish and the pheasents in the same session they were lovely days and i still have some happy memories i really wonder what the owners would say if they saw it now as things have changed so much over the years. well thats it for now more latter
In reply to Post #154
Fishing the river Severn in those far off days was wonderful the river was full of roach chub there was no barbel then we had some good days catching dace i suppose i was around fifteen years old when i first started fishing the severn seriously i would cycle down to the grey friars bridge in shrews bury and ledger for the big roach, i had got an apollo taper-flash as well as my tank aerials plus my built cane rod which was an all in one job with different tops it was made by hardy until of late i had still got some of the sections we would use bread paste molded around a size eight hook or even a size twelve thinking back the year was around 1957 a fair time ago we would leave our rods against the railings that over looked the river and watched the top of the rod for a bite at first i was not very successful but there was an old boy who always fished from there he was mustard the top would flicker and he was on the rod strike he had some whooping roach i used to watch him for hours no good watching me young man get that rod out there that's the only way to learn and i did i started to get a few fish it was so different than today the bailiff would come around he was so helpful he use to have a big alsatian with him it was his soul companion as in those days there was only him and he had miles of water to look after the salmon fishing in those days was excellent and he had to keep his eye out for poaching.
I also liked to trot down the river for the dace it was full of these little silver fish you were lucky if you ever caught one over a pound they were mostly around 8oz to 12oz but great fishing i would use a little cork float the smallest hook you could buy i used an old wooden centre pin it was not that good but it did the job i also used the Mitchell 300 i would throw handful of maggots in and let the float, follow them down it would get to the end of the glide and away it would go dipping under the surface strike and you would be in it was not unusual to catch twenty or thirty pounds of dace in a session real good fishing the maggots were cheep in those days two shillings and sixpence would buy you as many as you needed you got people fishing the river but not like today it was never crowded some of the anglers i knew all had motor bikes and they would take me on there pillion two baskets on my back plus the rods but i loved it and made many friends we would go for miles we fished at atcham and would ledger for the chub with big chunks of cheese we had wonderful days i don't think i caught a chub over three pounds but to us they were huge another thing we did was fish for the eels at night using big bunches of lob worms we would only fish until about one in the morning but could easily catch ten or twelve eels they were eaten in those days so i would always take a few home for our neighbors and our selves some times you would hook a salmon if you were lucky you may land him you should of returned the fish but you were away home you could sell it to a local hotel and get a few pounds for your back pocket . well a bit more latter
Fishing the river Severn in those far off days was wonderful the river was full of roach chub there was no barbel then we had some good days catching dace i suppose i was around fifteen years old when i first started fishing the severn seriously i would cycle down to the grey friars bridge in shrews bury and ledger for the big roach, i had got an apollo taper-flash as well as my tank aerials plus my built cane rod which was an all in one job with different tops it was made by hardy until of late i had still got some of the sections we would use bread paste molded around a size eight hook or even a size twelve thinking back the year was around 1957 a fair time ago we would leave our rods against the railings that over looked the river and watched the top of the rod for a bite at first i was not very successful but there was an old boy who always fished from there he was mustard the top would flicker and he was on the rod strike he had some whooping roach i used to watch him for hours no good watching me young man get that rod out there that's the only way to learn and i did i started to get a few fish it was so different than today the bailiff would come around he was so helpful he use to have a big alsatian with him it was his soul companion as in those days there was only him and he had miles of water to look after the salmon fishing in those days was excellent and he had to keep his eye out for poaching.
I also liked to trot down the river for the dace it was full of these little silver fish you were lucky if you ever caught one over a pound they were mostly around 8oz to 12oz but great fishing i would use a little cork float the smallest hook you could buy i used an old wooden centre pin it was not that good but it did the job i also used the Mitchell 300 i would throw handful of maggots in and let the float, follow them down it would get to the end of the glide and away it would go dipping under the surface strike and you would be in it was not unusual to catch twenty or thirty pounds of dace in a session real good fishing the maggots were cheep in those days two shillings and sixpence would buy you as many as you needed you got people fishing the river but not like today it was never crowded some of the anglers i knew all had motor bikes and they would take me on there pillion two baskets on my back plus the rods but i loved it and made many friends we would go for miles we fished at atcham and would ledger for the chub with big chunks of cheese we had wonderful days i don't think i caught a chub over three pounds but to us they were huge another thing we did was fish for the eels at night using big bunches of lob worms we would only fish until about one in the morning but could easily catch ten or twelve eels they were eaten in those days so i would always take a few home for our neighbors and our selves some times you would hook a salmon if you were lucky you may land him you should of returned the fish but you were away home you could sell it to a local hotel and get a few pounds for your back pocket . well a bit more latter
In reply to Post #155
In those days i would cycle to Atcham hide my bike and fish Attingham park the water was part of the river Tern i would catch some lovely roach and chub the problem was it was heavily keeper like most big estates at the time. There was a lot of deer poaching going on they would arrive in gangs and set dogs on the poor beasts the injuries were terrible it is something that really revolts me it is cruel and barbaric but it was down to the money they could make i have already told you in part one of my stories how i had to swim to get away one particular night. A number of years latter i had a few invites to shoot at the place and the keeper told me off an incident where a deer was running around with a cross bow bolt through its neck although i shoot i was horrified what pain that animal must of been in and these individuals call it sport.
There was another estate just north of shrews bury i used to fish i will not mention its name but some who read my stories and are locals will know where i mean, none of my mates would go near the place as it had a number of keepers you will get caught they would say but i was lucky and never did in those days i always carried a catapult with me there were pheasants every where you looked i would hide my bike and ford the river you could only do this if the river was very low i would skirt around the big house and end up beside the lake it was fringed all the way around with big reed beds the pheasants were that tame i would shoot a couple with my catapult and put them in the old post bag i would have to be very careful where i fished from as i did not want to be discovered there was a big old oak that had fallen down i would walk across the tree then into the reed beds, it was not to bad only a bit muddy i would float fish using bread and maggot i would chuck out a bit of ground bait i had brought with me it consisted of mashed bread and boiled mashed potatoes it really worked mind you i don't think the lake had ever been fished it was full of Tench i would catch them to four pounds a beautiful green colour i got broke on a few occasions i put this down to carp how things have changed you can now fish the lake as long as your a member of the syndicate there are still keepers on the estate and they still have some very big shooting days.
I suppose i really started to get a bit greedy i would take along my trusted air rifle the birds were so tame i would shoot a dozen in no time i got to know another lad on my village who owned a car he liked a bit of poaching Christmas would come around and we would be away as soon as it was dark he would hold the lamp and i would do the shooting it was better than strapping the light to the barrel of the gun we would shoot dozens like this and made a bob or two for our back pockets, but this one night the keepers twigged we were there the police were also present so the chase was on we hid the gun and the bag with the pheasant in and made it back to the car we sat there for some time until it had quietend down then we fetched the gun and birds, it was not the first or the last time i got chased from that estate over the years but times were still quite hard and we needed the money and a few pheasants for the family and neighbors well a bit more latter
In those days i would cycle to Atcham hide my bike and fish Attingham park the water was part of the river Tern i would catch some lovely roach and chub the problem was it was heavily keeper like most big estates at the time. There was a lot of deer poaching going on they would arrive in gangs and set dogs on the poor beasts the injuries were terrible it is something that really revolts me it is cruel and barbaric but it was down to the money they could make i have already told you in part one of my stories how i had to swim to get away one particular night. A number of years latter i had a few invites to shoot at the place and the keeper told me off an incident where a deer was running around with a cross bow bolt through its neck although i shoot i was horrified what pain that animal must of been in and these individuals call it sport.
There was another estate just north of shrews bury i used to fish i will not mention its name but some who read my stories and are locals will know where i mean, none of my mates would go near the place as it had a number of keepers you will get caught they would say but i was lucky and never did in those days i always carried a catapult with me there were pheasants every where you looked i would hide my bike and ford the river you could only do this if the river was very low i would skirt around the big house and end up beside the lake it was fringed all the way around with big reed beds the pheasants were that tame i would shoot a couple with my catapult and put them in the old post bag i would have to be very careful where i fished from as i did not want to be discovered there was a big old oak that had fallen down i would walk across the tree then into the reed beds, it was not to bad only a bit muddy i would float fish using bread and maggot i would chuck out a bit of ground bait i had brought with me it consisted of mashed bread and boiled mashed potatoes it really worked mind you i don't think the lake had ever been fished it was full of Tench i would catch them to four pounds a beautiful green colour i got broke on a few occasions i put this down to carp how things have changed you can now fish the lake as long as your a member of the syndicate there are still keepers on the estate and they still have some very big shooting days.
I suppose i really started to get a bit greedy i would take along my trusted air rifle the birds were so tame i would shoot a dozen in no time i got to know another lad on my village who owned a car he liked a bit of poaching Christmas would come around and we would be away as soon as it was dark he would hold the lamp and i would do the shooting it was better than strapping the light to the barrel of the gun we would shoot dozens like this and made a bob or two for our back pockets, but this one night the keepers twigged we were there the police were also present so the chase was on we hid the gun and the bag with the pheasant in and made it back to the car we sat there for some time until it had quietend down then we fetched the gun and birds, it was not the first or the last time i got chased from that estate over the years but times were still quite hard and we needed the money and a few pheasants for the family and neighbors well a bit more latter
In reply to Post #156
The north easterly wind was bitter as we made our way across the fields to the old fir woods i pulled my coat around me the weather had been like this for at least two week the farmer had been complaining about the wood pigeons that had been feeding on his crops last season the woods were full and they were finding it difficult to find any kale or sprout tops to feed on the farmer grew crops to eat as well as kale and turnips for animal feed he wanted to thin them out and asked if we would oblige, i could hardly refuse as he had given us permission to fish the pools on his ground, it was so cold graham and his brother shivered we should of been at home not standing at the edge of some old fir wood waiting for the arrival of the pigeons as they came into roost in the distance we caught sight of old foxy making his way across the distant field maybe looking for a free meal from home farm where the hens roamed free. the pigeons appeared getting blown around on the cold easterly wind, i took a right and left my dog blaze stood by my side until i told him to go find he dropped the pigeons at my feet i shot another five when i noticed the snow had frozen to the dogs front paws i tried to clean it off but it was solid. the pigeons looked emancipated you could see there breast bone there was no meat on them at all, i was not carrying on like this the birds were starving i called graham he was like minded we collected our gear and made our way back a across the fields to grahams land rover his brother was limping badly what we did not know at the time was he had frost bite in his toes my old lab blaze was not much better i had to lift him into the land rover we had to thaw my poor dog out he was OK i don't think it did any of us that much good the wind was bitter it even froze my eye lashes never again but you never learn i have pike fished in similar weather when the lakes were not frozen but the wind was cold grahams brother ended up in hospital for treatment on his toes it must have been very cold to get through this boots .
Two weeks latter we stood under the old hawthorn hedge waiting for the big skeins of canadian geese the weather had now mellowed but the wind was still chilly but once again the farmer wanted the geese shot owing to damage they had done earlier on in the year it was not the same farmer, we tried to keep them all happy but we would not make much difference to these geese they came in there hundreds we would only shoot a dozen or so between us as that is all i could get rid off its not every body that likes wild geese but some of the older generation had survived on this sort of food in the war years and after. We took what we wanted it was late January and we were pike fishing on the big lake Sunday morning we awoke to quite a bad frost but arriving at the water it was not frozen solid there was few areas open we fished with dead bait it was so cold we shiverd, and by dinner time we had just about enought we had landed sixteen pike the biggest only sixteen pounds but worth the effort we made our way back through the farm yard getting to our car we loaded our rods and bags and made our way to our local pub the fox we sat before a roaring fire with a pint of the best in our hands a great way to end our day as we talked and dreamt of things to come. more latter
The north easterly wind was bitter as we made our way across the fields to the old fir woods i pulled my coat around me the weather had been like this for at least two week the farmer had been complaining about the wood pigeons that had been feeding on his crops last season the woods were full and they were finding it difficult to find any kale or sprout tops to feed on the farmer grew crops to eat as well as kale and turnips for animal feed he wanted to thin them out and asked if we would oblige, i could hardly refuse as he had given us permission to fish the pools on his ground, it was so cold graham and his brother shivered we should of been at home not standing at the edge of some old fir wood waiting for the arrival of the pigeons as they came into roost in the distance we caught sight of old foxy making his way across the distant field maybe looking for a free meal from home farm where the hens roamed free. the pigeons appeared getting blown around on the cold easterly wind, i took a right and left my dog blaze stood by my side until i told him to go find he dropped the pigeons at my feet i shot another five when i noticed the snow had frozen to the dogs front paws i tried to clean it off but it was solid. the pigeons looked emancipated you could see there breast bone there was no meat on them at all, i was not carrying on like this the birds were starving i called graham he was like minded we collected our gear and made our way back a across the fields to grahams land rover his brother was limping badly what we did not know at the time was he had frost bite in his toes my old lab blaze was not much better i had to lift him into the land rover we had to thaw my poor dog out he was OK i don't think it did any of us that much good the wind was bitter it even froze my eye lashes never again but you never learn i have pike fished in similar weather when the lakes were not frozen but the wind was cold grahams brother ended up in hospital for treatment on his toes it must have been very cold to get through this boots .
Two weeks latter we stood under the old hawthorn hedge waiting for the big skeins of canadian geese the weather had now mellowed but the wind was still chilly but once again the farmer wanted the geese shot owing to damage they had done earlier on in the year it was not the same farmer, we tried to keep them all happy but we would not make much difference to these geese they came in there hundreds we would only shoot a dozen or so between us as that is all i could get rid off its not every body that likes wild geese but some of the older generation had survived on this sort of food in the war years and after. We took what we wanted it was late January and we were pike fishing on the big lake Sunday morning we awoke to quite a bad frost but arriving at the water it was not frozen solid there was few areas open we fished with dead bait it was so cold we shiverd, and by dinner time we had just about enought we had landed sixteen pike the biggest only sixteen pounds but worth the effort we made our way back through the farm yard getting to our car we loaded our rods and bags and made our way to our local pub the fox we sat before a roaring fire with a pint of the best in our hands a great way to end our day as we talked and dreamt of things to come. more latter
In reply to Post #157
It was in the early eighties i discovered a new fox earth bordering the old quarry as far as i could see she had quite a big family in all i counted six cubs they would certainly take some looking after so i decided i would film them over the next few months and watch the highs and lows of this family a couple of friends were quite interested and wanted to tag a long my old friend Bern was one such friend Rodger was another the one field above the earth had been used quite a lot the cubs had been playing in the long grass and they had nearly rolled it flat so the week after saw myself and Rodger set up just above the earth lying in the long grass with my camcorder set up on a tripod, we did not have to wait long to see them out and playing i got some rather good footage over the next two weeks the vixen would drop the occasional rabbit and we would watch as they played tug of war pulling the rabbit one way then the other there were six cubs the one was very small i suspected he or she was the runt of the litter.
Its strange really i suspected all was not right with the litter for some reason they disappeared they were not now playing on the field some thing was wrong or so i thought so Rodger and i decided to investigate i did not want to leave to much human scent because if they were still there the vixen may move them on, as i walked down the bank i caught sight of one of the cubs lying on its side he was dead bloody hell Rodger those were my exact words some , ones killed them but i could only find the one and it was the runt of the litter it had been bitten quite severely maybe dogs i thought but where are the others i must admit i really felt low and upset at the thought some one may of ended their lives so young, so it was with a heavy heart we made our way home the next day i decided i would investigate some more in the company of Bernard we would have a look at the earth which was situated in the old hawthorn hedge in some old rabbit holes, we lay down by an old five bar gate and waited just below the hay field where they had played before, bless me i need not of worried they had rolled the undergrowth flat under the hedge row i saw movement in the nettles and out stepped a beautiful cub i was over the moon in fact there were four others they walked across the hedge row to the five bar gate to where we lay hidden and not once did they suspect we were there. We watched for a further two months the vixen would bring food twice a day it varied from rabbit hedgehog to chicken which i, presumed it had got from Bomere farm in fact over the next few weeks they got quite tame i am sure they knew we were there and would show them selves close up by June they were quite big and the vixen did not visit as much it was time for them to leave and survive on there own i remember turning up this one day but they had gone probably they had made there way into one of the many rape or corn fields we never saw them again but we had so much pleasure watching the heights and lows of this family . Over the weeks i took quite a few with me and it was quite an education for them as most had never seen a fox or cubs. well a bit more latter
It was in the early eighties i discovered a new fox earth bordering the old quarry as far as i could see she had quite a big family in all i counted six cubs they would certainly take some looking after so i decided i would film them over the next few months and watch the highs and lows of this family a couple of friends were quite interested and wanted to tag a long my old friend Bern was one such friend Rodger was another the one field above the earth had been used quite a lot the cubs had been playing in the long grass and they had nearly rolled it flat so the week after saw myself and Rodger set up just above the earth lying in the long grass with my camcorder set up on a tripod, we did not have to wait long to see them out and playing i got some rather good footage over the next two weeks the vixen would drop the occasional rabbit and we would watch as they played tug of war pulling the rabbit one way then the other there were six cubs the one was very small i suspected he or she was the runt of the litter.
Its strange really i suspected all was not right with the litter for some reason they disappeared they were not now playing on the field some thing was wrong or so i thought so Rodger and i decided to investigate i did not want to leave to much human scent because if they were still there the vixen may move them on, as i walked down the bank i caught sight of one of the cubs lying on its side he was dead bloody hell Rodger those were my exact words some , ones killed them but i could only find the one and it was the runt of the litter it had been bitten quite severely maybe dogs i thought but where are the others i must admit i really felt low and upset at the thought some one may of ended their lives so young, so it was with a heavy heart we made our way home the next day i decided i would investigate some more in the company of Bernard we would have a look at the earth which was situated in the old hawthorn hedge in some old rabbit holes, we lay down by an old five bar gate and waited just below the hay field where they had played before, bless me i need not of worried they had rolled the undergrowth flat under the hedge row i saw movement in the nettles and out stepped a beautiful cub i was over the moon in fact there were four others they walked across the hedge row to the five bar gate to where we lay hidden and not once did they suspect we were there. We watched for a further two months the vixen would bring food twice a day it varied from rabbit hedgehog to chicken which i, presumed it had got from Bomere farm in fact over the next few weeks they got quite tame i am sure they knew we were there and would show them selves close up by June they were quite big and the vixen did not visit as much it was time for them to leave and survive on there own i remember turning up this one day but they had gone probably they had made there way into one of the many rape or corn fields we never saw them again but we had so much pleasure watching the heights and lows of this family . Over the weeks i took quite a few with me and it was quite an education for them as most had never seen a fox or cubs. well a bit more latter
In reply to Post #158
What a privillage that must of been for you Pete, Brilliant stuff!
What a privillage that must of been for you Pete, Brilliant stuff!
In reply to Post #159
Thanks ash for your kind remarks much appreciated
Thanks ash for your kind remarks much appreciated
In reply to Post #158
I was always up the fields or down the woods although fishing was my main hobby i loved wild life i loved to see the badgers they would be huddled all together on the meadow looking for worms they got quite used to myself and grahams presence at night when we were out with the rifle after the rabbits, when i used to bivie up on the big lake you would quite often hear them at the back of your bi-vie it could be quite of putting if you did not know what was making the noise. At one time going back a few years i would scatter a few peanuts ,just out side the bi vie they would be soon sniffing around i got them quite tame and they were not scared at all the problem was they would spray my boots with musk i thought foxes were bad enough but badgers really made me stink i was banned out of the house until i had a shower and change of cloths but i did not mind they are lovely creatures they are a communal animal only one boar living with the sows and a number of youngsters i have had eight on nine badgers playing out while i just sat and watched, the one sow would bring her youngsters out of the set usually about five it was great watching them slide down the bank just like children, i do wonder how they are going to get on in the wake of the cull. Its all been done before they gassed them all in summerset parts of Devon and Cornwall it made no difference the cattle still caught bovine TB i have my own theories on the problem, they can now inoculate why not try and see if that will work with out annihilating them all. Since they were protected the species have really increased and i suppose you could say there far to many but i love to see them then country side will be a worse place without them.
The one set has at least ninety holes now that a lot the farmer was not very happy as the badgers had eroded his fields and the tractor had got stuck a few times its wheel went through into one of the many tunnels he used to get very angry about them i know the badger society removed some of the culprits by catching them in a trap and taking them else where but a few miles away was no good, they were back with a few days i think the farmer has now given up as there is only so much that can be done this set has been in existence well before i was born its really incredible to think how many badger have been born there, i can't believe its nearly autumn some of the leaves are on the change and even falling off in the high winds it certainly has come around so quickly it does not seem five minutes since last year the older you get the quicker it goes there is talk about another bad winter there are good crops of berries and hazel nuts around loads of black berries some of the holy tree,s have been covered in berries so the birds will now feed and gorge there selves getting ready for the coming winter. well a bit more latter
I was always up the fields or down the woods although fishing was my main hobby i loved wild life i loved to see the badgers they would be huddled all together on the meadow looking for worms they got quite used to myself and grahams presence at night when we were out with the rifle after the rabbits, when i used to bivie up on the big lake you would quite often hear them at the back of your bi-vie it could be quite of putting if you did not know what was making the noise. At one time going back a few years i would scatter a few peanuts ,just out side the bi vie they would be soon sniffing around i got them quite tame and they were not scared at all the problem was they would spray my boots with musk i thought foxes were bad enough but badgers really made me stink i was banned out of the house until i had a shower and change of cloths but i did not mind they are lovely creatures they are a communal animal only one boar living with the sows and a number of youngsters i have had eight on nine badgers playing out while i just sat and watched, the one sow would bring her youngsters out of the set usually about five it was great watching them slide down the bank just like children, i do wonder how they are going to get on in the wake of the cull. Its all been done before they gassed them all in summerset parts of Devon and Cornwall it made no difference the cattle still caught bovine TB i have my own theories on the problem, they can now inoculate why not try and see if that will work with out annihilating them all. Since they were protected the species have really increased and i suppose you could say there far to many but i love to see them then country side will be a worse place without them.
The one set has at least ninety holes now that a lot the farmer was not very happy as the badgers had eroded his fields and the tractor had got stuck a few times its wheel went through into one of the many tunnels he used to get very angry about them i know the badger society removed some of the culprits by catching them in a trap and taking them else where but a few miles away was no good, they were back with a few days i think the farmer has now given up as there is only so much that can be done this set has been in existence well before i was born its really incredible to think how many badger have been born there, i can't believe its nearly autumn some of the leaves are on the change and even falling off in the high winds it certainly has come around so quickly it does not seem five minutes since last year the older you get the quicker it goes there is talk about another bad winter there are good crops of berries and hazel nuts around loads of black berries some of the holy tree,s have been covered in berries so the birds will now feed and gorge there selves getting ready for the coming winter. well a bit more latter
In reply to Post #161
I would only be about ten years old i would roam the fields and woods i had an old Diana air rifle it was not that powerful but it would bring a pheasant down i walked many miles with that old gun and i suppose i got quite good it was very accurate when i went up to sam's he would go and shoot the rooks with it for his rook pie, he made it a bit more powerful i think he altered the spring no one ever knew but me i carried it every where, there were pheasants in every wood and field as all the estates bred them. I can remember seeing the rearing field old SAM lived there when there were chicks about he had a little hut he eat slept in it, he would go home then, back again his wife would bring his dinner up for him it must have been very lonely for her living in the cottage in those woods by her self while SAM was on the rearing field, there would be lines of coups with a broody hen sitting on the eggs where they got the Broody's from i don't know but there was at least a hundred SAM would guard them with his life, he slept with his gun and anything that threatened those birds he shot it was his lively hood and if he did not produce the pheasants in season he would be soon out of work.
i also roamed for miles up the river onny and its tributaries just me and my rod i would spin the different pools catching the beautiful brown trout in those days there was an abundance of wild life i would sit for hours watching the kingfisher dive for the minnows to feed her young brood, she had a hole in the bank a bit further up the river you would see the little dipper running through the rapids more or less under water funny little birds but when i was young they were quite a common sight the sand martins would have there nests in the many holes in the river bank there would be hundreds in the breeding season a bit latter on the otter hounds would be around the men would walk through the water up to there waist they had about twelve dogs they were known as the otter hounds it was not for me the water would turn red when they killed the animal but this is the way it was at times i would meet the hunt on my travels the ladies would be dressed in black with long skirts and would ride side saddle some of the men would be dressed in red or black bloody hell they were posh they caught me one day in the woods what are you doing here young man well it went something like that i tried to explain i was at Sam's but they would have none of it and said they would get the police man but SAM arrived on the scene and saved me i had a telling off from old SAM saying i should not have been in the woods without him but it went in one ear and out the other SAM would say your about as bone headed as that dog he takes no notice and he would burst out laughing his wife would say leave that young alone but he would just smile to him self.
He was a great old character and i learned so much from him he would show me the partridges nest and how to find it in the bottom hedgerows you could soon walk passed it they were that well camouflaged how to find the pheasants nest there was never a dull moment i would on occasions go rabbiting with him he would take his old gun and ferrets he would net some holes and leave other open any that bolted from the open holes he shot some he netted he was a good shot and rarely missed but he was brought up with a gun in his hands and it went every where with him he would not do to much rabbiting as the estate employed some fellow full time catching the rabbits they made quite a bit of revenue out of them i think a lot went to london birmingham and the cities or else where. They would hang out side the game shops in there hundreds people lived on them in those days they fetched about sixpence each but it was a cheep meal, but it would not last very long as the myxomatosis reared its ugly head well there we go a bit more latter.
I would only be about ten years old i would roam the fields and woods i had an old Diana air rifle it was not that powerful but it would bring a pheasant down i walked many miles with that old gun and i suppose i got quite good it was very accurate when i went up to sam's he would go and shoot the rooks with it for his rook pie, he made it a bit more powerful i think he altered the spring no one ever knew but me i carried it every where, there were pheasants in every wood and field as all the estates bred them. I can remember seeing the rearing field old SAM lived there when there were chicks about he had a little hut he eat slept in it, he would go home then, back again his wife would bring his dinner up for him it must have been very lonely for her living in the cottage in those woods by her self while SAM was on the rearing field, there would be lines of coups with a broody hen sitting on the eggs where they got the Broody's from i don't know but there was at least a hundred SAM would guard them with his life, he slept with his gun and anything that threatened those birds he shot it was his lively hood and if he did not produce the pheasants in season he would be soon out of work.
i also roamed for miles up the river onny and its tributaries just me and my rod i would spin the different pools catching the beautiful brown trout in those days there was an abundance of wild life i would sit for hours watching the kingfisher dive for the minnows to feed her young brood, she had a hole in the bank a bit further up the river you would see the little dipper running through the rapids more or less under water funny little birds but when i was young they were quite a common sight the sand martins would have there nests in the many holes in the river bank there would be hundreds in the breeding season a bit latter on the otter hounds would be around the men would walk through the water up to there waist they had about twelve dogs they were known as the otter hounds it was not for me the water would turn red when they killed the animal but this is the way it was at times i would meet the hunt on my travels the ladies would be dressed in black with long skirts and would ride side saddle some of the men would be dressed in red or black bloody hell they were posh they caught me one day in the woods what are you doing here young man well it went something like that i tried to explain i was at Sam's but they would have none of it and said they would get the police man but SAM arrived on the scene and saved me i had a telling off from old SAM saying i should not have been in the woods without him but it went in one ear and out the other SAM would say your about as bone headed as that dog he takes no notice and he would burst out laughing his wife would say leave that young alone but he would just smile to him self.
He was a great old character and i learned so much from him he would show me the partridges nest and how to find it in the bottom hedgerows you could soon walk passed it they were that well camouflaged how to find the pheasants nest there was never a dull moment i would on occasions go rabbiting with him he would take his old gun and ferrets he would net some holes and leave other open any that bolted from the open holes he shot some he netted he was a good shot and rarely missed but he was brought up with a gun in his hands and it went every where with him he would not do to much rabbiting as the estate employed some fellow full time catching the rabbits they made quite a bit of revenue out of them i think a lot went to london birmingham and the cities or else where. They would hang out side the game shops in there hundreds people lived on them in those days they fetched about sixpence each but it was a cheep meal, but it would not last very long as the myxomatosis reared its ugly head well there we go a bit more latter.
In reply to Post #162
I loved birds nesting i would be away all day looking for nests climbing trees ripping the arse out of my trousers it was a grand child hood i would clime to the buzzards nest the kestrel and the sparrow hawk the kestrel would lay her eggs in an old crows nest i was never afraid of heights in fact i was quite a good climber i could shin up a tree with no branches or clime the rocks for the jackdaws eggs if the nest was there i would clime to it i know one thing i could not do it now to big in the belly and my legs don't work i would clime to the crows and the rooks nest i would only take one egg from each nest i would carry a pin making a hole each end of the egg then blow the yoke out i had a big collection in those days but today it is illegal to take birds eggs, i got to know a couple of chaps in those days who caught wild birds the gold finch, linnet, bullfinch, siskins, you name it they had it they would make bird lime the birds would stick to it they would smear it on thistle tops and such they would breed with these birds in a big Avery then ring the youngsters and let the adults go some times they would let a few youngsters go if they had to many they would cross the linnet with a border canary the young males were called mules they sang beautifully it was a bit hush hush and they would not tell you that much i know they used traps as well as i found them in the hedge rows i asked if i could go with them but they always answered no i suppose they only had them selves to look after and could not be bothered with a Youngster in tow.
There was always something to do i used to fish old farmer bagots land he was a funny old chap and he let all his part of the river to some of the big fly fishing clubs one such club was the Shropshire fly fishers they would be one side the river i the other side they would be fly fishing i would be worming they did not like this at all i must admit i did not make a habit of this as they would shout and tell you it was private they would nearly blow a fuse if you caught one under there noses saying they would fetch the police man but being a nimble youth i would be away before it ever came to that but i did most of my poaching early morning or late evening when no one was about we did have the policeman call but he usually went away laughing and feeling a bit jolly after mum or dad had plied him with elderberry or damson whine my parents made quite a bit of the stuff it would be in the cupboard in old dusty bottles dad never drank so who had it god knows friends and neighbours i would think there was only two policemen on the village who were kept quite busy chasing petty crime IE poaching and such i don't think we heard much about robbers in those days we left our back door open all hours nothing would go missing in fact things turned up a loaf of bread eggs even butter your neighbours shared if they had to much, we did the same but those days have long gone you could not leave your door open today but they were great days we did not have that much but what we did have was respect and love for your fellow neighbor and friends. well a bit more latter
I loved birds nesting i would be away all day looking for nests climbing trees ripping the arse out of my trousers it was a grand child hood i would clime to the buzzards nest the kestrel and the sparrow hawk the kestrel would lay her eggs in an old crows nest i was never afraid of heights in fact i was quite a good climber i could shin up a tree with no branches or clime the rocks for the jackdaws eggs if the nest was there i would clime to it i know one thing i could not do it now to big in the belly and my legs don't work i would clime to the crows and the rooks nest i would only take one egg from each nest i would carry a pin making a hole each end of the egg then blow the yoke out i had a big collection in those days but today it is illegal to take birds eggs, i got to know a couple of chaps in those days who caught wild birds the gold finch, linnet, bullfinch, siskins, you name it they had it they would make bird lime the birds would stick to it they would smear it on thistle tops and such they would breed with these birds in a big Avery then ring the youngsters and let the adults go some times they would let a few youngsters go if they had to many they would cross the linnet with a border canary the young males were called mules they sang beautifully it was a bit hush hush and they would not tell you that much i know they used traps as well as i found them in the hedge rows i asked if i could go with them but they always answered no i suppose they only had them selves to look after and could not be bothered with a Youngster in tow.
There was always something to do i used to fish old farmer bagots land he was a funny old chap and he let all his part of the river to some of the big fly fishing clubs one such club was the Shropshire fly fishers they would be one side the river i the other side they would be fly fishing i would be worming they did not like this at all i must admit i did not make a habit of this as they would shout and tell you it was private they would nearly blow a fuse if you caught one under there noses saying they would fetch the police man but being a nimble youth i would be away before it ever came to that but i did most of my poaching early morning or late evening when no one was about we did have the policeman call but he usually went away laughing and feeling a bit jolly after mum or dad had plied him with elderberry or damson whine my parents made quite a bit of the stuff it would be in the cupboard in old dusty bottles dad never drank so who had it god knows friends and neighbours i would think there was only two policemen on the village who were kept quite busy chasing petty crime IE poaching and such i don't think we heard much about robbers in those days we left our back door open all hours nothing would go missing in fact things turned up a loaf of bread eggs even butter your neighbours shared if they had to much, we did the same but those days have long gone you could not leave your door open today but they were great days we did not have that much but what we did have was respect and love for your fellow neighbor and friends. well a bit more latter