The little willow warbler’s sad and lovely song is one of the evocative sounds of spring
My previous article (A farewell to foul February, 25 March) concluded: “Things, as they say, can only get better.” I am, of course, now hanging my head in shame because, in the course of the intervening weeks, things have not got better; they have got a whole lot worse.
Life has come to a virtual standstill and anxiety and fear are tangible in the air. It is a time of pain and sickness, of death and grief; but it is also a time of generous service and noble selfsacrifice. It is most certainly not a time to complain that I cannot go fishing or that prospects for the coming shooting season look uncertain at best.
Most of us will fish again and most of us will at some time once again lift a gun to our shoulder on a bright winter’s day. It is a time to think of those who have caught their last trout and those who have brought their last pheasant falling out of the sky.
Of course I am missing my rivers and I hope that things might be more or less back to normal when the time for shooting comes round. But much more than this I am feeling sorrow for the victims of this disease while, for my own part, I am relieved. As yet, no one close to me has fallen sick and I can maintain some sort of contact with the life of nature and with things that matter to me very deeply.
High Park is one of those things. It takes the Land Rover three minutes to make the short journey and I go there with the dogs every morning to let out and feed the hens — Tony puts them away at night — and on alternate days to collect eggs for my own use and for distribution to neighbours even more decrepit than I am.
Denne historien er fra April 22, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra April 22, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside