fishplate42
Well-known member
Fishing with other people, like the missus and, as here, with a fellow forum member is my ideal in a public place
Before I say anything, I am questioning my own reasoning here. I have just been reading C.C.F.D's post on being attacked while fishing. I am sorry for his experience and I would not have liked to have been put in that situation. As a younger man, I probably would have chased after the kids, and I would not have thought twice about getting physical. But that was then, an era when we may have let the coppers bike tyres down, even knocked his helmet off from behind a wall but there was respect there of a sort. We knew if he caught us we were in for a whack around the head with a leather glove.
The last thing we would have done, would have been to rush home and tell our parents for fear of 'another clip around the ear'ole' I truly believe that the things we got up to as kids was mischief, we didn't damage things for 'fun' nor did we feel we had to be armed. If there was a dispute we would usually end up in a 'bundle' rolling around on the floor, more worried about the consequences of getting our clothes dirty. We did not abuse other people, and certainly not adults, we may have annoyed them with our antics and noise, but we would not have even considered throwing stones at an adult, let alone bricks.
Personally, I have found that peoples perception of others has a lot to do with it. Growing up in post-war south east London was tough. What we call 'organised crime' these days was a part of everyday life. Everybody claimed to know a 'Richardson', though very few did. There was a sort of glamour (if that is the right word) associated with the folklore that was total myth compared with the barbaric reality of real life. There was not the communication available then. Rumour and perceptions were transmitted by word-of-mouth, and of course, were glamorised, exaggerated and personalised. It was all perception, with very little fact to back up the stories. Yes, gangs like the Richardsons were extremely violent, but the fear was much greater than the reality for the normal 'bloke-in-the-street.
It is easy to follow a stereotype. I remember one day when I was writing for an article for a national woodworking magazine, the editor and his photographer decided to visit us at our industrial unit, in south east London, to take some photographs. After a long drive they both needed to use the facilities. We had a huge toilet in the unit that was wheelchair friendly as was the norm for new commercial spaces then and now. It was the size of a small store room and as such, only having a small unit, it was used to store all sorts of stuff. After they had used the 'facilities' they both came over and asked, What is that strong, oily smell in the? "Gun oil" I said "What?!!" came the startled reply. I continued "It is from the gun case in the corner. Every good South London factory has a shotgun" With this Sue produced a large plastic mixing bowl full of shotgun cartridges, and announced "It's for these". Well, the two guys who were a bit wet behind the ears and used to the quieter life of East Sussex, cream teas and public schools, were speechless as the blood drained from their faces. I wish Sue and I had been able to keep a straight face, but we could not.
The reality was that Sue's father had recently passed away, he was a farmer and none of us had gun licences. The guns were taken to the local armoury for safe keeping after getting advice from the local police and the gun case was kept, and ended up in our toilet. Being an enclosed room for most of the time, the gun oil smell became rather obvious. As for the cartridges, the police said it was not illegal to store those without any kind of licence, and as we intended to pass them on to a farmer friend of the family it was okay to keep them.
The point of my story is to show that we all (and I include myself in that) conceive situations to be more or less 'dangerous' by drawing on our own experiences, predigests, fear and even indoctrinated stereotyping. It is extremely common within our own hobby, picture a 'carper' a fly fisherman or a poacher.
I do not like fishing alone in a public place. I have two reasons for this. Security, both personal and for my gear is one, the other is, unless I am fully mobile what do I do if I need a pee or anything else that requires I walk away from my peg? My biggest fear is intimidation on a lonely canal or river bank and that alone will spoil the enjoyment of the day. Totally different if there are two of us (or more). I want to go fishing and enjoy myself, not to spend the entire time busting to spring a leak or looking over my shoulder. That is the main reason I like to visit secure commercials.
Ralph.
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