22 February 2018 (Thursday) - Road Trip

I slept well; I would have slept longer had Fudge not started barking for no reason shortly before seven o’clock. I got up and was disappointed to see the cars outside weren’t covered in ice; we’d decided against a day’s fishing today as the forecast said it was going to be cold.

Over brekkie I was pleasantly surprised to see that between Facebook and other messaging apps I’d had a hundred and fifty birthday wishes yesterday. That’s quite a lot. Someone with whom I used to spend a lot of time made an announcement that they were leaving Facebook earlier in the week. Such a shame. The platform might not be perfect, but it keeps me in touch with so many people so easily. That’s one less person from whom I will ever hear again.
Other than birthday wishes there wasn’t an awful lot happening on social media which was a shame. Mind you I had a wry smile at something I saw on one of the work-related groups I follow. Someone had seen something odd down his microscope and asked the world what it was. Now I’m no expert but I recognise a megakaryocyte fragment when I see one. I thought everyone would, but reading the postings on the subject it was clear that few on that group did. Why would anyone sign up to a blood science related group and not know what they were looking at? But then isn’t this social media all over? Blood-testing, geocaching, kite-flying, trekkie-ing, snake-keeping, fishing… the most vocal people on social media about any given topic seem to be those with the least practical experience in that topic. It seems that these days one takes up a hobby not so much to do it as to argue about it on social media.
I had an email from LinkedIn telling me that it was never too late to change career. Perhaps it isn’t, but doing so is a major upheaval. Bearing in mind that my original life plan had me retiring in only three and a half years (ain’t happening now!!), I might have left a major change just a little late.

I walked the dogs round the park. Our walk was relatively uneventful for once. We met a chap with a dog which looked just like a furrier version of my Fudge. This chap was adamant that his dog had no dachshund or Jack Russell in his heritage, but was a cross between a cocker spaniel and springer spaniel. When I remarked that Treacle was half cocker the chap told me I’d got that wrong. Perhaps dog breed recognition isn’t his strong suit?

With the dogs settled I drove round to collect "My Boy TM" and we went on a little road trip. We emptied a car full of his rubbish at the tip, then rather than going fishing we went to check out some lakes about which we’d heard good reports with a view to future fishing trips.
Our first stop was Hawkhurst Fish Farm. The place’s website describes it as “one of the most beautiful fisheries in Kent and Sussex”. Well… it ain’t. For me a large part of the pleasure of fishing is the surroundings; the scenery. There are several lakes at Hawkhurst fishery. Together they look as though several huge holes have been scooped out of the ground and filled with water. There is no surroundings or scenery. The place is ugly.
We then went eight miles up the road to Biddenden to have a look at Greenacres Farm Fishery. Now that place has the potential to be rather pretty. At the moment it was rather muddy and swampy, but what can you expect by a pond in February. We’ll probably have a go there in the summer. But we were both put off by the half-dozen huge notice boards outlining the rules of the place. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. I suppose some rules are needed, but it isn’t so much having the rules as how you shove them down people’s throats that matters.
Sam’s Lakes in Smarden  was next on our list of places to visit. We rather liked what we saw, and as we walked round the top lake we met a chap in a row-boat who was tidying the lake up. We got chatting, and from what we heard we decided that regardless of how cold it might be, we’d have a day’s fishing tomorrow.

Having just found a geocache as we drove back toward Ashford I suddenly found a car on the wrong side of the road coming head-on at me. It was driven by some halitosis-ridden thug employed by Len Webster Caravans who ordered me off of the road so that a rather huge caravan could get past. I suppose the thug had a point; by driving my car onto the lay-by I avoided getting it smashed up by the caravan which was going far too fast down a rather narrow lane. But it isn’t so much ordering people off the road, but how arrogantly you do it and how much your breath stinks to high heaven when you are doing it that causes the offence.

We drove to McDonalds for a spot of McLunch. Much as I really did like the meal in the Beefeater yesterday, we went in McDonalds, were served, eaten and out quicker than it took the Beefeater to come up with the meals yesterday. And at less than half the price too.
As it was just down the road we stopped off at Angling Direct where I spent my birthday voucher on fingerless fishing gloves, and we got some supplies for tomorrow.

I dropped "My Boy TM" home, then came home myself. I loaded up my tackle for tomorrow. Some of it looks chewed. Have we got mice in the shed again? And then (at Fudge’s insistence) I took the dogs round the park again. Treacle wouldn’t mind if we didn’t go out at all, but Fudge shouts and hollers if we don’t go walkies at least twice every day.
We went the long way round the park. There was a minor altercation when Fudge was straggling. I sent Treacle to go fetch the errant hound, but a passing normal person took umbrage. He thought my “Get him Treacle!” was an instruction for Treacle to attack him rather than to fetch Fudge.
Just as we were about to leave the park we met Rolo. Cheryl and "My Boy TM" were just round the corner with Rolo when he had heard us. Apparently his ears pricked up when he heard me shouting to my dogs, and when I called them by name he shot off to find us.

I had planned to fart about in the garden doing all the stuff I hadn’t done on Monday (to say nothing of doing something with two planters I’d stopped "My Boy TM" chucking in the tip) but by the time I got home it was four o’clock. So instead I drank coffee and ate cake and watched “The Crown” on Netflix whilst the dogs sat on the back of the sofa and barked at shadows.

"er indoors TM" came home and made a rather good bit of dinner, We scoffed it whist watching the Peanuts movie on Netflix. It was rather good…

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