Hobbies?

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I never could understand catching fish to throw back. To eat, yes.

I never could get that, not a big fish eater myself but my grandfather was, and my stepfather and mam, Now even game fishing is primarily catch and release I seldom go out, many of my fellow anglers are the same.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I never could get that, not a big fish eater myself but my grandfather was, and my stepfather and mam, Now even game fishing is primarily catch and release I seldom go out, many of my fellow anglers are the same.

Stan is addicted to watching Mortimer-Whitehouse Gone Fishing. I actually think they are quite entertaining but I’ve seen them throw some big fish back. Seems a shame.

 

[Amari]

Yep.
I never could understand catching fish to throw back. To eat, yes.
As a child of polish parents we ate everything that my father caught. When he had caught what we needed he packed up snd came home.
My dad used to keep live bait in a bucket, coloured maggots in the fridge and my mother once came home from work to find a live pike in the bath.

Christmas Eve presumably....

 

[Erichalfbee]

Christmas Eve presumably....

No unfortunately it was on the menu much more frequently

 

[pargyle]

No unfortunately it was on the menu much more frequently

Pike is not the best tasting fish ... bit bony and distinctly muddy flavour... only given it once.to eat .. strangely enough his father was Polish as well ... at least I knew where it came from ... out of the local canal where it was eating its way through the roach population ! Can't say it was on my list of culinary experiences I care to repeat ...

 

[Scammell]

Now that's a real hobby ... as a kid in Yorkshire (1950's) I lived by a canal and the local boatyard (Waddingtons in Swinton) was at the end of the street. It was in the days when wooden canal barges were still being repaired but those that were past the stage where they could be were dragged onto the slipway by a couple of Aveling traction engines to be dismantled and burnt. The steam engines were eventually left in the local scrapyard to rust away and I used to play on them and think how wonderful it would be to own one and drive it ... the steam rollers were still in used until well into the 1960's ... you are very fortunate to have such a wonderful big boys toy !

Thank you.
Yes I am very fortunate and having this engine has made me realise that many times. I bought it some years ago in need of some serious work on the boiler which over a number of years was taken care of and eventually I was up on the footplate shovelling Welsh steam coal into the firebox, wrong side of 55 at that point, yet I was grinning like a child in a sweet shop and still grinning today every time I get the old girl in steam.
Sadly I think the days of such wonders of engineering are numbered. A growing need for cleaner air and less pollution has seen all but a very few mines that still produce the coal needed for these beauties closed. It will be a very sad day for everyone, the owners, the show goers and anyone who wants to study the art of making things that last.
I Just hope it can be enjoyed for a few more years yet so I can have the pleasure of a beer or two, usually "On the house" when me and one of the kids turn up at the local hostelry on a Sunday lunchtime. You will be amazed how quickly the pub fills up when the Aveling is sitting in the car park ticking over!

 

[B+.]

Thank you.
Yes I am very fortunate and having this engine has made me realise that many times. I bought it some years ago in need of some serious work on the boiler which over a number of years was taken care of and eventually I was up on the footplate shovelling Welsh steam coal into the firebox, wrong side of 55 at that point, yet I was grinning like a child in a sweet shop and still grinning today every time I get the old girl in steam.
Sadly I think the days of such wonders of engineering are numbered. A growing need for cleaner air and less pollution has seen all but a very few mines that still produce the coal needed for these beauties closed. It will be a very sad day for everyone, the owners, the show goers and anyone who wants to study the art of making things that last.
I Just hope it can be enjoyed for a few more years yet so I can have the pleasure of a beer or two, usually "On the house" when me and one of the kids turn up at the local hostelry on a Sunday lunchtime. You will be amazed how quickly the pub fills up when the Aveling is sitting in the car park ticking over!

Don't forget the hens. That's quite a sturdy chicken run you have too

 

[pargyle]

Thank you.
Yes I am very fortunate and having this engine has made me realise that many times. I bought it some years ago in need of some serious work on the boiler which over a number of years was taken care of and eventually I was up on the footplate shovelling Welsh steam coal into the firebox, wrong side of 55 at that point, yet I was grinning like a child in a sweet shop and still grinning today every time I get the old girl in steam.
Sadly I think the days of such wonders of engineering are numbered. A growing need for cleaner air and less pollution has seen all but a very few mines that still produce the coal needed for these beauties closed. It will be a very sad day for everyone, the owners, the show goers and anyone who wants to study the art of making things that last.
I Just hope it can be enjoyed for a few more years yet so I can have the pleasure of a beer or two, usually "On the house" when me and one of the kids turn up at the local hostelry on a Sunday lunchtime. You will be amazed how quickly the pub fills up when the Aveling is sitting in the car park ticking over!

There is something delicious about the smell of a steam engine in steam .. that mixture of coal, smoke, grease and iron on iron wafted on a bed of steam - if you could bottle it you could sell it. Magical.

 

[Hachi]

Pike is not the best tasting fish ... bit bony and distinctly muddy flavour... only given it once.to eat .. strangely enough his father was Polish as well ... at least I knew where it came from ... out of the local canal where it was eating its way through the roach population ! Can't say it was on my list of culinary experiences I care to repeat ...

I've eaten most freshwater fish found in English rivers in Germany of all places. Quite tasty all of them but I never knew if they were farmed or not.

 

[Michael ECB's]

I never could get that, not a big fish eater myself but my grandfather was, and my stepfather and mam, Now even game fishing is primarily catch and release I seldom go out, many of my fellow anglers are the same.

Sometimes its the only or best way to manage a fishery ... For me this rings true....
Remove overstocked smaller fish and return the larger adults...
I see it as my responsibility to manage and ensure our the health of our dams..
Much the same as certain Game species,,, insufficient predators so we have to manage the head count..

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sometimes its the only or best way to manage a fishery ... For me this rings true....
Remove overstocked smaller fish and return the larger adults...
I see it as my responsibility to manage and ensure our the health of our dams..
Much the same as certain Game species,,, insufficient predators so we have to manage the head count..

I don’t think there is much danger of any if our waters being overstocked with much except maybe American Crayfish

 

[Scammell]

Don't forget the hens. That's quite a sturdy chicken run you have too

Hello Paul.....
Lol, yes, still have the hens although not the same ones we had when you last visited and the chicken run still stands strong, made by my own fair hands!!
Hope all well with you, must try and catch up when all this madness comes to an end
Nigel

 

[PaddockBees]

My latest lockdown hobby is podcasting. However, you could argue that it's still beekeeping as that's the topic of conversation (unsurprisingly). With fewer apiary meetings and get togethers I thought there was a lack of learning by osmosis so set the podcast up to keep the conversation going with beekeepers. For those who want to have a listen you can find it here - Paddock Bees - Timothy Nash

Alternatively just search for Paddock Bees on any podcast outlet (Spotify etc). I'd welcome feedback and guests so let me know what you think.

 

[Amari]

Obviously being on this forum our main passion is bees, but does anyone have time for other hobbies or interests? My other love is sign language, fascinating and so priveleged to be able to use it in my job. Gardening is my other hobby, renewed this year by researching bee loving plants. What interests you?

Travel, thus currently frustrated.
Several UK winters we have visited offspring in Melbourne down under. Did two 30 day 'Tag-along-tours', one of ten 4WD (Landrovers not allowed by the tour leader - too unreliable in the outback), off the bitumen, camping en route. Last one was Adelaide to Cape York.
This time last year we went to Costa Rica (direct flight) and only got back just in time before flights were cancelled. A friend who followed two weeks later had a terrible time, having to return by a tortuous route via USA = visa problems etc.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Sometimes its the only or best way to manage a fishery ... For me this rings true....
Remove overstocked smaller fish and return the larger adults...

Yes - we, as anglers here used to return the smaller sea trout and only kill the larger ones, our policy (and this is law now) has since changed and the larger ones - anything over five pounds or so are returned unharmed.
I saw the issue (and argued strongly against it as Chairman of the Carmarthenshire Fishermen's federation) when they changed the size limit on brown trout too, our native trout around here aren't the largest, the best 'eating fish' being around 8 to 9 inches and plenty of these were being caught, the size limit was 7.5 inches. They went ahead and raised the size limit to nine inches, a lot fewer fish were caught and killed but very soon we saw a lot fewer 8-9 inch trout, the 'average' size now having dropped to about seven inches. Trout grow to suit their environment and the available food, a two season trout on some of the finest chalk streams like the Test will grow to five times the size of the same aged fish in my local river, because fewer smaller trout were being culled in our river, there ws more food competition, so they were growing even slower, there is another stream near me, the Cennen, it was a very popular fishing venue in my father and grandfather's day, the average size fish was six to seven inches with a healthy smattering of 12 inch fish. It's hardly fished now, hasn't been for decades, and the average size fish now? about four inches.

 

[Antipodes]

My hobbies often involve the love of nature. Trees, plants, animals and insects. With animals like this (see link) here, I wouldn't be the only one!

The film is by Simon Plowright who was born and raised in Wales, but has been here for quite a while and lived for a year with the quolls. Well worth a look at the fascinating animals in the film.

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/quoll-farm

 

[user 22908]

My latest project just cant get away from honey bees

 

[Erichalfbee]

Very clever.
I can knit .... I knit Ganseys in the winter......... but crochet.....forget it!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Very clever.
I can knit .... I knit Ganseys in the winter......... but crochet.....forget it!

My aunty Eirwen (grandmother's sister) was an artist with crochet, as was my aunty Dilys who died out in Pretoria at the grand age of 102 (she lied about her age and everyone thought she was only a hundred!) I think my mother still has examples of both their work.
My Uncle Ossie was also a top notch crochet artist - taught all the girls needlework when he was schoolmaster at Bethlehem school back in the 1930's

 

[user 22908]

Very clever.
I can knit .... I knit Ganseys in the winter......... but crochet.....forget it!

I do both great respect for knitting ganseys though they are gorgeous ive made an aran or two in my day. Never been brave enough to try a fair isle …yet!!

Very clever.
I can knit .... I knit Ganseys in the winter......... but crochet.....forget it!

Very clever.
I can knit .... I knit Ganseys in the winter......... but crochet.....forget it!