...We're only making plans for.....

Actually I don't think we've ever had a Nigel.

This is Roy, Charlie, Sam and Gordon starting to get the equipment ready for after the Easter break when we start teaching kids fishing again on Tuesday nights. We normally get about 25 youngsters ranging from 5 to about 14 ,each Tuesday for 2 1/2 hours, some who've never fished before, some who think they know it all already.

Some of the parents are brilliant and stay to watch and encourage, others use it as a cheap child minding service (we only charge £1 per session to cover the cost of the bait). The money for the equipment comes from cajoling the Environment Agency and Sport England into some form of grant and then we "pressurise" the local tackle shops into providing it all at cost.

Shaun and Sam and me are fully qualified coaches so we have to take charge of about 8 kids each and the others help, so we split the groups and manage three or four helpers.We run the sessions and several Junior matches until September and then we have a barbecue and Prize Evening.None of us gets paid for it, and there's always repairs to do every Saturday morning ready for the next week.

Why do we do it? Because we can, and it helps keep youngsters off the streets and hopefully some will take it up and become members.

There's normally a few laughs along the way. Like the little lad who came with his own rod and was quickly christened "Zorro" as he waved it about every one's ears. Or the little one we found fishing on the grass beside the pond. He hadn't caught any fish so he was trying to catch a black bird! We even had one turn up with all the gear (obviously bought by an over indulgent parent) who was quite cocky and wouldn't listen to instructions, insisting he was "a really, really good fishing man". He clearly wasn't because he set up all his gear including super-duper chair, sat down and the chair promptly collapsed and he went head first into the pond! He listened very carefully after that.

I'll blip the odd session over the summer just so you can see what's going on.

Das vidanya moy padruga.