Warwickshire Avon - Immunity Debts and Inkle Weavers

Blackouts ? Blackouts ? I hear you say ?

Well yes, you see this week the National Grid is running the fifth test of its blackout prevention scheme to cope with the rise in energy demand as the UK battles a spell of icy weather. 

With the drop in temperatures, there is expected to be greater demand for energy as the UK cranks up the heating to stay warm. (-7 as I type this and it's barely got above freezing for days), which for many considering the bleeding cost of energy at the moment, I'm sure it heat one room, or not at all. 

Two coal plants apparently had been warmed up and placed on standby, although these have since been stood down, at least we have the option I suppose, but to me papering over the cracks springs to mind, reactive verses proactive. I want to put the heating on and know it's going to work, you see with both kids are off school at the minute, both with quite bad coughs, high temperatures and sore throats (Not COVID), lockdowns certainly wouldn't have helped and looking back over the years they had never been as bad as this.

Now back in 1882, Thomas Edison’s Holborn Viaduct coal plant started generating electricity for public use. It was the first power station of its kind, burning enough coal to provide energy to light 1,000 lamps in the City of London.

The principle of how coal generates electricity is fundamentally the same as in Edison’s day, and similar to other thermal power stations like gas: the coal is burned, heating water to create steam, which spins a turbine to produce electricity. 

Throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this is how much of was produced. Coal generation peaked in the early nineties, making up over 60% of the mix before the ‘dash for gas’ heralded its decline.

While globally coal remains the leading source of electricity production, in Britain it will be phased out of the power mix completely by October 2024. 

The heavy spinning turbines in coal and gas generators whose rotating speed syncs with the grid’s frequency bring important stabilising properties like inertia to the electricity system. Wind and solar just cannot cur it. 

Unlike today, most of Britain's electricity came from coal, and so crisis struck in the 1970s when miners voted to strike over wages for six weeks between January and February 1972. 

Miners picketed power stations in an effort to restrict coal supply, leading to mass blackouts around the country and businesses being forced to close. This disagreement stretched until 1974 apparently when then prime minister Sir Edward Heath was forced to implement a three-day working week to preserve energy.

So why 50 years on, and we are still talking about blackouts, sounds like poorly managed infrastructure investments to me, fat cats with bulging pockets and successive clueless governments , lets hope things improve going forward to mitigate those unforeseen events like the attack on Ukraine. 

Anyway to be fair we'd be alright Jack, you see not only do we have some coal left over from last winter but my sister gave me a load of wood to burn so when the central heating is off when the kids go to bed, when the Wife and I chill in-front of the lovely open fire. You forget just how good coal is, the heat produced and how long it lasts is leagues above the smokeless rubbish. 

 

Anyway talking about 50 years on, the rave generation like me is approaching the clang of middle age, and many now have mortgages, responsibilities and children of their own, we expect them to put aside their childish things, to live clean (or merely alcohol-fuddled) lives. But that would be largely boring now wouldn't it, life is for living and recent events have only emphasised that. 

Wiz, isn't exactly a great name for a child's candy now is it when I stumbled upon some in the local Arkwright's Dermot's., still a era largely forgotten these days, which to be honest isn't a bad thing because it was rather illicit I suppose. It was an almost time and tide wait for no man sort of situation, you just had to be part of it.

It was doomed generation though when as far as bizarrely vindictive legislation goes, Section 63 of the 1994 Criminal Justice Act is up there with any other needlessly discriminatory British law.

Basically it gave the police the power to shut down events featuring music that's “characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”, the clause was aimed unequivocally at one particular glass-eyed, cheek-chewing threat to the nation's youth, yes the UK’s illegal rave scene.

Where a fraction of those >million every week partying tragically succumbing to heatstroke the gavel was eventually brought down by the judge in the same vigour as the ravers fuelled by Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine. Now no need for empathogen entactogens with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes for chub fishing. 

Just the sight and smells of cheesepaste to get their sensations hightened and the overwhelming feeling of empathy, and pleasure. Ok, it's a gluttonous chub, maybe slightly exaggerating here. 

I can remember one session in particular where another two anglers were fishing the stretch with maggots and bread and were blanking and I rock up with the Stilton Massive and proceeded to winkle out 3 4lbers all out of the same swim.

When there is colour in the water it is often the default for me, but with it still being clear it is hard to look past bread. Once made it can be left though., so yeah I will have to try this Wiz boosted concoction properly after it has festered for a while to see if the lip tingling chub fancy something a little different, but heck might as well give it a try hadn't I even though it wasn't ideal conditions. !!!

Now Popping candy is made by heating the sugars sucrose, lactose and corn syrup to boiling point. Carbon dioxide is bubbled through the molten mixture at a pressure of around 600 pounds per square inch several times the pressure in a champagne bottle. 

The mixture is then cooled rapidly under pressure to prevent the gas from escaping as the candy solidifies. When the pressure is released, the candy shatters into smaller pieces, each containing tiny bubbles of CO2 that remain trapped until the candy reaches your mouth.

There, the warm, damp conditions dissolve the sugar, and the gas escapes with a satisfying pop. I was expecting it to be all 'activated' but no water to be seen here, so apart from the odd snap, crackle and pop, I assume when it hits the water it might decided to wake up from its slumber. So I was back in the same swim I caught a couple of splashers recently to see I could

No1. get a bite and No.2 land a bigger fish than last time !!!

Best laid plans and all that because boy it was tough !!!

The swim that I caught the fish in last time nothing whatsoever and with the water temperature under 3 degrees now not surprising. Still I persevered after roving 3 or 4 further swims with the landing net literally rock hard, eventually the very last swim within 5 minutes of getting the cheese paste out a drop back bit with the tip under tension a fish was on.

Only a splasher though but most welcome in these challenging cold and clear conditions. After another 10 minutes without any further bites I returned it to its icy lair and decided to call it a day and headed home. When I got back to the car it was showing -6 degrees as 4.30pm, certainly nippy that's for sure.

Mad ? quite clearly yes !!!

Warwickshire Avon - Dough Balls and Doulocracy

Is there a better chub bait than bread ?

Probably not to be honest as they love the stuff, and especially when the water is clear like it was for this short morning session, bread just works. I do prefer cheespaste when it's coloured or fishing in to dark but bread is always in ones armoury. 

Now you would have thought they would be cautious around a large visual bait but it seems to be the opposite and present a bait in-front of their large mouths, bites can be very aggressive indeed.  

It was clear that a roving approach was required for this session, but then it usually is in these winter conditions. I had planned to venture further afield where a 6lber had come out in a match recently but I will give that a go when the conditions are more favourable.

So it was the stretch of convenience, where to be honest I've not done brilliant over the last couple of sessions but not to be out off, I'm sure I could winkle one or two out.  

It was the bigger chub that usually frequent here I've been struggling with where they seemed to have vanished of later leaving behind the small splashers.

In these cold temperatures though a bite, even if its just one is most welcome and 4 swims down without a nibble I did wonder if I was on for a blank again. I wanted a snow chub though better crack on. Oh by the way, the snow seemed very localised because 3 inches of snow turned in to a smattering a couple of miles away, all very weird. 

Anyway thankfully one swim proved to be the winner where after feeding some bread mash within a few seconds of the bread being cast out a tentative pluck turned in to a proper pull round and a fish was on.

It is quite a shallow and plenty of cover so I could see the fish clearly trying to do me over, but the size 6 hook providing a firm hook hold. Probably not even 2lb but it was nice to see the fish on the bank and made the trip out in the cold worthwhile.

I missed the next bite and then the swim went dead, but after 3 more swims without a bite I returned after an hour where I'd left some mash in the swim to prime, where within a few minutes I had another chub on the bank, this time a slightly bigger fish, but still half the size I'm really after.

It felt like an ice block, but fair play for the chub to be feeding, its trying to find them that is half the problem but at least on smaller stretches at least the probability is reduced. 

Warwickshire Avon - Phalluses and Physiognomancy

Now a meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while those using mathematical models and knowledge to prepare daily weather forecasts are called weather forecasters or operational meteorologists.

A job where a finger in the air seems to used extensively because, I'm not being funny but they seem to be more wrong than right these days where you would think with all the aids at their disposal it would be the other way round. 

You see I woke up to a couple of inches of the white stuff that wasn't predicated and when I left home it was still coming down in quite big flakes and must have been at least 3 inches when I left a few hours later after the inevitable. Anyway the snow was perfect for making snowmen or having snowball fights, but I thought this was far more apt to describe the situation. 

To be honest I'd chosen the evening before what I was going to target and that was a Pike. Here in the winter the bait fish shoal up and the pike are not far behind. I've never managed one of the big'uns get, a 12 lber being my best I think but there are some nice swims to fish especially with snow on the ground. 

So two rods, both baited with roach I had a few hours to drop in to these likely pike holding spots where every ten minutes or so I'd twitch the bait to try and get a reaction off a pike, if it was in two minds whether or not to take the bait.

It's surprising how many times that has worked over the years and it can often mean a blank is avoided but with the water temperature even lower than yesterday at 4.4 degrees ⛄❆⛇❅

But if anything is going to bite it's a pike in these conditions where even the chub can be often found huddling together with that extra layer on.

I'd disturbed two cormorants when I was headed down to the river and they were feeding throughout the short session. In one swim over at the far bank where there is thick cover every so often there was a huge disturbance in the water where the bait fish were scattering everywhere. At first I though it was a pike and after getting my baits over there quick smart the culprit showed itself upstream when one came out clear of the water and flew off with a belly full.

I love being out in these conditions though and we are lucky as anglers to see what we see when waterside. The fish were having other ideas because 4 swims down without a bite the 5 was my last gasp attempt to try and winkle out a pike before time was called on proceedings.

I've got all the winter gear now and to be honest I was pretty toasty but a fish would have been the icing on the cake because I fancied a picture of a pike in the snow with me holding it. 

As much as I had my fingers and toes crossed though it didn't happen so I made a hasty retreat and cranked the heating up in the Jimny as my hands by this point were feeling the chill.

It's hovering around freezing as I type so I suspect the snow will be hanging around for a while. The main roads are fine but they rarely grit the country lanes near me so some dicey driving conditions, but you know me, I'm certainly not just a fair weather fisherman, bring it on.