It was Twenty Years Ago Today…
There are three more headings I want to cover in this piece: the first I will name ‘Important Moments’; the second will list the campaigns we have been involved in and the third will cover the committee and all who have been involved. The ‘Important Moments’ may well be from a personal perspective. At the time I knew they would have an immense impact on the Society but history will decide if it agrees!
• Peter Stone becomes first President in 1995
• The production of the Handling Code in 1995
The production of the first magazine in 1996
• Taking ‘Save the Close Season’ petition to the House of Commons 2000
• The loss of Peter Stone and Gordon Scott in 2000
• The production of the Peter Stone Tribute booklet in 2001
• The Gordon Scott Award in 2001
• The BS website online in 2002
• The installation of the memorial plaque for Peter Stone in 2003
• The auction of Peter Stone tackle in 2003
• The commitment to an R and C fighting fund in 2004
• The loss of Mike Burdon in 2005
• The first R and C auction in 2006
• The adoption by the NFA of the Handling Code in 2006
• The publication of the first BS book, Barbel Tales, in 2013
• The loss of Fred Crouch in 2014
• The River Record list comes under BS control in 2014
• The Fred Crouch Tribute magazine in 2014
• The Fred Crouch memorial bench installed on the Royalty in 2014
The campaigns have all raised angler awareness and if you can’t always achieve an end result then you have to take comfort from this. We can always do more but by now you will have seen just how much work has gone into the past twenty years and, for sure, we can achieve even more. But that requires the help and assistance of those who are prepared to head up and move things forward in a productive manner.
• Against the stocking of barbel into still-waters in 1995
• River Watch in 1998
• Save the close season in 2000.
• Against retention of barbel in keep-nets in 2005
I’m quite sure there will be more campaigns in the future
According to my records there have been 57 people who have helped out by taking on a committee position and over a period of 20 years that’s not a bad turn around. Each person has added something to the Society and I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single one.
Peter Stone, Fred.J.Taylor and Peter Wheat
Having the full list in front of me as I type I can honestly say that I would happily sit down today and enjoy a drink with the overwhelming majority! I consider it a real achievement because twenty years of being right there in the firing-line has shown me how impossible it is to please everyone while doing your level best to please the majority.
It’s always good to look back and reflect on what has gone before, but in the words of the song “we don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, it’ll soon be here, it could be better than before – yesterday’s gone!”
I’m intensely proud of what we have achieved and none of it would have been possible without the continued support of our loyal and respected membership – I thank and salute you all!
We’re Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you have enjoyed the show
It’s wonderful to still be here
It’s certainly a thrill
You’re such a lovely audience
We’d like to take you home with us
We’d love to take you home
I don’t really want to stop the show
But I thought that you might like to know
That the singer’s going to sing a song
And he wants you all to sing along
So let me introduce to you the one and only Billy Shears
(You will hear from ‘Billy Shears’ in due course!)
PS: come along to the Barbel Show at Chesford Grange on Sunday June 7th where I will be giving a presentation based on this feature. Look forward to seeing you there. You’ll meet Billy Shears!
