Beautiful Day Painful Night

Monday morning and I had promised Rhys that today we would go fishing, so off we went (Kay as well to give me a hand) to take our chairs and fishing gear up onto the canal side looking for a favourable spot, which was harder than you might think as most of the cleared areas were occupied by long boats and pleasure cruisers. Eventually we found as small area clear of rushes and weeds, apart from some nettles that stung my hands and legs as I trampled them down. 

Once in position they both trundled off leaving me with the task of setting everything up as the Munchkins patience span is very short to say the least and can be more of a hindrance than a help.

They returned thirty minutes later just as I had finished setting his rod up and trying out the other one with a spinner and surprisingly landing a very small perch. 

So Rhys and I sat down in the glorious sunshine to do a spot of fishing while Kay went back to the RV to do some chores.

After an hour it soon became apparent that Rhys preferred to bury his head in his book and only occasionally bothering to watch his float, yet even then he still managed to land two small Perch now beating his Bamps by one fish as I’d still had no further luck.

After Munchkin had finished the packed lunch that Kay had provided us with he decided he’d had enough this was boring, so I phoned Kay to come and collect him so that at least I could have a spot of me time.

Bliss, peace and quiet, it was great watching the different boats sail by but luck was still not with me as I'd not even had a nibble. I had sat there for ages waiting for even a small one to take the bait as I still trailed the Munchkin by one fish and he’d never let me hear the last of it if I didn’t catch another.

Right time for a change of tactics, instead of maggot I hooked up a feeder with a two 10mm bollies broken in half and tied them next to the hook. In it went and I sat back to see if there was anything decent in the swim to take a bait of that size.

Three minutes later bang the rod bent over; I grabbed the rod and hauled in the biggest Bream I'd ever seen just as three visitors had stopped by to watch me land this monster. 

I managed to get the landing net under the fish with my left hand while the right held the rod and it was one huge strain to get the fish up onto the bank. 

I roughly estimated it would weigh around 5Lb but I think I greatly underestimated the weight of the fish it was a beauty. 

I totally forgot that I had a set of weighing scales or that my mobile had a camera, I was more concerned with getting the fish unhooked and safely back into the water.

It soon became the talk of the canal bank as my visitors went to tell all the other anglers of the huge fish I’d landed.

Well it all went quiet again and soon I was telephoning Kay for her and the Munchkin to come and help me carry the fishing gear back to the RV. 

He was miffed that I’d not saved the fish for him to see and the other anglers we passed on the way back totally blanked me, I think they were having a bad day too.

Anyway that night the pain in my left shoulder and neck was terrible, I realized I had strained a muscle or the tendons when I was landing the fish one handed as the weight must have been multiplied by the length of the landing net handle, I must learn to use it better next time. 

So last night I really had trouble sleeping until I finally took some pain killers.

Today we had promised the Munchkin a trip to the Aquarium in Bristol. It was overcast but dry so we headed off down the M5 to Bristol and used the towns Park & Ride which dropped us off right outside the Aquarium.

Aquarium web site http://www.bristolaquarium.co.uk/

Inside there was a huge IMAX cinema showing 3D movies of sharks and Sea reptiles from the Jurassic period. Rhys loved it all, we spent ages viewing all the tanks of fish and afterwards we had a lunch at the Aquarium before heading off to see SS Great Britain on the other side of the docks.

For extra info go to this site http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/

Taxi over the docks

Is that it Bamps

SS Great Britain

Below In the Dry Dock

Rhys at the stern

The1st class Galley & Food

How the other half lived

Bamps this ones a dummy

SS Great Britain

By 5.30 we were whacked out and headed back to the Park & Ride and the drive back up the M5 to Slimbridge. Pity that this was of course the time of day when all the workers were heading home, the bus was packed and so was the motorway. Still were back now safe and sound and settling down for the evening Oh and the pains have nearly gone at last.

More Anon.