To say the least, It will be interesting to see what this year brings . This year will bring full retirement and apart from the obvious lifestyle change it brings more leisure time ( or so I am hoping ) . from the blogs perspective I intend to change things too. I`ve had the blog a long time and I have become sort of fond of it. Granted the days of blogs being the must have in the online world have long gone. But I look at the internet these days and it appears to me to be largely rubbish or worst AI generated drivel. Perhaps people will start to hunt down something real. You readers will have noted that for me fishing is more than just something that you do in your spare time it is part of who I am .
One thing I do most years is trek the 150 miles across country to the BFFI that’s the British Fly Fair International which has always been primarily about fly tying , but yesterday I noted a further shift and seeing more manufacturers exhibiting luggage, packs and also it seemed more mainstream rod makers as well as some independent . For me it’s a few hours nosying around the fly tying stands . For various odds and ends . Rods , reels and major stuff I have plenty and could probably stage my own fair .
As usual I met old some friends and made a few new ones . One friend had a bad back and was putting a brave face on whilst signing books, ( keep smiling Dave the rivers will soon be back between their banks again and the back will soon unknot ) . There was long conversations around rods getting lighter and blanks getting thinner . I cast an envious glance at the lovely piece of burr on the Fortidude rods stand , would love to get that on my lathe. If that’s an example of their starting materials it’s no wonder their reel seats look so nice.
I had a quick chat to the guys in the Grayling Society stand . There was a quick hello to The Trout and Salmon stand and a quick conversation about the deterioration of social media and the rise of AI rubbish . I hope the new format works out for both the magazine and for Pete the new editor , it would be nice to see the circulation up and maybe the price to come down . I guess advertising revenue departing to the internet is a huge problem .
I travelled across with Duncan a friend who despite his fly fishing interest and despite my encouragement declined to open his wallet apart from a few furled leaders from Luke Bannister who built me the nice Garrison 201 a year or so back . My friend declined to commit to splurge on a new rod for the very sensible reason he really wasn’t convinced of what he needs . “Need “ is a ghastly word , “ Want ” and “ Fancy “ are much more interesting and joyful words ……I must try and educate him…
The quality of the Coq de Leon feathers on Ed Madrigals was superb and I snagged a nice snowshoe hare foot there as well , Thanks for the heads up Pom … as usual the coach y bondhu books stand was excellent . Apologies Paul if I spelt it wrong again . Sadly I have a self imposed ban on new books . Until I can thin out some of the existing titles I am out of space .
Only criticism on an otherwise fantastic show was why have everyone queuing together , there seems no adavantage on prebooking online if everyone just queues in the rain the same , but again a brilliant show . Now that all the game fairs seem to have become country clothing and dog bed shows , a bit like Orvis shops . The BFFI has become a rare pearl that needs to be supported . Probably see you again next year . In fact I may will make a two day trip next year and catch more of the lectures and Demos ….
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