Old wildfowling TV film

[figgy]

Link to a man between three rivers.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DBfkOZe7Q2-c&ved=2ahUKEwjrt6X32YTkAhViqnEKHTgiBFsQjjgwA3oECAMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw07S2SmgN74wzJ59VJXGTxQ

[Penelope]

Ernie James - Last of the Fen Tigers.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1495597/Ernie-James.html

Been in the Lamb & Flag a few times.

[figgy]

Nice to watch old films like this of old timers still living the old way. 1975 the film was made.

Used to holiday in Norfolk in the 1970's had great times. Much nicer place back then than now. Times move on.

[ditchman]

lovely 

[Old farrier]

Very good thanks for posting 😊

[dodgy dave]

new  ernie well bit of an old rogue., new josh scott as well nice ole feller used to live in a cottage near the bird sanctury what is now it was called the wigeons he retired moved out to a council bungalow he was dead within a couple of years

[marsh man]

6 hours ago, figgy said:

Nice to watch old films like this of old timers still living the old way. 1975 the film was made.

Used to holiday in Norfolk in the 1970's had great times. Much nicer place back then than now. Times move on.

I agree up to a point about Norfolk being a much nicer place in the 70s , but even now you can find parts of Norfolk that haven't changed since you were on holiday in the 70s figgy , once you go off the beaten track it's like turning the clock back .

One example is standing on the old Roman fort at Burgh Castle and look out over the Halvergate marshes , in the last 60 years it is still exactly the same as when I first started to go up that way , maybe the only change is one of the most isolated pubs in the country is no longer open , the pub is the Berney Arms and it look like modern times have finally caught up with the old watering hole . 

[Dave66]

Just watching it now, a bit of mole talk down the pub, can't beat it. Thanks for posting the link.

[islandgun]

Thanks for that, great stuff took me back.. didnt he look well on a life without a job but filled with work..

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, islandgun said:

Thanks for that, great stuff took me back.. didnt he look well on a life without a job but filled with work..

Another book you will find interesting is Memoirs Of A Fen Tiger , Ernie James from the above film recounted his life stories to his daughter in law , the old boy lived till he was 99 and died 5th July 2005 .

Well worth reading .

[Mr gen]

Many thanks for sharing that, just how my mother told me it was. I would love to slow this life up and go back to that one.

[islandgun]

9 hours ago, marsh man said:

Another book you will find interesting is Memoirs Of A Fen Tiger , Ernie James from the above film recounted his life stories to his daughter in law , the old boy lived till he was 99 and died 5th July 2005 .

Well worth reading .

Cheers MM , Im still reading wildfowlers and poachers but will look it out, My great uncle that drowned was an eel fisherman at Heybridge Basin. on the Blackwater, and i spent a lot of my youth , fyke netting for eels in the dykes, drifting for herring, or winkling there. [even a bit of fowling] I also lived in Wisbech and then N Norfolk where I had a lugworm/bait business, so i have some strong ties to the area and films like that bring on the memories

[Penelope]

One for you Marsh man.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/758

 

Hagen Smart at 07:50 - Mentioned in the book below.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/569

 

IG - https://www.google.com/sear.ch?q=memoirs+of+a+fen+tiger&rlz=1C1CHBD_enGB757GB757&oq=memoirs+of+a+fen+tiger&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.9579j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Edited August 16, 2019 by Penelope

[marsh man]

44 minutes ago, Penelope said:

One for you Marsh man.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/758

 

Hagen Smart at 07:50 - Mentioned in the book below.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/569

 

IG - https://www.google.com/sear.ch?q=memoirs+of+a+fen+tiger&rlz=1C1CHBD_enGB757GB757&oq=memoirs+of+a+fen+tiger&aqs=chrome..69i57j33.9579j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Hi Paul    THANKS for the head,s up on the above punt gunner's film , I have seen that one along with many of the old countrymen on E A F A , stacks of clips that take you back to a bygone era that we will never see again .

 

1 hour ago, islandgun said:

Cheers MM , Im still reading wildfowlers and poachers but will look it out, My great uncle that drowned was an eel fisherman at Heybridge Basin. on the Blackwater, and i spent a lot of my youth , fyke netting for eels in the dykes, drifting for herring, or winkling there. [even a bit of fowling] I also lived in Wisbech and then N Norfolk where I had a lugworm/bait business, so i have some strong ties to the area and films like that bring on the memories

We must have had similar life styles and family connections that lived off the land and sea , I went on the bus to Wisbech a few times and one of the first things I saw on a old building near the river was Horace Friend , feathers and metal merchants , now that is a blast from the past .

Also there is free museum just near the market that have got a punt gun and all the old fen mens relics , well worth going to and it's FREE .

[islandgun]

33 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Hi Paul    THANKS for the head,s up on the above punt gunner's film , I have seen that one along with many of the old countrymen on E A F A , stacks of clips that take you back to a bygone era that we will never see again .

 

We must have had similar life styles and family connections that lived off the land and sea , I went on the bus to Wisbech a few times and one of the first things I saw on a old building near the river was Horace Friend , feathers and metal merchants , now that is a blast from the past .

Also there is free museum just near the market that have got a punt gun and all the old fen mens relics , well worth going to and it's FREE .

I stayed in a loft room overlooking the moorings in the river,  It was a proper market in Wisbech the best veg as youd expect and a stall that sold cooked brown shrimp and crab..In Norfolk  I lived in Brancaster Staithe and dug Lug and fished on a whelk boat, I supplied part of the huge market for lug down in Suffolk and Essex every winter, [that is, me and Charlie Cooke senior from Cley].... happy days

[marsh man]

5 hours ago, islandgun said:

I stayed in a loft room overlooking the moorings in the river,  It was a proper market in Wisbech the best veg as youd expect and a stall that sold cooked brown shrimp and crab..In Norfolk  I lived in Brancaster Staithe and dug Lug and fished on a whelk boat, I supplied part of the huge market for lug down in Suffolk and Essex every winter, [that is, me and Charlie Cooke senior from Cley].... happy days

Now a days you would want very deep pockets to own a house around Brancaster , although a lot of people have got deep pockets who live around that area and who can blame them , not everyone's cup of tea but to me it is pure heaven and I often drive the 40 odd miles just to walk around Blakeney point and come out where the N W T  exhibition building and cafe  for refreshments , or walk from Wells to the harbour , along the beach and come out on Lady Ann's Drive at Holkham .

We have done a bit of bait digging for Lug at Stiffkey and Blakeney but we were no where as good as the locals who made it all look so easy by twisting there fork in the sand and getting a hand full of worms , where we would dig a trench for the odd one or two , as you say , happy days.

[islandgun]

3 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Now a days you would want very deep pockets to own a house around Brancaster , although a lot of people have got deep pockets who live around that area and who can blame them , not everyone's cup of tea but to me it is pure heaven and I often drive the 40 odd miles just to walk around Blakeney point and come out where the N W T  exhibition building and cafe  for refreshments , or walk from Wells to the harbour , along the beach and come out on Lady Ann's Drive at Holkham .

We have done a bit of bait digging for Lug at Stiffkey and Blakeney but we were no where as good as the locals who made it all look so easy by twisting there fork in the sand and getting a hand full of worms , where we would dig a trench for the odd one or two , as you say , happy days.

Aye MM It was the "gentryfication" that did it for me, Council houses are fetching several £100.000s often the village was dead in the winter ,which suited me fine [as long as the pub was open] I still have a couple of mates there, that had houses left them. A special part of England,  Me and one of the summer rangers on Scolt head would dig the creeks, My favourite place was Burnham Norton. did you get the old stiffkey blues..😉

[figgy]

There was another old film on YouTube called Fishing Videos, Tom's River. I'll have a look and post a link

 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by figgy

[marsh man]

2 hours ago, islandgun said:

Aye MM It was the "gentryfication" that did it for me, Council houses are fetching several £100.000s often the village was dead in the winter ,which suited me fine [as long as the pub was open] I still have a couple of mates there, that had houses left them. A special part of England,  Me and one of the summer rangers on Scolt head would dig the creeks, My favourite place was Burnham Norton. did you get the old stiffkey blues..😉

As for the Stiffkey Blues , known to locals as Stewkey Blues , the cockles had a Blue tinge to the shells on the outside , weather they tasted the same as the other N / Norfolk cockles is something I cant tell you but I am sure somebody will.

My old grandfather in his later years worked in the early morning's at Yarmouth for Holmes who had a shell fish stall along the sea front in the Summer during the 60s and early 70s , he would have several sacks of fresh Whelks and Cockles plus a few small sacks of Oysters delivered at around five in the morning to an out building near to the Golden mile  , he would sit there and take the worm out of everyone of the Whelks and put the Cockles in salt water , I don't think he done anything to the Oysters , apart from bringing a few home to feed the needy and to keep the few Whelks and a little net of Cockles in his lunch bag company 

[islandgun]

30 minutes ago, marsh man said:

As for the Stiffkey Blues , known to locals as Stewkey Blues , the cockles had a Blue tinge to the shells on the outside , weather they tasted the same as the other N / Norfolk cockles is something I cant tell you but I am sure somebody will.

My old grandfather in his later years worked in the early morning's at Yarmouth for Holmes who had a shell fish stall along the sea front in the Summer during the 60s and early 70s , he would have several sacks of fresh Whelks and Cockles plus a few small sacks of Oysters delivered at around five in the morning to an out building near to the Golden mile  , he would sit there and take the worm out of everyone of the Whelks and put the Cockles in salt water , I don't think he done anything to the Oysters , apart from bringing a few home to feed the needy and to keep the few Whelks and a little net of Cockles in his lunch bag company 

I heard the whelks are going to S Korea due to their ability to extend, a kind of poor mans rhino horn. I like oysters but spent a couple of days in the toilet after eating a wrongun on the Burnham on Crouch "sea" front. Whelks are a durable bait on a long line.. I always fancied being a costermonger [the posh name for a whelk stall] and i bet your grandad made a good living on the front. did he jelly eels for the cockneys..😉

[marsh man]

5 minutes ago, islandgun said:

I heard the whelks are going to S Korea due to their ability to extend, a kind of poor mans rhino horn. I like oysters but spent a couple of days in the toilet after eating a wrongun on the Burnham on Crouch "sea" front. Whelks are a durable bait on a long line.. I always fancied being a costermonger [the posh name for a whelk stall] and i bet your grandad made a good living on the front. did he jelly eels for the cockneys..😉

My grandfather only prepared the shellfish for Mr Holmes who had a stall right outside one of the pubs along the sea front  , I would imagine he made a good living as the sea front then used to be heaving with visitors during the Summer .

The Ells we caught when we went babbing were kept in a perforated box chained to the staging outside our boat shed , the Ells were kept fresh as the tide went through the holes , the chap who done the jellied Ells on the market ( Nichols ) used to come with a dustbin and some fishing scales to weigh and buy them , at the time we didn't have a clue how these scales worked when he shot the Ells in the dustbin and when he lifted them up he would say , nearly a stone , well we will call it a stone and give us 2/6d a pound , just enough for a packet of fags and a pint of old , needless to say , we didn't give up our day job 😋

[Penelope]

2 hours ago, figgy said:

There was another old film on YouTube called Fishing Videos, Tom's River. I'll have a look and post a link

 

 

Filmed on the Trafalgar and Longford estates on the Hants Avon where he was the head river keeper.

First shown on BBC2 as part of the Wildlife on 2 series in the 80’s, IIRC.

I have the book he wrote about his life in the river, ‘A River for All Seasons’.

If you have ever watched A Passion for Angling’ with Bob James and Chris Yates, it’s where Bob James caught a big bag of very large roach, something like nearly 20. 2lb plus fish.

[figgy]

Nice to watch the old films,takes me back to childhood and fishing and shooting.

[islandgun]

24 minutes ago, marsh man said:

My grandfather only prepared the shellfish for Mr Holmes who had a stall right outside one of the pubs along the sea front  , I would imagine he made a good living as the sea front then used to be heaving with visitors during the Summer .

The Ells we caught when we went babbing were kept in a perforated box chained to the staging outside our boat shed , the Ells were kept fresh as the tide went through the holes , the chap who done the jellied Ells on the market ( Nichols ) used to come with a dustbin and some fishing scales to weigh and buy them , at the time we didn't have a clue how these scales worked when he shot the Ells in the dustbin and when he lifted them up he would say , nearly a stone , well we will call it a stone and give us 2/6d a pound , just enough for a packet of fags and a pint of old , needless to say , we didn't give up our day job 😋

Never tried babbing , but had some big old fykes made for the estuary, got all sorts in those including Bass, favourite fishing was Herring. They always advertised for eels in the fishing news, [ billingsgate],  I still sell seafood here Crab Lobster and Langoustine along with rabbit, venison and mutton when i can, moving into smoked fish soon, so havn't moved up the fish ladder much TBH..😀

[marsh man]

21 hours ago, islandgun said:

Never tried babbing , but had some big old fykes made for the estuary, got all sorts in those including Bass, favourite fishing was Herring. They always advertised for eels in the fishing news, [ billingsgate],  I still sell seafood here Crab Lobster and Langoustine along with rabbit, venison and mutton when i can, moving into smoked fish soon, so havn't moved up the fish ladder much TBH..😀

You are no longer allowed to catch Ells around here and I believe that apply around the Fens as well , although one bloke was allowed to carry on catching Ells on the Fens but I think he have now packed it in due to the shortage of the specie .

We once had some blokes who came over from Holland and stayed in a house boat on the estuary to catch Ells  , when they had enough they took them back to Holland in tanks on the back of a lorry , they used long nets that were in a tube and the Ells. were caught when they couldn't get out of the end , also some of the locals used long lines that were tied from one marking post in the channel to the next one , plus the wicker basket traps .

Do you get the Cucumber fish up your way ?