Sausages

I do like sausages.

And garden fun

That there London

Took advantage of the graduation ceremony to have a little wander about that there London.

Looking down from Greenwich Observatory. I did spend a little time in Blackheath at the top of the hill when I was very young and I'll always remember the smell and those lovely yellow and grey London bricks.

Cutty Sark

Greenwich Market.

The staff of life

A little more exotic perhaps. Sometimes I think that Deptford and Greenwich are  a world apart, not just a street.

George Boi's next door neighbours.

England's breaming...

Can't get enough of Abramis brama of late. But you have to pay your dues and mine included an hour long slog in extreme heat with an industrial sized mower to beat nature into some sort of brief submission around the Barely Blue Lagoon. Found a couple of things on the circuit, including this magpie feather./

Found rather more of this juvenile jay.

Dues paid it was out with a wafter down the edge and it wasn't long before Johnny Bream came knocking. I had a lensman on hand and here it is, all 8.02 of it.

Got a going back shot too. It's always good when you have someone decent behind the viewfinder .

Lensman gone it was up to me the next time the baitrunner fizzed. A little smaller at 6.13 and  one with spawning tubercles and rough, reddened skin.

.

Another Bureboi done good.

Off to the Smoke midweek as  Bureboi number 4 George had only done gone and got a First in History from Goldsmiths. Given his difficult start in school such a massive achievement. Well done son. Hard work pays off. Always.

The Right.Hon Dame Esdelle Morris presided, one of life's most genuine and wonderful 
public servants. Our Boi was first up. We whooped.

Don't suppose there will be much reason to go back to New Cross and surrounds  once I've done the last laden Charabanc runs which will be a shame since Bureboi number one @Bain3z started at Goldsmiths on a degree, masters and several mostly media jobs laden decade plus ago. He treated us all to a very generous meal at Primeur in Islington. Lots of sharing plates, wine and a general Hip vibe. The food was divine. Go. Seriously. You must.

Best of a very good quality bunch this pig cheek.

I wasn't allowed to wear my pre meal pint Greg Wallace hat in the restaurant, can't think why...

Saturday night and the feeling is right

Brief foray on the Barely Blue Lagoon which is getting rather pondweeded out. Some rakeage called for in the week. Managed a very shirty bream of about 2 lb which thought it was much bigger  and this feller, scooped up in a ball of pondweed. Both gave decent indications.

Why does it never rain on me?

Miserable, cold and dull last week. And dry. Hot and gorgeous at the weekend. Still dry. But much more bearable. I am very shallow indeed.

Thinking the Very Local Water closed headed off to the Barely Blue Lagoon  on Friday past a busy car park indicating the VLW  wasn't closed. Resisted the urge to stop. Spent a pleasant hour or so tying pva bags to feed to a string of skimmers. Need to get on the donkey chokers

Biggest of the bunch and clearly has a gut full of bait. Oi, the fish not me. Mine is mostly beer and pork pies.

Time to make more hay on the VLW whilst the gates remained open and the island as usual. Saturday night and the Rather Jocular Agrarian down the valley had  an outdoor band on. Loudest of the night a cover of She Sells Sanctuary. Down with the yoot then.

First up a mad for it tinca. They do pull the string a bit.  I've notice the bites are more and more shown as the little loaded float dipping then making off for the cover of the pads.

I'd bought my old DX40 for the mat shots, think the sensor is knackered as everything is quite sepia. That is a green unhooking mat.

Continuing with the cropped theme..sometimes I do gurn a fair old bit for the selfies.

And just as the park keeper was jangling his municipal keys another little snottie succumbed to the Sourcery. Not much string pulling with a fairly hooked snottie to be fair

Dad, why is that big golden fish lying sideways?

No point in  beating round the bush. It's dead.

 That fish is smelly. Buy us an ice cream dad.

I knew it would deffo be the last for a while on the VLW on Sunday. For those of you who take any notice (nearly 50k page views just in the UK, just saying.)  I usually fish to the left pads (sepia again) but I have been feeding the right and often it's a mud pig that seems to come over the bait so I did start a bit half heartedly to the right.

When the float made off and the tip slammed over on the strike  I did hastily flick off the anti reverse but after the initial surge was halted it became clear  it was a tench. Which produced a gurn of hideous proportions.

Point sort of proved so back to the left and this bream was almost instant. It had been in the mouth of  a pike fairly recently. That or someone has slipped a Wels in. Only minor gurnage so crop averted.

Still  a good half hour of light left and fish on the prod but I've been pushing my luck with the park keeper so I was pleased that the first 'last' cast  was spot on as the float settled, dipped and slid away just like that. Into the pads though relentless pressure from the Drennan 13 footer meant it was only going my way in the end.

Right. We now really do need some rain. Buckets and buckets of it. Then there might be some water back in the Very Little Water.

Lost some of the old mojo.

Just realised. I haven't been fishing since Sunday. I'm home late tonight and its grey and grim. I've repented to the parched pot plants. Doesn't  look like I'm going fishing tonight either given the closure of the very local water. Which is shrinking daily.  We need rain. Days and days of rain.

Still, there's always tomorrow. Might call on these little chaps on the commute tomorrow and see if there are any brownies under their bridge.

Selfie stick

Island hopping late on over the weekend. The pond is visibly shrinking and probably no fishing for a while to come. I made a little hay though. And decided to have a go with some remote shots.

This lean machine will have the pike police reaching for the vitriol. No, it didn't wolf down a deadbait. Nicely hooked in the scissors on a static mini Source.

And just the one on a very brief late Sunday sesh. The cheeky bugger is clearly rolling it's eyes at my pink shirt.

It rained yesterday. Well, three spots as I got out of the car in Cromer. Grey cloud and cold wind all day today but no hope of anything falling. Except most of the Cabinet. Good riddance. Go on Maybot. You wake every day just waiting for the sky to fall in. Just give up and haunt some barley field like the hooded crow you are. Even then the Corbyn deniers in the Labour Party will contrive to keep him out of Number 10. And someone please egg and flour Trump.