Skip to main content
Monthly Archives

June 2015

My First Fishing Trip

By Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, NatureNo Comments
fishing-trip-2015-0

The Fishery

My mum’s getting married next week to a lovely man named Ian.

Sometime ago Ian asked me to be his best man, to which I agreed. But what could I do his Stag Do considering he doesn’t drink and nor do I? I thought to myself.

Then I came up with the idea of a fishing trip. Ian likes fishing, as does Neil, my big brother. Besides which, I’ve always said that at least once in my life I’d like to catch a fish, so here was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone*.

So a few weekends ago, we set off to a fishery somewhere near Morecambe and Lancaster. On arrival we were greeted by the Warden who was in his fifties, had dishevled hair, a beer belly and clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in quite sometime.

The Warden staggered towards our car, can of Carling in hand and then stood there swaying. Ian showed him our booking form, but he looked at it as if he either was trying to get it in focus or couldn’t read it. He directed us to the Head Office, instead of Reception where we collected our keys to the static caravan. On the way to our caravan, we saw that the Warden lived just three caravans away.

As I enjoyed a coffee and cigarette on a picnic bench in front of the caravan with Ian, the Warden drove past in a Jeep, giving me an intense stir – the sort I imagine serial killers give to their intended victims. The Warden came to a stop on the road opposite our caravan and continued to stir.

Ian went over to speak to him through the Jeep window. He said in the creepiest tone of voice possible: ‘Do you know who I am?’
‘Yes the Warden.’ Ian replied.
The Warden wound up his window, gave me a long hard stir and then slowly drove off.

During that stir I imagined that he was planning to rape me (after all, I was easily the prettiest on the site and the closest to being a woman), murder me and chop my body into pieces to feed to the fish. This sounds a little dramatic and like I’m trying to make this part of the story funny – but he really did freak me out.

So I called Neil, told him the situation and that he’d better get here before dark. I told him: This is how horror films start! That night we all chatted, played Harry Potter Top Trumps and Superhero Top Trumps, with Neil coming out as the victor.

Later, as the weekend wore on, I became slightly more relaxed about this encounter wih the Warden telling Ian and Neil with a smile: ‘Listen it’s alright for you two. You’re old, either bald or going bald. I’m the jail bait in the static caravan.’

The next day, after a big cooked breakfast was the fishing. I caught the first and by far the biggest with Ian’s kind help. There’s so much innuendo in fishing terminology; I was figuratively rolling on the floor laughing the whole weekend. Phrases like: Keep tight hold of the rod. Bait me up. Owe…what a lovely little tiddler.

Here are some photos from the day’s fishing:

fishing-trip-2015-1

Mother Duck and her Ducklings – But that isn’t what we came for.

fishing-trip-2015-2

Ian & Neil in their fishing gear.

fishing-trip-2015-3

Me in my fishing gear…I hate to say it…but I’m like the Tiger Woods of the Fishing World LOL.

fishing-trip-2015-4

This is exactly how I imagined fishing to be.

fishing-trip-2015-5

The first and biggest fish of the weekend – caught by me with help from Ian.

fishing-trip-2015-6

A close up of the big fish…definitely bigger than a gold fish.

fishing-trip-2015-7

The fish I was most proud of catching. My first fishI caught all by myself. Isn’t it a lovely little ‘tiddler?’

On Sunday, being still in recovery, I was exhausted. So while the boys went out fishing, I took it easy reading The Humans by Matt Haig. It’s an awesome book that I’ll be writing a review on when I’ve finished reading it. In the late afternoon we headed back home.

We all enjoyed the trip so much, that it is to become an annual event. Known in the family as ‘The Annual Fishing Trip.’ I love that the time spent male bonding brings us closer together as a family.

Write soon,

Antony

* No birds, fish, ducks or other animals were harmed by Ian, Neil or myself during the trip. However the odd human stranger did push his luck and came very close to being maimed.



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:

My Pre-Orders: Jurassic World DVD, The End by Charlie Higson & The Marble Collector by Cecelia Ahern

By AmazonNo Comments

I very rarely pre-order things, but sometimes you just have to. Here’s what I’ve pre-ordered off Amazon lately:

Click here to display content from ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com


UK Release Date:
19th October 2015

Click here to display content from ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com


UK Release Date:
29th October 2015

Click here to display content from ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com


UK Release Date:
5th November 2015

Have you got anything pre-ordered? What’s coming out soon that you’re excited about? Leave a comment below.

Blog soon,

Antony

Share on Social Media:

Book Review: Run by Ann Patchett

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
run-ann-patchett-book-cover Run is a touching and sentimental novel by the marvellous Ann Patchett.

Run starts with a family dispute over the ownership of a statue of Mary. Traditionally it had been handed down from mother to daughter, the mother choosing the daughter who most looked like the statue.

But Bernadette and Doyle didn’t have any daughters. They’d had Sullivan and later had adopted Tip and Teddy. Tip and Teddy loved the statue and it reminded them of their mother who’d died when they were little. Doyle had broken family tradition by giving it to the boys.

Some years later on a snowy and cold night, Tip argues with Doyle and steps out into the road without looking. He is pushed out of the way of an on coming car by Tennessee. Tennessee is a woman that has been watching Tip and Teddy all their lives in the background. Tennessee is taken to hospital with severe injuries, leaving Kenya, her daughter with no one to look after her.

Doyle, Tip and Teddy decide to take Kenya in. And this is where the revelations start. Doyle, Tip and Teddy are forced to confront some truth’s about their lives and Kenya suddenly has the opportunity to fulfil her dreams.

Patchett’s voice is soothing, as it takes you on a journey into these character’s lives. Her description creates an almost film like moving image in your mind. The words in Run just flow, making it an easy and pleasurable read. The pacing is just right and the ending brings everything together beautifully.

In short Run is how creative writing should be done. Creative writing is an art and one that Patchett is superb at.

Run is available to buy on Amazon and at all good bookshops.

Review soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:

Adios Vodafone – After A Nightmare Trying To Upgrade, Hello Giffgaff

By Life, Money / Finances, Shopping, Technology, ThinkingNo Comments

Recently my old iPhone 5 battery started dropping it’s charge. So as a loyal long term Vodafone customer, one that had been with them for years, I decided to speak to them about an early upgrade. They said I could and I opted for Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus (64GB, GOLD) as a new handset, which they said would be delivered the next day.

After three weeks of telephoning Vodafone customer services practically on a daily basis and receiving many broken promises, I still had no new handset. I felt frustrated, that the order was no further forward and like anything that they said to me on the phone would be a lie. Despite how I felt, I always remained pleasant and patient. But I decided to cancel my telephone upgrade order and re-order the upgrade in store.

My local store had Apple iPhone 6 Plus (64GB, GOLD) in stock. Hurray! But wait, I couldn’t have it because of their IT systems still showing the original upgrade order as open – despite me cancelling it and reassurances from Vodafone customer services on the phone that I would be able order in store. I tweeted my frustration to them, not that the staff in store, on the telephone or on twitter seemed to care.

I’d lost my trust in them. A search online revealed that I wasn’t the only one experiencing issues upgrading. Vodafone’s problems seem to be:

  • Their IT systems. An order gets canceled because they don’t have the handset in stock, but the order still shows as open and gets stuck.
  • The warehouse stock levels, warehouse management (in terms of ordering more handsets before they run out) and distribution.
  • No complaints department or way to escalate order issues to get them sorted.

Up until this experience, Vodafone have always been good with me. But this experience felt like a bad joke. I decided to show them what I thought of this experience by walking away and taking my wallet with me.


Get a free giffgaff Sim

giffgaff-logo A friend on Facebook recommended that I sign up with GiffGaff. I did and everything went smoothly. The handset was delivered the next working day as promised. It’s been a brilliant, easy and enjoyable service so far.

Here are some advantages of being with GiffGaff and how they are different to other providers:

  • They do sim only deals or handset and sim deals.
  • You buy the handset as a credit agreement. Meaning you can pay a small or larger deposit, choose the term of the credit agreement and it’s all really clear and easy to understand.
  • All handsets come unlocked, so can be used on any network.
  • You buy monthly goodbag packages, rather than having a fixed term contract.
  • You can leave GiffGaff at any time by turning off the auto-renew goodybag and getting a sim card for another network.
  • They’re competitively priced – cheaper than most other companies from the prices that I’ve seen.
  • Free GiffGaff to GiffGaff calls.
  • They regularly listen to customers and take their ideas on board.
  • And much more…

So if you’re looking to switch mobile phone providers, I’d highly recommend GiffGaff.

Blog soon,

Antony


Get a free giffgaff Sim

Share on Social Media:
×