Fishing in Yorkshire - a retrospective. From Angling Star...
It were always raining in Rotherham. Even on days when t'were fine, there were an unusually high amount of precipitation in t' air.
But ee' lad... Happen as like the rivers were polluted in't days when ah learned t' noble art. But I'll tell thee what. Wi' roach wi' two 'eads swimmin' abaht, tha rarely went short of a bite.
Ah knew a swim by't outfall for't black pudden factory. The water it were, well, black pudden coloured. When I were a lad, our Ma used to send us aht wi a bucket.
"By gum, thee add a few handfulls of porridge to watter from t'river and tha's got best black pudden this side o' Barnsley," she reckoned.
All t'miners used to flock to Ma's old van under Tinsley Viaduct. Th'owd lads reckoned her black puddens had mystical powers, like a kind of aphrodisiac.
She reckoned she 'ad to lock t'doors and draw t'curtains at times, when she 'ad a particularly lumpy batch. To take account of all t' mastication goin' on inside - or summat like that.
It were certainly popular, I'll give ee that. Whenivver I cycled past t'pit, on t'way to t'river, th'owd miners used to shout out: "Ows yer farver..."
When I said: "Me da's OK", they'd fair fall about laffin.
On't Don there was two kind o'fish. Ones tha could eat and t'ones wi two 'eads. Me Da explained t'difference one day on't bank, before he perished in't 66 Pigeon Racin' disaster, when driver o' t'charabanc from t'Slubbers Arms were so intent on watching t'birds glidin' ower Denley Moor, ee took 'is eye off t'road and they overturned.
"Now then lad, there's two type o'fish," he said, as I unhooked a jet black roach wi two eads from t'mine washing pit.
"Tha don' keep the ones wi two 'eads - like m an Owd Ma nivver kept babies wi' 11 toes."
