Have you heard? We´re living in a new era! It´s post-truth. Everybody´s talking about it so I guess it must be true, if anything can now be considered to be true that is.
It seems to me that truth didn´t keel over and expire suddenly. Instead, it underwent a gradual deterioration of health last year before it finally succumbed. There was no bedside vigil in the final hours and days. It was gone before anyone noticed. View full article »
My brother Sean has just gone off and bought himself a kayak. How this came about is an amusing story in itself. Out of the blue came an unexpected windfall from his work. It was not a fortune, by any means, but it was enough to allow him to go and buy himself a pretty respectable kayak.
So he turns up at the shop and then sees an even better one – much better! And for just a little bit more. He had been given clearance by his long- suffering wife to use the unexpected bonus to make a one-off purchase but, of course, she was not around when he decided to upgrade to an all-singing, all-dancing kayak with the necessary accessories. View full article »
It´s that time of the year now when most of us abandon any thoughts of fishing. The rods are stowed away somewhere. Maybe there is a decent fishing book on the go, or a few flies to tie up, but otherwise things have gone quiet.
Personally, I have my feet up on the coffee table and am eyeing up a box of biscuits doing the rounds of the living room. After that I might send my son Leo into the kitchen to procure a beer for me. View full article »
There are mice everywhere. I have been catching them at home all week and taking them out into the campo before releasing them. It´s become a kind of sport – small game hunting. If you don´t have any hobbies you might consider taking it up and if you are on a tight budget it might suit you well. After all, it´s much cheaper than going on a safari. View full article »
If you know the Río Grande at all you may well know about a stretch of water I call the “Goat” pool. It is a relatively deep pool and fish remain there throughout the year, even in high summer when much of the rest of the river pretty much dries out. If you are looking upstream the left bank gives easy access but if you go stomping up to the river you will put everything down. The opposite bank is quite elevated and leads up to a goat farm. You can sit on an enormous rock here and look down. The water is deep there and, chances are, there will be fish swimming around right below you. View full article »
My wife has X ray eyes. She can take one look at me and see right into my soul. She can see through anyone but not as well as she can see through me. There is no point lying to her and I can forget trying to keep any secrets. She knows the thoughts that rattle around in my head better than I do.
So she was not surprised that, when I said I might take a look at the river this morning, on the way back from Málaga, I did a little more than see how the river was clearing after heavy rain. I disappeared fishing. View full article »
Málaga seems to be underwater at the moment. The news here is all about flooding and rivers bursting their banks and social media is full of images and videos of people being rescued by helicopter, of flood water charging though urban streets, flooded underpasses, water cascading down into the metro system in Málaga, and of cars and buses immersed in water. There has been at least one fatality so far. We have largely escaped damage ourselves but others have not been so lucky. View full article »
So you think scuba divers are cool? Maybe you visualize a diver as some sexy neoprene-clad temptress who unzips her wetsuit a little, shakes her hair and says “Wow that was great! I really get a kick out of hand-feeding those giant groupers! And l just love the way those huge manta rays glide by like enormous birds!” View full article »
My hold on sanity may seem pretty tenuous at times but I take comfort in the thought that nearly everyone in the whole world seems to be completely off their trolley. Don´t even get me started talking about Trump or the delusional numbskulls who put him in office. If I get started on that we´ll be here all day. Instead, let´s head off to Japan to see the latest evidence that, as a species, we have walked right up to the edge of the cliff of rational thought and are peeking into the abyss. Quite a few have jumped already. View full article »
You should never pass up the opportunity to put on a pair of wellies and stand in a puddle. If you don´t believe me just ask a kid, any kid. They may not be able to explain what makes it so much fun to be simply splashing around. They just know that it is. Kids are wise that way. For me there is something about being partially immersed in a muddy liquid while your feet are warm and dry that is very satisfying, Christ knows why. View full article »
