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Where Have All The Characters Gone

26/10/2014

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I was talking to a dear friend Keith Reynolds (The author of Dog in the shooting times magazine) at The South Yorkshire Game fair just recently, Our conversation got onto the good ole days and by this I mean the great game fairs of yester year, 

When I was just a young whipper snapper and starting out as Young Gun and other writer’s names I used at the time until I found my place as The Ole Hedge Creeper, I would sit on the stands at the game fairs and listen to such folk as dear old Fred J Taylor with his gallon of cheap red wine telling stories and passing on knowledge to us.

Another great inspiration who gave me great passion to keep writing even though I am badly dyslexic was John Humphrey’s , John saw a passion for writing that lay in me just as my Pappy did (My true life hero) and taught me ways to deal with my affliction and to keep writing.

Another dear friend and inspiration was Clarrissa Dickenson Wright (also Johnny Scott) who not only inspired me but pushed me on to write more and more in fact who in part was one of the people who inspired me to write my series of books and cook books.
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So when I say the great game fairs of yester year I mean not this plastic type shadow of its self shows we have many of now, No I mean good ole proper country shows, Where on the magazine stand etc you would find such character’s in all their glorious colours passing on knowledge and having a jolly good laugh meeting their reader’s.

Thus affirming those bonds that as a young or old countryman would warm too, I could not wait to get to the next show or rush out to buy The Shooting times or Shooting News (Countryman’s Weekly) and more magazines to find out what my inspirations had been up to, I know I am not the only Old Boy now who remembers those days of the great game fairs and magazines of yester year.

Also those magazine articles of my youth had such passion and inspiration in them to a young countryman and beyond,

For today I find all to many of these articles now written to have lost that flair that passion that inspiration, What I see are perfectly worded and well written articles write down to the last full stop in every detail,

But what I don’t see is the passion the inspiration that takes me along with them either on the hunt or just looking at a piece of new kit etc, Its all too professional now and for me as of many of you that have emailed me about this, Many of you say my in articles you can still feel that passion and inspiration and that’s the difference in how I write,

As you can hear my voice telling you the story as it unfolds as if we were stood at the bar with a cider in our fists or on my stand at a game fair, I take you to the field or hill top with the wind hitting your face as the ice cold air nips your ears, That is what is missing for me in many articles now and why I write the way I do as my dear friends no longer with us inspired me to do.

So with this article I dedicate this to them and thank them from the bottom of my heart as they inspired a generation and beyond with their scribbles, I hope to do the same but have very big boots to fill and as of yet I have not even filled half of one of those big boots yet.

I will quote a snippet in the words below from my book

The Ole Hedge Creeper (Start To The Heart)
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FORWARD

Something I often hear fellow Sportsmen ask is this, where have all the characters gone?

Growing up as I did with my parents’ owning and running pubs, I met so many people who can only be referred to as characters. Some possessed the kind of personal character You wouldn’t want to be around, Others I would gladly spend every waking hour of every day in their company, These were such characters as the local rag and bone man, With his horse called Marcus, A man who would get so drunk he would be seen slumped forward in his seat of his horse drawn cart asleep on his way back home, His horse knowing exactly the way to take his master home.

A professional eel catcher, His clothes stinking of the fish baits used in his fyke nets, a man who always found room at the bar, I am sure this had nothing to do with the ordure he emitted, or his terrier who would growl as soon as you looked at it.

An ex royal marine Commando who fought a clandestine war within the forests of France. An old man now in his late 70s who was still as pristine as the suit he wore, on the outside a perfect gent but on the inside a man who found it hard to leave his war time learnt skills behind. A man who served 15 years in foreign prison for his part in a failed coup in some far off land.

Then there were the sporting characters the type of character who would give many a game keeper a sleepless night. Or gamekeeper himself who would give the wayward poacher a harsh lesson in the laws of the land.

Both men from different sides of the same fence, A fence that one saw as his boundary to his place of employment, The other seeing the fence as nothing more than a hurdle to climb on his night-time forays after his lordships pheasants, Both men in their later years still bore the animosity one another brought about by their chosen sporting path.

It is characters like these you will be introduced to in the pages of the Ole Hedge creepers books, all very real people that have been part of the authors life and who in part have made him the man he is today.

Making him a true countryman and sportsman of the old school with a love for the quarry he seeks but also a man with a love for the countryside.

A passion for Fieldsports and with a real passion to Pass it On to futer generations, Spoken as he speaks and from the heart, You won’t find a false shine or polish given to his words, thus making this read as if you yourself were indeed sharing a pint with him inside the walls of his favourite public house.

So next time I am asked where has all the characters gone I am simply going to answer as follows.

To the woods in search of a pigeon, to the flight pond in search of duck, over the fells with the ferret keeping clear of his lordships birds, or maybe not, out for a walk with his favourite running dog in search of a Coney for the pot that’s were all the characters have gone.

King

Publisher

Some wonderful words from my first publisher there in my first book, All my books are available from www.fourteenacre.co.uk and every penny from myself and fourteen acre goes straight to the Pass It On Young Sports initiative www.pass-it-on-young-sports.org.uk to further inspire our next generation of fieldsportmen and women.

So for me this is what I say in my articles you will get the passion the inspiration, you will come with me to the hill top or fell and come with me on every hunt, I will take you were the wind blows and the drummers do battle with the pugs deep underground, Or the wildfowl light up the night with the sounds of far of lands and sends a chill down your spine.

Or on our stands at the game fairs were you will find an oasis of the great game fairs of yester year, This is where I will honour my childhood hero’s in part named in this article, Where all are welcome weather rouge with ferret terrier or running dog or a gentleman in his tweeds with Labrador at his heel ,

For on our stand this is where you will find the characters the stories to be told, were we will inspire the next generation of characters to think outside the box and not turn into a sheeple free thinkers with a larger than life colour that you truly only get within Fieldsports.

And as for the Young Sports all I can say is quite simply.

TOGETHER WE CAN INSPIRE

By The Ole Hedge Creeper

Arrrrrrr Tiz Proper Job Muckers I Telle ;-)

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Advanced Decoying III

3/10/2014

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Well here we are in part 3 of the series Advanced Decoying or what I like to call common sense decoying, In this article I will show you how I turned a group of four Young Sports with no experience at all into fine pigeon shooters.

It all started back in early march when a couple of the Pass It On Young Sports parents (completely non Fieldsports families) wanted me to take their kids under my wing and teach them further what they had learnt on the ranges our taster days.

Thus the Young Sports training started first they were taught all about the crops we were protecting i,e their uses why they were planted the times they planted crop rotation animal feed human consumption etc.

Then they were taught the importance of good and proper field craft and recognisance, I have said it before and I will say it again if you do not get this right you will fail more than you succeed, The old adage failing to prepare is preparing to fail and my ole Pappy and Dad taught me well so I now pass these teachings onto the novice or Young Sport or in part here in my articles.

So after a few months of training with air rifle and shot guns and a multitude of different hunts and scenarios we head out on the standing crops and indeed the icing on the cake for a pigeon shooter the stubbles themselves. 

I let the Young Sports plan the entire days shooting from recce to equipment to hide positions to decoy placement to gun choice and cartridge choice etc, This was a set of days to see how much they had learnt and how I had transformed complete novices into well taught and rounded pigeon shooters.

Well I will say these four Young Sports have really absorbed what they have been taught and with a standard decoy pattern out using recognisance and field craft they have proved you don’t need every gadget under the sun to achieve a good day, Although all the whirly gigs flappers and floaters etc have their place you must learn the traditional ways first or you will never fully understand your quarry or how to hunt them.
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I will tell you of two such hunts that the Young Sports enjoyed all on their own merit with me supervising them, I think you will see from the videos that accompany this article they really did have their own red letter days.

And by this I don’t mean the size of the bags I mean they achieved good solid hunts and enjoyed every moment of them whilst doing a great service of crop protection and vermin control at the very same time.

Its mid-August the wheat had just been cut and the pigeons and corvids alike were building up on the crops, So Dad and I got right into them after watching the fields for a few days we had the flight lines marked and what can I say whilst I awaited the arrival of my Young sports we had some great sport.
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Now it was time for the Young Sports to plan were they would go they had been out on recce with me before so pretty much had an idea were to set as you will see from the accompanying videos.

Hide set decoys out time to start shooting as the first of the birds dropped in to our decoy pattern, First Jacob got to shoot then Connor whilst Tyler and David not forgetting Brook my hard working black lab did all the retrieving and tidying the decoy pattern up and a fine job they did too.

The boys took it in turn to shoot and soon got their eyes in taking birds with ease from 25 to 45 yards, I telle that lesson the boys had from Robert Eaton at a Pass It On Young Sports taster day really was worth it, If you want to book a lesson with Robert his email is robert6500@btinternet.com I can whole heartedly recommend this to get you shooting straight I telle. 

Well very late afternoon the rain came in and stopped play with a good pile of pigeons and corvids on the ground and some wet soggy and hungry but happy Young Sports we decided to call it a day, As it was the only bit that was wet was the outside as the boys were all kitted out with the simply brilliant Jack Pyke (www.jackpyke.co.uk) clothing range of hunter suits and were literally bone dry and warm as fresh buttered toast underneath, I truly cannot praise the Jack Pyke brand high enough and has The Ole Hedge Creepers thumbs up.

Day 2 we had just finished cutting the maize and so I took Young Sports Jake and Tyler out on a small piece of barley stubble, We had not cut the maize alongside this 8 acre field of stubble yet so we did not need a hide as we could use the standing maize as a hide, I let the boys choose position and recce the field first, I telle I have taught these lads to have the eyes of a countryman and think like their quarry.

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David and Connor were away on holiday in the Isle of White so they missed out on this little field that was rammed with pigeon and corvid alike, But Jacob and Tyler took full advantage of it and shot like true pro’s in fact they ran out of cartridges before the end of the shoot so had to switch to air rifles as all we had left was some wildfowling cartridges I had bought them ready for the start of the fowling season that would be starting in a few days’ time.

I had a little go for an hour and showed the boys some shooting skills on longer range birds and I was quite happy with 4 right and lefts on the trot right over the decoys, I am glad to say I still got when I have to shoot, Shooting is something that has always came quite natural to me, I don’t really have any talent’s but being out in the field since I could walk and being taught by some of the old masters I just seem to ease right into using a gun, I guess I was blessed really as it matters not weather it is a rifle shotgun air rifle or pistol I have always found shooting quite a pleasure.
We finished the day with some truly happy Young Sports with an impressive bag laid out before them, We also picked up a lot more after the pics and video as the farmer next door gave us permission to retrieve our fallen birds, With those added to bag we had well over 100 mixed corvids and pigeons, With some happy Young Sports and a very happy farmer and a very proud Ole Hedge Creeper.
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So like I say if I can teach a group of young lad to shoot like pro’s and be good fieldsportmen without all the gadgets I can teach you too, All the gadgets have their place but without good field craft and proper recognisance, All the kit in the world won’t make a blind bit of difference when it comes to hunting the Earl Grey (woodpigeon) or any other quarry for that matter if you don’t have proper field craft and that comes from time spent learning your craft.

So if you take anything away from this article or indeed any of my articles to be good at what you do it takes field craft/ knowledge of your quarry its habits and habitat and the crop you are protecting etc, If you want any advice drop us line at the diary and we will try our best to help you were we can.

Advanced Decoying III

By The Ole Hedge Creeper
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    To my Haters & Stalkers, I am a Lion not a Sheeple, my advice is to not poke the Sleeping Lion, for if you awake me from my slumber you will hear me ROAR, then you will find yourself staying at Her Majesty's pleasure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

    About the Archive

    As you will all know I am a busy boy and I am asked post articles and review on behalf of lots people in lots of different places.

    The images and photos are for illustration purposes only, they may not be of the actual day/article or location in question or even at the same venue, for client/venue sensitivity,data protection and often location or contract legalities, we may use a stock photo at our discretion, The main place to find most of my articles is of course the 
    Countrymans Diary Magazine.

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    This Archive is a central location of all those pearls of wisdom I have let loose on the World, whilst its not bang up to date the knowledge contained in here is worth its weight in gold.

    Feel free to share this information its all free and it my pleasure to Pass It On.

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