Scully Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Last saturday night we had our usual shoot dinner in the small cafe in the small village around which our syndicate shoots. The owners of the cafe beat on our shoot when time allows. The members consist of a retired submarine commander ( and survivor of three heart attacks) and his son who works in IT, an upmarket estate agent (nothing under a few million basically), two wagon drivers, a gamekeeper, a property developer, a farmer, a painter (me), a wagon fitter, a rep (best mate), a ground worker and the land owner, plus beaters and dog walkers who don't get paid but merely enjoy the day out. The landowner owns properties and land all over the village and was educated at either Eton or Oxford. He's a great bloke with a wicked sense of humour and is getting married (again) this coming spring. On one of the shoots this season I was walking up a road to meet up with the rest of the guns after being back gun on the first drive, and heard someone grunting in the hedgerow. As I turned to see who it was I saw the landowner with a big red face as he struggled to negotiate an old battered gate with his slipped gun over one shoulder and his cartridge bag over the other. When I asked him if I could give him a hand he said, 'No thank you *****, I think I can manage', and after rearranging himself after climbing down said to me. 'You know, my Grandfather once said to me; "there are two things in this life which are almost impossible to mount; the first being a woman running away from you, the second being a gate leaning towards you" '! Brilliant! We chuckled all the way up the hill. Anyhow, at the dinner he recalled how at the age of 15 his Father had taken him to the house of commons as his Father thought it was time he saw 'the home of democracy'. He told us he saw Winston Churchill carried in by two ushers and placed in his seat, and within a few weeks had died. As a schoolboy he was taken to the funeral. He has a fully functioning Mauser bolt action rifle from the Boer war and once took us up to his house after a shoot for a bit play with it. Very nice. He is a fascinating bloke to listen to. His Fathers sister was a nurse during WW2 and found herself in Belsen, tending to the inmates, and when asked by a Dr she had never met before, to hold a drip (or something along those lines) above one particular patient, discovered during conversation that he was her brothers best friend. They were later married. The estate agents Father is in his 90's, and flew Mosquitos in WW2. He is even more fascinating to listen to, and was once introduced to a high ranking US officer who had heard a lot about the British Mosquito and had made it clear that he wasn't about to leave without first having been taken for 'a short spin' around the coast. It was General Patton, complete with a brace of holstered pearl handled Colt SAA's. Apparently he whooped like a cowboy as they buzzed the South coast of England, which wasn't officially allowed, but he knew he could get away with it as he was following orders. Patton had his driver give him some cigars. Some of the tales he has to tell are simply the stuff of little boys dreams. Wonderful. There are some marvellous characters among them; the ex-sub' commanders dog ( golden retriever) shares the same name as him, and when I once jokingly asked his son how they told them apart he replied, 'It's easy as only one of them carps in the house'. There are people from all walks of life; we have known each other for many years and each season it's like going home. I had the steak and as I don't drink a lot thought I'd be fine with bottles of Peroni; quite strong isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alycidon Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Sounds like a great shoot, enjoy. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 It is, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose man Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Enjoyed that read ...cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 That is what it is all really about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 An interesting but not necessarily unusual cross section of the shooting community. Like the boys from the Crown shoot you are lucky to be involved. The fact that you never mentioned the actual shooting says it all. By the way I have tried both of the objects which your man failed to 'mount' and I concur but I would also add a horse backing away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aled Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Sonds a nice cross section there. You cannot beat good company. Cheers Aled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted February 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 An interesting but not necessarily unusual cross section of the shooting community. Like the boys from the Crown shoot you are lucky to be involved. The fact that you never mentioned the actual shooting says it all. By the way I have tried both of the objects which your man failed to 'mount' and I concur but I would also add a horse backing away. We care about the shooting obviously, but it plays only a small part in the seasons outing, to be honest. The last one often turns into a long dog walk, and myself and another gun shot 100% of the bag on the last day, with three birds each. I'll mention the horse to the landowner, and while he has a bit of a reputation for trying to mount most things, I don't think he's the equestrian type. At the shoot dinner we buy him a box of expensive wine as a thanks for letting us use his land gratis, to which he always replies 'You mean I could be charging you?' and then stands to make a speech in which he gets all emotional as he tells us how much he enjoys our company and us all coming together to shoot on his land. Very nice bloke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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