The Good Life

During the middle of last week, the call of the coast became too loud to ignore, so with a freshly washed and fettled truck we made our way to Wales for a spot of "The Good Life". The journey was fine, apart from the rain that is, the truck was filthy by the time we arrived on site. Once at our desired location I filled a couple of buckets from the river and quickly washed off the truck, I hate it looking dirty.

It didn't take me long to get the fishing gear set up either and soon I was hauling in the first wild brown trout of the season, remembering the difficulty I had catching this time last year, I was very pleased with myself and this fine fish (albeit small). The next couple of days were quite relaxing, fishing whenever the mood should take me, enjoying a reasonable amount of sunshine and when I wasn't fishing, tying a few flies. Sadly, the weather began to take a turn for the worse, winter made a stealthy attack, and left teeth marks in our rear, the river has been running fast and brown since. So the last couple of days, have seen us confined to the "not so great indoors" and the comfort of the gas central heating. I took to making a few more items from my leather stocks, the first is a belt that I carved, I really like the pattern, it is not too garish and I left the leather in it's natural colour, just polished it with some beeswax. I may put it in my internet shop. Then, I thought that I would treat myself to a new wallet, so for two days solid, I sat building the most ornate wallet that I have made to date using calf skin and some cow hide for trim. It's a bit fancy, but what the hell and it is probably worth more money than it will ever carry at any given time. Of course, I made a matching

belt loop and rein to go with it and I even remembered to put my makers mark on this one. Now the forecast is for a few days of warm sunshine, so with a little luck it will be back to spot of fishing and maybe a little saving on the gas.

The west coast is calling

Our last stop off was on the Welsh border near Oswestry, the location was on high ground with superb views across the Shropshire plain towards the West Midlands. Given the time of year, the weather was quite reasonable but we were still both glad of an electric hook up, specially at night. Most days I sat making small leather goods, taking in the views and dreaming about a spot of fishing.

Encouraged by friends and family, I have now opened an internet shop, (you may have seen the link on the right) how time consuming is that? It has certainly put me off advertising items on E-bay despite the number of people that use it. The early response has been encouraging though, with over 400 views in the first week.

We now move into that time of year when, despite four years experience in this way of life, we never know whether to strip out much of our winter clothing, or leave it a few more weeks just in case the winter sneaks up from behind to give us a defiant nip. The problem is, that we can not carry an all season wardrobe, there is just not the storage space or load capacity in the truck. I suppose the answer is, buy a larger truck, but with diesel now around £7.00 per gallon I am reluctant to do that. The last few days have seen us "Spring cleaning" washing the curtains, putting a little paint on the wheels etcetera in order that we do not look even more like a couple of destitute vagabonds. One thing is for certain, the west coast is calling and the voice is getting louder with each passing day.

A "Western" style wallet

We have now left our winter location and are back on the move. The truck has two new tyres on the rear, after the harsh winter had taken it's toll causing the walls to crack and bulge badly. The premium tyres that we had to scrap were only 2 and a half years old, had 6mm of tread remaining and were in a dangerous condition, I hope these new ones fair somewhat better. We also have 13 months MOT under our belt and a complement from the tester who said that the underside of the truck is exceptionally good. I have spent some more time working with leather and am now considering putting a few items for sale on the internet, but we shall see. The items that I have made recently have a "Western" style to them and I got a great deal of pleasure out of designing and constructing them. These items have been made using vegetable tanned calf skin that I bought a couple of weeks back. The greatest challenge has to be the construction of the inside and then assembling it all in the correct sequence. This particular wallet took about twelve hours to make and another two or three hours for the reign and belt loop. I have completed four or five different wallets recently along with a couple of belts and another handbag. For the next few weeks I will show them to friends and family and note the comments and reactions before making any decisions.

In the pink

The last few days has seen a slight curbing of my activities, due to my careless use of a knife the tip of my left forefinger is no longer where it should be. For several days I had been working on a very pink hand bag and whilst cutting the final piece of leather I sliced off the tip of my finger and it's attached nail. Isn't it amazing how such a minor injury can have such a debilitating effect, although right handed, it would seem that my left forefinger is used for almost everything that I do. Any way, I did manage to complete the offending bag albeit somewhat more slowly than anticipated. I told you it was pink! The following day, a local farmer here, offered me three wood pigeons that he had shot as part of his pest control regime. Neither of us had eaten pigeon before so I jumped at the opportunity to try something different. I removed the breasts from the birds and diced them while Pat prepared the other ingredients before putting it all in the slow cooker. I have to say that it was both very tasty and very filling. I have tried a little fishing but again returned empty handed, I believe that during the recent cold snap, when the river froze over from bank to bank many of the fish left the small river here for the deeper water of the nearby river trent and as yet have failed to return. So, I'm afraid that's about it for now.

Warmth on my face

I like mornings, the quiet, the stillness, the solitude and yesterday while the world was rushing about to get to work I went for a walk accompanied by Meg and my camera. The temperature was -5C and our feet made soft crunching sounds as we walked across the grass. I have no idea how many photographs I took but here are a few. On our return to the truck the frost had begun to thaw as the sun climbed slowly higher and for the first time in months I could feel its gentle warmth on my face. For ten minutes or so, I sat on the step in the doorway and savoured this almost forgotten feeling before setting about a morning of domestic chores outside. The truck had its first wash for several months now that the water was not going to freeze before it hit the ground, Megs bedding was given a good airing and I fettled my fishing gear before going off in search of fish. No fish............but I really couldn't give a damn, it had been a lovely day and bringing it all to close was as dramatic a sunset as one could wish for.

Voices in my head

I really ought to know better by now, but sometimes I ignore the voices in my head, usually at my cost I might add. I know that many would say it's rubbish, also that some will understand but I don't really care what others may think, the fact of the matter is, sometimes.............I know in advance that certain things are going to happen. It doesn't "spook" me, because it has happened for most of my life. I should explain...........For several days I have had a constant nagging about the mains electrical connections which are beneath the false floor in the wardrobe, I have even woken in the night and got up to check that we still have power. This morning, the sky was heavily overcast and the frost was beginning to thaw. I sat considering how to spend the day, be it fishing or working some item of leather when Pat asked if I would like some toast. The toaster however, refused to work and it was then that I discovered that we had lost our mains supply. Removal of the contents of the wardrobe followed by lifting the floor gave me access to the electrical components that distribute power around the truck. Removing the cover from the RCD exposed the problem, a multi connection block had melted along with several wires in and out. A couple of hours later, punctuated with only occasional expletives and I had replaced the damaged components. A few tests out of the way and "Bingo" we were cooking on gas (and electric) once more. It worries me that I did not inspect it sooner, the consequences could have been disastrous and I have enough similar experiences to know better, as those closest to me will know.

This is a closer look at the offending parts, which almost fell to pieces as I removed them. Thank heaven things didn't turn out worse.

January

January as usual, has been quiet for us, it is a matter of taking whatever the weather throws our way and waiting patiently for the spring. The occasional bright sunny day and slowly lengthening days are most welcome, so too, are visits from friends and family. With all of the melt water from the recent snow the river has resembled grandma's soup and so my many attempts at fishing have been completely fruitless. Our bird feeders have been well attended but not by anything out of the ordinary and we have watched the occasional fox jogging through the neighbourhood. I have made a few leather items in order to keep my hands busy and my mind active and my collection of fishing flies has increased by at least 100%. I think Pat has read the weight of the truck in books and I have read enough magazines to cover a rally field. With our winter need for mains hook ups and hard standing I don't imagine that we will be venturing far for the next weeks.