Thames Conservancy

This delightful piece of ephemera dates from 1955 and was unearthed from a market stall "off manor" as they say - I enjoy picking up items off my home turf and this is one of a few  items found recently. You can just imagine famed man of the Thames AE Hobbs reading this and thinking "not likely, there be big trout and perch in those weirs". Fancy another pint of Brakespear Albert?

Any cake?

Buried Treasure Part 9

The year is 1981. A few days into a new coarse fishing season and a year after Ferney caught his Redmire Pool record. We boys were still on a high about this and constantly thumbed our copies of Angling magazine which had a superb photo special spread to mark the capture.

I opened the season in 1981 at a lovely pool which I had to myself and was filled with excitement as I caught a Donald Leney carp of about 6lbs. I can still see the float going under now. I had cycled from home at first light to the village a couple of miles away where a legendary former Redmire angler allowed the local tackle shop to issue day tickets to fish his pool. I loved it there, paradise for 50p.

It was a Tuesday and I had bunked off school. My classmates were all caught on the canal after being dobbed in, but I remained undisturbed in a quiet corner of Gloucestershire just watching my float and excited about a new season and a gig in a couple of nights!

The poster (above) was from the gig and recently found in a quiet undisturbed section of my folks loft! Buried treasure! A piece of letterpress history and my first ever gig at 13 years of age.......it was brilliant. Halcyon days. Here comes the summer.

Ephemera rules ok!

Destined for the skip, these 1970's Nature Conservancy leaflets just had to be saved. Designed and illustrated by Syd Lewis.

Hedges & Shelterbelts - 1973

Tree Planting & Wildlife Conservation - 1974

Ponds & Ditches - 1973