Sidney Du Broff on Shooting and Fishing

SIDNEY DU BROFF ON SHOOTING AND FISHING

VIEWS, COMMENTS, REPORTS

A LETTER ON THE WEB 

LET'S BE IN TOUCH. LET'S STAY IN TOUCH.

Hi!

Let's go fishing! Let's go shooting!

Welcome to our first edition.

Not that we're new around here; most of you will already know us. We  do SIDNEY DU BROFF'S SHOOTING AND FISHING JOURNAL on the web at www.sidsjournal.com, the quarterly that's now in its eighth year. If you haven't already seen it, do have a look, it's free.

This, you might say, is in conjunction, only more up to the minute. I'm Sidney. We're British-based, and I'm American, and so is my wife, Nedra, who is the real brains behind our operation. Hence,if we talk a lot about England in regard to shooting and fishing, you will know why, because a lot of it takes place here.

The Countryside is not only the place where we, town-dwellers and country-folk, go shooting and fishing; it has been invaded by aliens, invidious townies whose culture is totally different from our own. They (not shooters or fisherpersons) have the colossal nerve to come into our domain and tell us what we must and must not do there. They can easily out-vote us, invoking the highly emotional label "Blood Sport" and pinning it on to us, gaining untold numbers of supporters who do not know, or want to know, what really goes on in the countryside.

That countryside is not their culture, and they do not understand it; it is the place where they come to look at a tree or ride a bicycle where they perceive it to be less dangerous than it is in the town, and the idea that anything might get killed there is abhorrent. These Forest Fascists and Nature Nazis feel obligated to impose their values on us, like the German Nazis tried to do, bearing in mind that Hitler came to power by the ballot. These people, insistent upon getting their way, at any cost, are a threat to democracy.

Gunning culture varies enormously from country to country. I went along to our local London gun club to see if I couldn't break some clay pigeons, not out of any desire to do so, but out of a need to get in some practice just before the game season started, so that on our organized shoot, I might not disgrace myself totally while other shoot members looked on. I managed to hit a couple of clays flying overhead, as the pheasants (hopefully) would, (and missing quite a few others). The instructor was telling me about a group of Americans who had come around,highly skilled gunners, who had failed miserably at killing those clay birds catapulted over their heads. But they did brilliantly at smashing the clays going directly away from them. Of course, it  suddenly dawned on me, that was the main difference between us: Out hunting in the US, moving through the field, on our own, or with a partner or two, the birds get up in front of us.  On an English driven shoot, the birds come flying over-head. Well, now I had an excuse.

We are all off to the Game Fair, at Harewood House, near Leeds, in Yorkshire, from the 27th though the 29th of July. It is important because it is a statement loud and clear, that we are here, that we exist, that the countryside is our domain. Those, whose city culture is different from that of the countryside, are trying to take it away. The statement we make is: We won't let you!This year, for the first time, there is a light-hearted singles meeting and mingling event, which has, in reality, a very serious side: rural young people, often spread thinly on the ground, over widely scattered areas, have limited opportunities to meet. Now the Game Fair is bringing them together, and introducing them. Another brilliant Game Fair idea. This may well become a permanent feature of future Game Fairs. We hope so. (Incidentally, the event isn't  limited to rural folk only). Those coming to the Game Fair are obviously  prepared to spend a bob or two. According to the Economic Survey undertaken by Bournemouth University, visitors at last year's Game Fair spent £49.63 million pounds (around $100 million dollars).

The Game Fair has been cancelled - the weather beat us.

VIEWS, COMMENTS, REPORTS

A LETTER ON THE WEB.

LET'S BE IN TOUCH.  LET'S STAY IN TOUCH.