England - Midlands (East)
Kelmarsh Game and Country Fair 31st March/1st April
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 09 April 2013 09:50
- Written by Malcolm March
Well, no-one thought beforehand it would be easy. We were all praying the event would be cancelled by the organisers, Countryman Fairs, but the conditions at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire were truly atrocious. Temperature below freezing all day on both days, the lake completely iced over, biting easterly winds, and snowdrifts !
Sharing a GAIA tent with the Salmon and Trout Association were Barry Grantham, Paul Dunstan and myself, and we gave casting tuition to a grand total of 6 people ! Plus varied fishing discussions with callers and dogs sheltering from the wind.
Still, we enjoyed ourselves as only GAIA members can by swapping stories and gossip, taking Barry through his GAIC syllabus, drinking his wife Rose's tea, and training my new dog. It also helped that a nearby tent was giving free samples of sloe gin.
The weather and conditions are always terrible at Kelmarsh, so it's debatable whether we will attend next year. But,we say that every year and always return ! Masochists ?
East Midlands Region - Fly Tying Event
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 06 March 2013 16:39
- Written by Wendy Gibson
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It went so well and everyone asked afterwards if it would be possible to organise another similar event because they had all learnt such a lot, and consequently had a much better understanding of the GAIC syllabus for fly tying. We started at 8:30am, splitting the day into four workshops for Philip White and four for myself, each one covering different techniques. Also we each ran an open workshop, which gave us the opportunity to clarify other elements in the the syllabus. We could have carried on a lot longer but at 4:30 we had to call it a day. Some had to leave early because of the long distance that they had traveled but the rest did not want to go home because they were enjoying themselves too much, with the good food and friendly atmosphere. Everyone learnt a lot !! Ray took some photos, see attachments (see below).
Wendy
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Assessor Training at Strelley Hall, Nottingham
- Details
- Published on Monday, 11 April 2011 08:40
- Written by John Symonds - Regional Coordinator
Under the experienced guidance of Sally Pizzi and Jim Gill a gaggle of us spent an enjoyable weekend from the 9th-10th April 2011 in the grand surroundings of Strelley Hall, Nottingham, training to become GAIA Assessors and Mentors.