IT used to be claimed that, in its heyday, the Daily Express was read by everyone from 'a Duke to a dustman'. And, indeed, back when I was briefly its Fishing Correspondent, I fished with both, although never simultaneously. I'm no social anthropologist, but there must similarly be something remarkable about angling for it to have a history of such broad appeal-from Izaak Walton (ironmonger) to Augustus Caesar (emperor) encompassing on the way Coco Chanel, Chekhov, Charlie Chaplin, Billy Connolly, Bing Crosby and Fidel Castro. I wonder, however, do certain professions seem to have a particular affinity with river and loch?
The impish 'BB'-author of that classic The Little Grey Men-certainly thought so, proposing in a splendid period piece that 'Hairdressers are perhaps the most prone to a love of fishing' and 'Bream fishers are usually big, flat-footed men: retired constables and railwaymen'. Let us consider some categories of similar vocational 'typecasting'.
There is a lively tradition of British royalty being as keen as knives on rod and line, beginning with Charles II in the company of his Nell, via George IV assiduously floatfishing the Serpentine, then the late Queen Mother, to our present monarch, an adept aficionado of cane rods and Scottish streams. Moving on to the political class: sporting dictators include Nero, Franco and Putin, whereas American Presidents make a strong showing FDR pursued marlin, Carter liked flydressing and I once encountered George Bush père on the bonefish flats. Sir Edward Grey (Foreign Secretary) was famously a fisher, as were J. W. Hills MP and Earl Home. Nigel Farage apparently likes the occasional cast (perhaps it's his fondness for spin), although our present Premier seems not to have been tempted by the College stretch of the Itchen at Winchester and (despite her moniker) the idea of Ms Sturgeon strapped into a fighting chair makes me spill my Horlicks.
Denne historien er fra May 22, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 22, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds