Writer, fly-fisher, river restorationist
Where has this summer gone? Between publication of my Balsam Bashing book, a few freelance copywriting gigs up in London, helping to recruit new staff for the Wandle and South East Rivers Trust and watching over the Wandle’s biggest river restoration projects yet, experimenting with a radical new approach to ultralight fly-fishing, and exploring new […]
A couple of months have passed since my Pocket Guide to Balsam Bashing was published in May this year, and it’s been great to see it gradually gaining traction across the environmental sector. Here’s what the reviewers have been saying so far: Neil Patterson in Fly Fishing & Fly Tying magazine: Stuffed with essential facts […]
According to the great John Gierach, publishers may well have invented book signings to keep writers humble… and that’s certainly how it felt for the first five spookily-quiet minutes of Coch-y-Bonddu’s ‘meet the author’ session during this year’s CLA Game Fair at Blenheim. Maybe we’re putting them off, suggested Peter Hayes, all sitting here looking like […]
Out now… my first full issue of the Flyfishers’ Journal. Jeremy Brook helped to update the grid, STR have done an outstanding job with design and print, and once again it’s been a serious source of pleasure to work with so many talented contributors including Fred Buller (Shannon salmon), Neil Patterson (mouse fishing in Patagonia), Greg Belcamino (American […]
To celebrate the launch of my new Pocket Guide to Balsam Bashing this week, I’ve been highly honoured to set out my stall at two separate Sportfish events… … first an all-day signing session at Farlows on publication day (complete with wine and snacks generously laid on by Brian Fratel and Sam) … … and […]
Invasive non-native species of all kinds, be very afraid. Today’s the day when my new Pocket Guide to Balsam Bashing officially gets let out to start kicking your ass in the wild. Me? I’ll mostly be spending the day at Farlows in central London, hoping to sign a few copies and chat about invasive species with anyone […]
Exciting news… speaking to my publishers at Merlin Unwin Books this morning, I’ve learned that several thousand copies of my second book have now arrived safely at the warehouse in time for our official publication date on Thursday 8 May. Thanks to enormous efforts from many third sector organisations across Britain and Ireland, the idea of […]
Small stream. LDO trickle hatch. Rising trout. One-weight Superfine. Ginked-up spider. 2014… it’s on!
Now and again in my day job as a freelance copywriter, I get a sneak preview of a product or service that makes me think Damn, why didn’t I come up with that one myself? Luckily, after that brief moment of wonder and regret, my next reaction is usually Wow, I’m really glad to be […]
However many urban river restoration projects you get to know (and I got very familiar with a large number of them in the course of researching and writing Trout in Dirty Places), there’s something about meeting new people on the banks of their once-dirty-and-forgotten river that never grows old. So it was a particular pleasure […]
