I arrived back from a business trip to the north starved of music. During that week, in a country where the power authority is lobbying for 25 hrs of load shedding per day, work and discussions of work, left no space for music. But on my return domestic servants were bopping and jiving in front of a sink full of dirty dishes to the new “fall song”. Very catchy!
The middle Mooi was also apparently bopping and jiving in a brown sort of way. There had been heavy rain up on Allandale, and the algae is being flushed out of that river and elsewhere. If I can find a clean river, I think I will head out with REM, Billy Joel and others to keep me company. Flush the cobwebs out of my head. Shake off this droughty, hot green season, of work and troubles, and fish a nymph with lead in it for once. Perhaps I will get to celebrate the whisked nymph. That is a nymph that gets whisked away without getting down enough. It’s been a long time since I got to have that problem. On the few occasions I have ventured onto a river, I have had to scan through my armoury looking for un-weighted patterns. In fact I plain gave up on nymphs, because I was tiring of losing them on the slimy rocks a few inches under the surface.
Now, while not denying that we remain in a drought, I have the old familiar pleasure of having to phone around to find clean water. I don’t think I will ever complain again. I also think I will stock more un-weighted patterns, because on some level I think I jinxed this whole thing by being so blasé as not to stock enough. If they go hunting for the guy who caused el nino, I might go into hiding for a few days.
A playlist you say. er…I’ve never done this before but okay let’s give it a bash. Some old favourites:
https://soundcloud.com/andrew-fowler-741698849/sets/return-from-zambia
Right now the skies look pregnant with rain, and the humidity hangs in the air. Perhaps I will get soaked. Caught up some valley with no caves. Drenched to the skin in cooling air, and get a chill and shiver until my teeth rattle and I can’t change fly.
I hope so.
(It rained before I could post this. All our local streams are chocolate brown and going like steam trains. I stopped beside a stream yesterday and listened to its own music. No amount of lead would have made fishing a prospect. What sweet music to these ears!)
2 Responses
Hi Andrew,
You’ll find clean rivers down here !
I was sure that I had ordered a 2nd copy of your book when you announced it in September. However, on going through my bank statements I can’t find a payment.
Could you please check up and let me know if you received an order from me. If not, I would like to do so if there are still copies available.
Could you let me know the status, please ?
And, if you do come down this to fish, there is always a bed here !
Many thanks,
Miles
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Hi Miles. Hoping that your rivers are getting a good clean out whichever way. There are indeed books available. I will get hold of you shortly to clarify and arrange. And here’s a weird thing…to those readers thinking that Miles and I are sloppy typists, this comment will not accept the letter “F” in various positions in text. …no matter how hard I pulled the handle I couldn’t ….flush a river…there…it did it again. “….flip!”