Good Evening.
Whenever I write a post I never quite know how people will read it. Last night’s post was not supposed to be really negative but perhaps it came across that way. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I suppose sometimes my writing may reflect my mood. The important thing to mention is it would be very false of me to make out that I am swinging from the trees everyday and singing myself to sleep at night. I do have days when I find it a struggle and I want that to be captured on the blog. It is ultimately about the highs and lows of a carp angler and the successes and failures. I want the blog to be a real representation of how I am feeling.
After I read some of the comments posted this morning I decided to go and gather some wood. I started the morning with my customary coffee and handful of Italian pastries and then got wrapped up warm, put on glasses to protect my eyes from flicking branches, and went for a wander up the shoreline to my left. It is truly littered with dead branches, driftwood and logs of all sizes and descriptions. I dragged most of it back to my swim and it now resembled a good morning’s work. The next job involved snapping and cutting the branches, and as the borrowed chainsaw is now in need of resharpening, the majority had to be done with the bowsaw; what a great way to warm up though!
My friend arrived for his usual lunchtime walk and coffee, so he helped out a little as I got my Mocha coffee maker on the stove. Charley was busy selecting her own pile of twigs, as she normally does, and everytime I put a few onto a pile near my fire, she would have a quick look, select one she liked and take it off to her own collection that she guards very closely. If Flash goes near her pile of sticks, she bears her teeth and gives him a look “Just you dare!”
"Now...which one shall I take!"
"That's better!"
After Marco had left and I had finished my morning chores I was quite hungry. I remembered the tomatoes that Emanuele had bought me on Saturday. I fancied some energising pasta so they were perfect for my intended dish. A small onion, some garlic, the tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, chillis, with spaghetti for energy and tuna for protein were the humble ingredients. I spent the next fourty five minutes preparing and cooking a classic dish any Italian would have been proud of!
The magic tomatoes, an onion and garlic.
Softening the onion and garlic in of course...Olive oil
Grandmother's secret tomatoes!!
25 miutues of simmering and softening to a pulp.
Chilli for fire...
Roughly chopped with my Spyderco Rocksalt knife.
The all important spaghetti is dropped into salted boiling water.
Tuna is added for protein.
The al dente pasta is added to the sauce.
and gently stirred in...add more Olive oil according to taste.
"Bellissimo!"
My fire is all ready to be lit in an hour or so. The rods have remained the way they are and I have added no more bait into the equation. I don’t think lack of bait is the problem – just the lack of feeding carp. My friend is returning later with a nice bottle of red wine and I gave him some Euros earlier to buy some Parma ham. An evening in front of the fire beckons, sipping on fine red wine, and enjoying slithers of Parma’s finest produce. Sounds like a perfect night to be honest.
My friend Matt Dent emailed me yesterday after I posted the blog. The subject of the email read ‘One to slit ur wrists too!’ Attached to his email was a YouTube clip of Coldplay’s – The Scientist; his message read ‘you and the carp’! I have one thing to say. Nothing is ever that bad my friend!
Have a good Evening.
Jake and the dogs.
