For the most part I'm almost pathologically optimistic - I epitomise "glass half full". I like having this mindset, and it has served me well over the years. But... If I'm allowed to dwell on something for a long time, I always find ... Read More

What do I need? Reliability Reasonable load carrying Comfort What do I want? Four wheel drive Fuel economy Affordable insurance Performance/handling Thoughts Do I need 4WD? I really like the idea, but 90+% of what I’m likely ... Read More

I've been writing about my aspiration to own a Zero electric motorcycle, and the potential barriers to achieving that aim. Well, it looks like I can drop the word "potential"... Yesterday I contacted the insurance broker to check ... Read More

I write here about my ambition to own a Zero electric motorcycle. Well, having spent a considerable amount of time recently assessing insurance options, I think I need to give up, defeated... I don't mind a large premium: in ... Read More

It was a year ago today that I officially stopped being a working stiff. In reality I'd become a member of the leisure class a couple of weeks before, as I'd saved up some annual leave: but Monday 8 April 2019 was the first day of me ... Read More

Although it seems to be the case that most people aren't determined to be self-centred, socially irresponsible, downright dangerous twats during the Covid-19 lockdown, there's a depressing recurring theme in the news, this being just one ... Read More

After getting some air and exercise tonight, I was walking down a paved bridleway along the edge of Blyth golf club - a popular place for dog emptying, if the amount of dogshite all over it is any indication. I found myself approaching a cluster ... Read More

I've just been out for some essential groceries - still loads of empty shelves, a Unicorn is easier to come by than a loaf of bread - but I managed:  and I'm gratified to see that at least some people seem to be grasping the ... Read More

I know this is not a big issue compared to what is going on in the World right now, but I'm just getting it off my chest... I've been planning for several weeks to wet a line this week: the long-range forecasts all suggested mild, settled ... Read More

I've been around long enough to have seen SARS, MERS and Swine Flu come and go - but they were nothing like the current Covid-19 shitstorm. It's a worrying time, sure enough - but dwelling on the negatives; and fearing the worst; are ... Read More

Sara, the owner of Landrace Cottage in Carlton Miniott pinged me an email about a last-minute availability in the first week of September (2019).  The forecast looked reasonably good, so I thought "why not?" - and before I knew it, on ... Read More

In my last post I made it clear that I'm rather disappointed by my new G&L guitar - especially the piss-poor job that they've done on the nut. and other sloppy manufacturing issues. Well I've decided to let a professional sort them ... Read More

It's funny how things turn out. I've been getting some fishing in on the waters of my local angling club (which as I mention elsewhere, I co-founded, so I'm rather invested in the quality and appearance of these ponds) and I'm ... Read More

I've just spent a week (ish - 20 to 25 May, to be precise) in Carlton Miniott, N. Yorks, so as to fish Woodland Lakes - a venue I've fished many times, which I'd chosen this time partly because of my familiarity with it; and partly ... Read More

Nothing is ever straightforward, is it? I recently took delivery of the Okuma Custom Black CB-60 reels I talk about here. And they're great: good-looking, smooth, well-built - and they come with a freespool-to-locked-up-in-3/4-of-a-turn drag. I'd ... Read More

Well now that's a pisser...  Everything had been going well with my BPX reel quick drag conversions, as I discuss here.  Last night I was having another play with the reels - as you do - and I noticed that one of them ... Read More

I mention in another post that I like a bargain when it comes to my fishing tackle. So although I could easily have sprung for something more expensive, when the urge recently struck for a (mini) "big pit" reel (or three) - an urge ... Read More

As part of my plan to get back to being an active angler (this is not a contradiction in terms...) I'm going to have a serious crack at single-hook pike rigs. Treble hooks on pike traces have been the norm for as long as I've fished ... Read More

No, a big step. But I had my reasons. Obviously... In one sense it's a no-brainer: most people would - I reckon - be ready for something new after forty-odd years of earning a living with the same - increasingly bad ... Read More

I've never bought into the intellectually lazy meme that "you get what you pay for..." I've lost count of the number of times I've landed some piece of gear that has punched way above its pecuniary weight... So it ... Read More