Passing on the flame

Simon Whitehead collects a brace of kits from ‘Granda’ Bob Merrin and is reminded of lessons learned and where it all began

- Simon Whitehead

In the early noughties, in Nottinghamshire, I presided over the one and only working ferret class I have ever judged. A gentleman there caught my attention. His infectious laughter filled the small and smoky room where the ferrets and owners assembled to be judged. Wearing his trademark bib and brace, tweed deerstalker, and sporting a beard before they were fashionable, Bob Merrin — or ‘Granda Bob’, as he is affectionately known — held court, wearing a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

Long before the age of social media, even before the internet had taken off, Bob was the fount of ferreting knowledge in his local area. As the internet grew, so did his reputation, technology allowing more people to learn his ways and benefit from his years of experience. Nowadays, we take for granted that we can share experiences from not just across the country but across the globe. But not too long ago, such a thing was unheard of.

Over the years since that first meeting, I have listened to all that Bob has to say. I have learned an incredible amount about traps and trapping and rabbiting in general. Without these characters of our fast diminishing sport, our knowledge takes a lot longer to gather. One gem that I picked up on years ago was that whoever you are, or whoever you think you are, you are only as good as the animals you work with. As we are raising our future mustelid grafters, it is worth keeping in mind that the whole purpose of breeding is to try to improve what you already have, rather than breeding for the sake of it.