Mike Kelly's Water Log: Season's Greetings

Monday, 24 December 2012

Season's Greetings

I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to read my inexpert ramblings this year; I have been surprised and delighted by the huge response to my posts.

The recipes for Chili Jam, Moroccan Chicken and Herman Cake have been extraordinarily popular as have my Blogs on Mushrooms and Foraging, I promise to expand on these next year and to add to the bread posts which have been some of the most requested.

I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and all you would wish yourselves for 2013.

My sincere thanks.

Mike

Introduction

Hi and welcome to my blog. I may, of course, be talking to myself, but my statistics page seems to indicate not.

Now this blog started off a few years ago as a fishing diary. I am an inadequate, and lately, irregular fisherman who has a passion for pike and trout – the former in the colder months, the latter in the summer or when I perceive that the pike will not be troubled by my baits due to the higher water temperatures or the distraction of sex (theirs – not mine!)

I have had some success, catching pike to twenty six pounds and trout to ten, but I have always enjoyed the “being there” rather than the catching. Please don’t misunderstand – not catching can make me incredibly grumpy at the “unfairness” of fishing, life and the Universe, but generally, piscatorial reward is attained and a wet, slimy specimen is usually held up with some semblance of a smile on my face in the direction of a camera to prove the effectiveness of my fishing method.

However, as I have previously intimated, it is “being there” that I love; the scenery in Scotland the warmth of the South East, the diversity and potency of the “Outdoors” wherever you may find yourself has always appealed to me and it took some time for me to appreciate that it was this love of being outside rather than the love of fishing that took me there. It was the need to be in the open air that fired my passion for angling and so for years I struggled to answer that eternal question asked of sport fishermen all over the world – “why”?

As I grow older and wider I have come to understand that some things in life are more precious than others; the love of a good woman, the happiness and strength of ones children, health, and the appreciative awareness of the world around us. I’m not too interested in the latest TV, car or computer system – but I could easily get breathless thinking about the new Stainless Steel Kelly Kettle or the prospect of baking bread.

And so, this blog has evolved over a few short years into a Foraging, Fishing, Foodie blog which I hope portrays a genuine regard for and love of the countryside around us. I hope you enjoy at least some of it.

Mike Kelly's Water Log

Monday, 24 December 2012

Season's Greetings

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