This and That

Late on Wednesday afternoon I added Water Rail to my 'Birds While Fishing' list and a little 3lb jack to my pike campaign tally. I was keeping Rob company for a few hours; he went on to fish through the night and well into Thursday. Unfortunately Rob managed no better than a dropped run and has yet to catch a pike here. Meanwhile I've had seven. This is the cause of hardly any jolly banter or laughing at Rob's expense. That would just be unkind.

I thought it might be interesting to post photos of the two jacks I caught the other day. They are both about 4lb, but notice how different their markings are. I think I'm right in saying that they more or less retain the same patterns as they grow. This is just one of the reasons that they're such great fish to catch; they're simply stunning...

These last few days I've been bemoaning my miserable lot in that I am once again hosting a bloomin' virus. This is my fourth in about as many months. The latest two have clobbered me immediately following my first bike ride after recovering (or so I thought) from the previous bug. So here I am, sore throat, cough, feeling a bit lousy, wondering how long I should leave it this time before I get back in the saddle. I don't often get ill and I'm not very good at it...

Anyway, at 7:30 this morning I had a phone call that put things in perspective for me. It was from a friend in need of a lift. He is a year younger than me and has type 1 diabetes, diagnosed when he was 16. Amongst other consequences of this disease his eyesight has been seriously affected and his kidneys don't work; he undergoes haemodialysis three times a week. This basically takes up his whole day, and the next day is spent feeling pretty unwell. Most weeks he'll have one or two other medical appointments also. So whereas your life or mine might revolve around work, family responsibilities, recreational pursuits etc, his revolves around hospitals and surgeries. Fairly recently he found himself at the top of the kidney/pancreas transplant list and just before Xmas went up to Oxford for the 8-hour operation. It was cancelled - the pancreas was damaged. I am on his emergency call list in case he needs urgent transport to Oxford. That's what this morning's call was about. Half an hour later he phoned again; it had been cancelled again.

And here's me feeling sorry for myself because I've got a cold...

Gissa maggot!