Some of the people who read this inconsequential mind blog catch mighty salmon, others fish for trout in clear mountain streams and lakes. Great result and more power to you, but for me today it was mostly perch. Here's a sample.
Perch
I lost count by the end of it all and most weren't very large, more in the bait fish range than anything else. Still, ferocious little snappers and fun to catch, so there was plenty of action, which I like. In fact, it's mostly what I'm there for, but the whole package is good.
There you are under a big Texan sky, outdoors in land that's only been settled for what, 150 years? maybe less. To your right, limestone bluffs rise above the water, and on the other shore trees and brush stand like an impenetrable wall in the heat haze as big birds circle above, vultures.
Fish
It's not truly wild but isn't so very far off. Apart from the cleaning station, of course, which has a civilized tin roof, running water and cutting boards for the guides to clean striper. A good place to fish because the water's chummed.
Mind you, perhaps a boat would be a better place to fish from and I waved to the passing Trumpist Navy as its various ships passed my position.
Boat
"Hey, lookit this monster!" I'd call out, holding up a small perch. Big ribaldry, "That a bait fish?" roar of twin Mercureys, "Should be!" But they weren't, all went back, as did a monster carp/buffalo which slipped the hook before the photo op. Big fish on a light rod. Fun.
So that was all good. In other news, the UK's setting up a Diversity and Inclusion Directorate to make sure soldiers don't say rude things about trannies or POCs. It costs £500,000 including it's Director's £110,000 salary and hopes to recruit more transsexuals and POCs into the armed forces.
A Rainbow Pony
Wow, you can imagine the Taliban running in fear from the UK' s new Rainbow Wymxn of Colour Regiment (RWCR). You canting, pandering, risible fools.
More on this exciting story as it unfolds. In the meanwhile, former and serving members of the United Kingdom's armed forces, feel free to comment. The floor is yours.
Tight lines,
LSP
9 comments:
These are supposed to be allies we can depend on?
Nice fishing BTW.
You’re not related to Father Peter Lonergan from Inisfree are you? (are you sure that counts as 'pastoral work'?)
I don’t really fish, well except in situations where it’s that or starve.
I have friends, and have spent a ‘lot’ of time in the north of Norway, Sweden and Finland so my experience, what little there is, is mostly there.
Think what Lars Monsen did in his TV series “Nordkalotten 365”. He spent a year living alone above the arctic circle in the, literal, ‘Cap of the North’ surviving on hunting and fishing – and the very occasional delivery of bacon by his girlfriend. But with considerably less success, and a great deal of time to contemplate why I’m so bad at it (and using yoyo’s, speed-hooks and, don’t tell the wardens, gill-nets in desperation). I think the fish know it’s me and are sitting on the bottom, pointing and laughing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9lxYBIviqg
The TV channel uploaded the series to torrents years ago but it’s gone now. The Youtube version (in Norwegian) is OK, the subtitled version is … not so good.
He did another, spending a year crossing Canada by canoe and dog-sled. Worth a watch too (if the fish aren’t biting) and subtitled better too.
Almost made it to the storage shed for the tackle box and poles.
I shall have to (severely) moderate my comments regarding this insanity from the MOD. I wasn't going to comment (rant) but I can't stop myself.
I have served for over 30 years. When I passed out my salary as a 2nd Lt. was less than a council bin-man. Currently, at my exalted rank, a secretary for the assistant to the second deputy minister for sharpened pencil supply in the MOD is paid more than I am.
We have the smallest Army, Navy and RAF of any time since the 1930’s (and in many categories smaller than even then). Troops are poorly paid, badly supported, supplied and led [by senior officers I hasten to add] and regularly vilified. Whilst some issue kit has improved I haven’t gone on deployment since 1982 without having to buy significant amounts of kit myself (be that optics, holsters, sundries, body-armour and even uniform items) – and I’m not in an ‘average’ unit (we get ‘all’ the Gucci kit, what little there is).
We have more Generals than regiments, Admirals than ships and Air Vice-Marshals than squadrons. More money is spent on benefits for illegal immigrants than on the entire defence of the realm. The Forces are living penury. But … but the blithering PC idiots in Whitehall ‘always’ have enough money for diversity hires.
We have a population of which only 14% are (PC term, spit) BAME, 52% women. They claim that “only” 8.8% of serving troops are BAME, and 14.9% women . But what they wont tell you is that even those are almost all in the ‘cushy’ posts (the type that used to be kept for long-service, or injured men so as to retain their experience and expertise. If you see any promotional news or video you’d think they were the majority as they are almost all ‘working’ in recruitment). Why? Because they are incapable of operating in any other role. (It’s mirrored in almost every industry and institution. They ‘have’ to hire them, but they can’t do the basic job, so they are placed in supervisory, or HR to fill the quota. Then destroy the company by incompetence or intent).
[The ‘absolute’ best bit is that this new department is required because a number of ‘foreign’ officers have complained that they have to ‘moderate’ their behaviour and ‘act British’ to be promoted. I’ve met a few, and they are as bad as you can imagine, only commissioned and promoted because of ‘not being’ British. But my real ‘ire’ is for the ‘people’ who forced them on us].
So, with a drastically reduced force and constant (rotating) deployments we get an even heavier workload because people who would have been ‘pulling their own weight’ have been replaced by BAME and women which means we get to, not only do their job too, but have to help them ‘manage’ to keep up with us, all with the concomitant less of us. (The average squaddie has a fitness level the equivalent of a club athlete, yet my unit still fails 95% of applicants as not fit or capable enough, yet we ‘have’ to take BAME and even one woman because of … diversity. So now we have multiple units under-strength ‘carrying’ an extra load of an incompetent or incapable member).
Like there, the overwhelming majority of recruits come from rural, small-town, white working families (even London, where such is a tiny minority, still has more white British recruits than all the demographics put together). The BAME don't want to serve, women are incapable of serving (except in non-physical support roles, which opens the can of worms of only being able to do half of ‘those’ jobs so requiring someone else to do half ‘their’ job plus their own).
continued
I’m on sick leave (with yet more scar tissue and ballistically implanted body piercings – I do so enjoy the attention when I set off metal detectors) hence my constant comments, and about to retire (before they can ‘can’ me as too expensive and too much trouble – and I'm really getting too old for this … er, excrement) but I’d be doing that anyway now. It’s gone too far. I'd still put our squaddie against any in the world, but the 'bird-shit and braid brigade' is so corrupted now it wont last much longer. (If I was young enough I’d emigrate and join your military – although even that is heading the same way).
It is almost irrelevant which party is in power because all the bureaucrats are dyed in the wool leftists. They destroyed our armaments industry and they intend to either destroy the armed forces too (or at least turn us into the German Army). Politicians don't care, and MOD seems intent on assisting/hastening the destruction, and I don’t sense even the will to resist, or even notice, in the average man/woman in the street.
They’ve lived in safety and peace so long they believe it’s the way things are naturally. They forget, or never knew, that that peace was paid for in, all too, regular instalments of blood from me and mine. Well, just like all those ‘defund the police’ campaigns there – (pardon the language but) screw them. I hope they get what they want ‘good and hard’.
I shall retire to my country cottage with a large supply of popcorn (and the rumours of razor-wire, claymores and booby-traps are entirely … understated).
Thanks, Ed. It was a good afternoon at the lake!
I think we have to draw a line between the UK's real military and the leftist buffoons busy subverting it. Of course the same crew have been up to the same thing here too. Imagine the LGTBQ quotas and rainbow flags in all branches if the Old Crone had achieved the power she so desperately wanted.
Thanks for the video tips, Anonymous.
Fr. Lonergan? Ha!
Well done, WSF!
Anon, thanks for that and feel free to comment as much as you like. Always value. And congrats on the upcoming retirement, I suspect it'll be an active one...
Of course the Left hates, scorns, fears and loathes the armed forces, so they act accordingly. And all those POC votes don't come cheap, you know. Bye bye military budget.
It seems to me that Europe in general and the UK in particular are gambling on never having to fight another major war again, ever. As you say, people have been lulled into a false sense of security; let's see how that works out. In the meanwhile, we have a Conservative government in place with an 80 seat majority who seem incapable of being conservative. The rot's obviously deep, to put it mildly.
But I won't bang on, tempting as it is.
Good luck with the place in the country and full recovery. Took me a year and 3 screws in the hip to get back to normal after a recalcitrant arab kicked me off her back. Still, it seems modern medicine works wonders. Thank God.
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