Blackpowder

When the wind 's in the east the fish bite the least. Blackpowder

I'm sure yew leaves are poisonous to farm lifestock? Blackpowder

An open question. The young rooks will be on the branches in a few weeks time, should we no longer cull them with .22s? Blackpowder

Not seen them for years but Eley used to do a ,"Maximum" cartridge in a 2 1/2 inch case with the same load as a standard 2 3/4 inch case. Blackpowder

Sad to here of the loss of a shooting companion, its never easy but alas inevitable. Interesting post on owl decoys, the crow is always a worthy and difficult target. Last month while decoying pigeons I twice shot carrion crows or hoody craws as we call them here, in both instances the mate came to investigate and one paid the price the other never came within range. Saw the same thing with rooks, there always seemed to be a wake for the dead bird. Blackpowder

Nice work and that does look like a great little valley you have there. Blackpowder

Anyone got the ferry times? Blackpowder

I'm with you Popgun on that, years ago I talked to an old gunner from Holy Island (Lindisfarne) who maintained that within 6 weeks of lead shot landing on the slake it was rendered safe naturally. He most likely would have had this information from a scientific source as the man was well respected in ornitholigcal circles due to his knowledge of the Islands bird life. The ban on lead for wildfowl was as much political as opposed to conservation. Blackpowder

Not very keen on F1 as most of the cars look the same, a lack of individuality. Back in the 1950s when motor sport took place on disused airfields near here some of us wandered about free and easy in the pits during practice sessions and stood alongside drivers such as Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn, top men of their time. Mind I do like to see cars of this era in classic car races with drivers wrestling with huge steering wheels, elbows protruding outside the cockpit. Dangerous stuff, one thing the development of modern cars has led to greater safety for drivers. Blackpowder

Previous posters who have cited the pheasant as a first class sprinter are spot on. Anyone who has prepared pheasants or pigeon for the table will be aware that pheasant legs have dark meat = working muscle, pigeon breasts have dark meat= working muscle. A pheasant can be pretty nippy on the wing curving and curling in a wind , but incapable of the rapid change of direction of a woody when you blink from behind a face mask in the shade of a peaked cap. Blackpowder

Never used one but when I used to do some coastal wildfowling often felt the need for one out on the mud of Fenham Flats. Thinking of the number of times I lay my gun down when decoying pigeons, at times a sling would very useful. Blackpowder

A great pastime for keeping the hoodlums off the streets, alas never could see the point of it myself 22 men chasing a bag of wind around a grass park. Let us not forget it is business, the reason I called it a pastime at the start rather than a sport. I think one of the saddest things to see is a grown man sporting a stripey shirt with another man's name on it. Ugh. Blackpowder PS I thought football was boring until I chanced to see a rugby match on the telly. ( 10 seconds accidentally)

A great pastime for keeping the hoodlums off the streets, alas never could see the point of it myself 22 men chasing a bag of wind around a grass park. Let us not forget it is business, the reason I called it a pastime at the start rather than a sport. I think one of the saddest things to see is a grown man sporting a stripey shirt with another man's name on it. Ugh. Blackpowder PS I thought football was boring until I chanced to see a rugby match on the telly. ( 10 seconds accidentally)

No family is grown up and no grandchildren so it is very much a thing of the past for me at the moment. Speaking to a friend the other day and he was recalling when his children were young, mainly about how variable Eastrer weather could be ,as they had rolled their eggs in everything from hail showers to suffering the effect s of sunburn. Blackpowder

Hi Shuck, I thought you were winding me up on April 1st that you had never heard of dyed easter eggs. It was a strong tradition for us wartime kids, the easter eagg usually hens or ducks was dyed using something like onion skins to make a fancy pattern as they were being hard boiled. It could be quite an art form some mothers tying the eggs in lace, or binding primroses to the eggs with non fast dyed cloth. These hard boiled eggs were rolled on Easter Monday, most villages and farms had a sloping grass field where this took place, once the eggs had been rolled and broken the first two or three were consumed with extreme gusto until the novelty wore of. Sometimes known as , "pace eggs" about here the rolling was supposed to signify the rolling aside of the boulders sealing Christ's tomb, or so we were told at school. Yes eventually Blackpowder did get his chocolate egg most likely sometime in the early 1950s, but never as a nipper as there simple were none. Regards Blackpowder

Come on lad you must be a mere whippersnapper even on April 1st if you have never heard of dyed eggs Blackpowder

Further to the topic on chocolate eggs does anyone still dye and or decorate Easter Eggs? Blackpowder

That is bad news, my shotguns are all over 100 years old and I just do not want to subject them to the punishment of lead shot. What knowledge have these people who oppose the ban anyway. There are sporting estates around here, in fact all over Britain where lead shot has been used for up to 200 years. On these estates you WILL find a wider diversity of flora and fauna than on mere farmland, it is time that the shooting fraternity made its voice more loudly heard in this issue. Blackpowder

When I run an inshore fishing boat it was worthwhile to be volountarily registered as there were virtually no payments to make, food being zero rated. The tandem angling charter business was run as a seperate item and would never reach the turnover required for compulsory registration. When I left the fishing to return to the building industry, where I never intended being other than a one man band, my accountant advised against registration and that I should try to keep my turnover below that where registration is compulsary- even if it meant taking an extra few weeks holiday a year. A reliable accountant is the best person to davise you for your individual circumstances. Regards Blackpowder

I hope they catch the ******** and birch them in public. Dont count on it, I was just told yesterday a little scroat, who with his cider drunken pals just passed the work site, had handed himself in to the police station as he was not going to do community service or pay fines. Yet there he was biold as brass and the worse of wear in the middle of the day. Also sorry to here of your hassle Hendersons Blackpowder

No could not live without transport, fishing , shooting all take place off regular bus routes which are few and far between anyway. Blackpowder