Kempton

Found at Kempton yesterday in the boot of a parked car a carrier bag full of Fishing Tackle Catalogues and Occasional Angling Ephemerae from the decades known as the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies.  You are welcome to peruse it all at your leisure tomorrow where the items shall be tucked underneath my stall at Spitalfields in an old cardboard box.

Cartel by the River

For all those of you who avidly read the online arts and culture organ 'Caught by the River' I would like to invite you without reservation to lose yourself on the evening of Wednesday 21st September , when, to herald the opening of the new Caught by the River Bookshop at the emporium of independence known as Rough Trade East, I shall be in conversation with the three founders of Caught by the River, Mr. Jeff Barrett, Mr. Robin Turner and Mr. Andrew Walsh.  There will also be readings from the Caught by the River anthology 'On Nature' from myself and Mr. Bill Drummond.  Afterwards we shall repair to the nearby Mason and Taylor Public House to drink ales.

Joy

Across almost all of Arcadia it is a day known as a Bank Holiday, a day to populate the End of the Pier and the Giant Car Boot Sale.  Above all it is a day put aside for joy.  Wherever you may be I hope you find some.

Lyndhurst Vixen

Found early last Sunday morning at a Flea Market off the North Circular Road a Challenge Medal awarded to 'Lyndhurst Vixen' at the Camborne Dog Show in the year of Arcadia 1893.  The medal was struck in low grade silver by the Birmingham silversmith J.A. Restall and would appear to have been worn around Lyndhurst's neck.  In Arcadia, upon this Sunday some one hundred years and more later we salute the Vixen and her owner A. Damarell as we do all dogs and owners who run wild at Flea Markets and Car Boot Sales.

The Thames Festival

Once upon a time in the future in Arcadia, namely Saturday 10th September, courtesy of Caught by the River, the Andrews of Arcadia 'Miniature Museum of Thames Angling History' will appear for one afternoon and early evening only at the North End of Southwark Bridge as part of 'Feast on the Bridge' an event organised by The Thames Festival.  As such my loyal van will be attired in the finest Efgeeco canvas and the interior will be transformed into a Small Space for the Soul with glazed cabinets of Thames angling wonderment.  You are welcome to visit me, talk about wet keepnets, lost hook lengths and to drink tea.  At a half past three on the Bandstand opposite the van you will also be able to hear myself and the writers Mr. Jon Berry and Mr. Luke Jennings read some of our work and talk about the River and what angling on it means to us and to others.  There will be music from Mr. Richard Norris and with a bit of luck a sunset courtesy of Mr. J.W. Turner.

How to Catch Sea Trout

A day of reflection at Spitalfields yesterday after the ceremonial opening of the Suitcase belonging to a Gentleman had occurred shortly after 08:00hrs to a respectful crowd.  The contents of the suitcase revealed a wealth of Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul much of it homemade in the years immediately Post-War.  Homemade by a proud man of some artistry on cold winter evenings at the kitchen table armed with a pair of tweezers, a magnifier and a whisky glass.

The Sports Shop, Towyn, Merioneth

Once upon a time in Arcadia, a gentleman with a suitcase when finding himself in the region known as North Wales and excited by the prospect of fishing for Sewin at Night would hasten to The Sports Shop in Towyn, a modest set of premises with a wooden and glazed frontage, a bell ring door and a lady and gentleman serving dressed in brown warehouse coats.  After trying to sell the gentleman with a suitcase all manner of new items of Tennis Equipment - Dunlop! Spalding! Bukta! the couple in the matching brown warehouse coats would hand over a number of Sewin flies and a temporary permit for the nearest stretch of river.

Should you find yourself on holiday in Towyn and in possession of a suitcase I would be interested in knowing if The Sports Shop is still in existence.  You can tell me by visiting my own stall at Spitalfields Antiques Market on Thursdays between a half past seven and three o'clock where I sell items of Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul and other occasional sporting related bits mainly to do with Dogs or Speedway.  There is no bell ring door but from time to time I have been known to wear a brown warehouse coat.

A Suitcase Belonging to a Gentleman

Found recently and lodged with me for immediate sale a suitcase and its contents belonging to a gentleman of mystery who fished mostly in the West of Ireland and Scotland.  The gentleman also fished the rivers of North Wales upon one of which he met his second wife whilst pursuing sea trout in the dead of night.  The suitcase has lain shut for over half a century but will be prized open and its contents revealed with much ceremony on my stall tomorrow morning shortly after the hour of a half past seven.

Low Pressure

In certain parts of Arcadia this morning it is raining steadily and in the quiet corners of lost Estate Lakes floats are going under.

Floats

Found in the secret drawer of a creel at auction over the weekend a collection of crude yet beautiful homemade floats from the decade known as the 1960's, now residing 'In the Shop Window'.

Tales from the Fens

Found in a hole in a tree upon returning late last night from auction a postcard from the artists known as 'The Two Terriers' in the form of their new blog Tales From the Fens vignettes of life from the districts of Arcadia that exist below sea level.

Off to Auction

Up with the owls in Arcadia and after a large pot of stewed tea its away in the van to the Southern Counties Summer Sporting Sale.  A merry gathering of sociable dealers in a district on the other side of the Wiltshire Downs.

Spitalfields

A quiet but convivial return to Spitalfields yesterday enlivened by floods of tea, rumours of a lost 40lb salmon on the River Deveron and a bag of Nottinghams brought to the stall by a gentleman who has an arcade by the sea.

Thursday meets Friday Uptown

Once upon a time in Arcadia a gentleman called F.L. Friday of Newport Pagnell in the English County of Buckinghamshire felt obliged to take out an advertisement in the Fishing Gazette announcing that in future he would make 'a special point of studying and supplying the requirements of anglers'.  In homage to Mr. Friday I would like to announce that every Thursday at Spitalfields Antiques Market including today, and not just in future, I shall have reserved, as I have done for the last 7 years continuously,  a small space known as a stall at which I will also make a special point of studying and supplying the requirements of anglers and those interested in other oddities and in particular items considered to be Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul.  

Found

Found in Norfolk a large number of items of Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul and other delights from the decades that collectively added up to the years immediately pre and post-War.  For general sale on my stall at Spitalfields Antiques Market tomorrow from the appointed hour of a half past seven.

The North Creake Village Green Cinema Society

A Remembrance of the Lost is being shown tonight at the Cinema in the Creakes in the region known as the East.

A Return to Arcadia

After a long journey home, where we got lost down unmarked by-ways and were distracted by late-start Car Boot Sales we arrived back in our district of Arcadia via the Outskirts of Pandemonium.

A Farewell to Arms

The end of the holiday marked by a long walk along the beach to the sound of the hiss of the incoming night tide.  Then a slow walk back to eat the remains of the pantry around the kitchen table whilst listening to the final episode of 'A Farewell to Arms' on the station known as BBC Radio 4.

Of Bass and Brown Ale

Off to the beach later to meet a rising tide in search of a bass with the promise of a pint in the Lifeboat Public House to look forward to.