Writer, fly-fisher, river restorationist
The past few weeks have been busy with new project development (of which, I hope, more soon!) but I’ve also had the thrill of meeting two great and influential writers on the banks of the Wandle. First up was Tankred Rinder, Austrian author and editor of the rapidly-growing Forelle und Aesche e-zine. Tankred fished the Wandle [...]
Between bursts of freelance copywriting and other life interruptions like running the launch of the new South East Rivers Trust, the last couple of months have had a kinda bookish flavour in and around south London… First there was the very enjoyable task of reading and reviewing a proof copy of my good pal Charles [...]
I’m delighted to announce that my latest Trout in Dirty Places flavoured feature has just appeared in this week’s issue of Shooting Times. The article focuses on urban fly-fishing opportunities for trout and grayling in Britain’s market towns including Fakenham, Leominster and Tiverton, and I’ve also (briefly!) addressed the vital role that’s played by good [...]
This time last year when I wrote in my introduction to Trout in Dirty Places … Despite their recovery and fragile resilence, we shouldn’t be in any doubt that urban trout and grayling still inhabit rivers on a knife edge. Chances are, between the time I finish writing this book and you start reading it, [...]
With the razzmatazz of the book launch behind us, the Trout in Dirty Places show has been on the road out of London… … first for a book-signing event and generally big night out at the Hillsborough Hotel microbrewery in Sheffield, complete with pints of deliciously hoppy Wobbly Wader beer (with 10p per pint generously [...]
At last summer’s Game Fair, Fly Fishing & Fly Tying editor Mark Bowler asked me if I’d like to put together a feature nominating my favourite urban rivers, to coincide with the publication of Trout in Dirty Places. So here’s my top 10*… available by subscription or from all good news stands, in the current [...]
One week on from the official launch of Trout in Dirty Places at Grangers in South Kensington, and the slightly scary sense that I haven’t so much dropped a pebble into the margins of a quiet pool as heaved a bloody great boulder into a cast-iron bathtub… … is slowly starting to subside. Still, it’s [...]
Accompanied by doom-laden headlines about hosepipe bans, double-dip recession, petrol shortages, and killer shrimp in the Norfolk Broads, next Tuesday’s official publication date for Trout in Dirty Places is creeping ever closer. And like that old (but very apt) analogy of a dropped pebble’s ripples widening over a pool, the story still seems to be [...]
Thanks to my highly-efficient publishers and a very fast slow boat from China, pre-publication copies of Trout in Dirty Places are now available to buy online from Merlin Unwin Books. (Complete with more than 200 colour photos and a front cover shot from the talented Dominic Garnett). Go get ‘em… or contact me direct if [...]
My publisher Merlin Unwin promised me a few months ago that there’s nothing quite like the moment when the first copy of your first book finally hits your desk. And guess what? He was right. After years of research and exploration, and almost unbelievable generosity and help from more than 200 people (count ‘em on the [...]
