Cancel the order for gills and webbed feet!  At long last its stopped raining.  I can't remember the last time it remained dry for 24 hours.  It seems like weeks since we had a really dry spell and the clay soil up here at Horton is absolutely sodden.  Mind you, that's probably nothing new as the word Horton means "mucky farm" in Angelo Saxon.  My runner ducks have been busy re-enacting the battle of the Somme and turning the bottom garden into a pretty good representation of a battlefield after sustained shell fire.

It's been a mixed week on the fishery.  I had a really productive chat on Tuesday with our local police Sargent about security for members fishing at Horton.  Sargent Thornthwaite seemed genuinely interested in my concerns about possible future threats to members from sabs and has gone away to talk to Neil Handy about drawing up a 10 point list of advice that can be sent to members.  He asked a lot of questions about the history of the club  and I think that we can expect a much more proactive police presence at Horton in future.  This is being driven by his new Inspector who regards effective policing as being about feet on the ground not bums on car seats.

Thursday brought an email that left me wondering if teachers inhabit the same planet as the rest of us mere mortals.  As you will recall we have spent the best part of 12 months pulling together a habitat improvement project for Cam Beck which depended on Craven College students doing the work as part of their land management course.  This project was due to start on 8 November but, despite promises and commitments, It's proved less than easy to pin Craven College to a firm start date.  Back in late October the College informed me that they were having difficulties finding a tutor and might not be able to do the work until March.  My response was curt as such delay would lose the grant funding we have received to cover the cost of materials.  All seemed back on course with the involvement of two tutors with fencing experience, but Thursday's email informed me that the College were now pleased to tell me that they could start work on 21 February.  Ye God's!  Still it's slightly better than March and at least gives me some time to get the trees in before the end of March.  A quick email to the Millennium Trust to check whether they will hold open the grant until then and we are back in business.  What really annoys me is the fact that people who are supposed to be guiding these young people towards a self reliant and responsible future life seem to be quite happy to treat commitments as infinitely flexible.  No wonder we are producing a generation of youngsters who regard their own self interest as paramount.  Or am I becoming a grumpy old man?

Friday brought the Craven Herald which contains a notice issued by the Environment Agency that will be of interest to all who fish the Ribble.  The EA have made an order under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 that will:
    provide that the number of licenses to be allocated in any one year for fishing for salmon  and migratory trout with nets in the Ribble Estuary shall be limited to two;

    provide for the issue of additional licenses if this number is insufficient to satisfy the applications of all those who held such a license in the preceding year;

    provide that not more than one license shall be issued to each person in respect of the area described as the Ribble estuary;

In addition the Agency have made a new by-law that will:
    restrict the number of salmon that may be caught and killed when fishing with rod and line on the river Ribble to two per season.

The EA are now inviting objections to the order to be sent to DEFRA prior to the Secretary of State confirming both the order and by-law.

I make no comment, but would be interested in members' observations on the new by-law.

More next week

Ian