Thursday 13 March 2014

Gone fishing

No, probably not.  Indeed, definitely not.  Fishing is just not me.  In fact, sport and me are not exactly bosom friends.  I did play sports when I was at school.  At primary school, which was up until the age of 11, we had no playing field.  This was a Victorian school, by which I mean that it was built in the days of the Queen of that name, so we had a playground covered in tarmac and surrounded by iron railings.  We were occasionally taken, walking in a crocodile formation, to public playing fields about a mile and a half away where we could play football.  At senior school (from age 11) I played rugby during the winter months - unless I could get out of it, which I usually managed to do - and cricket in the summer.  We were given a couple of lessons in hockey and attempts were made to teach us to swim in the cold, open-air pool.  I have subsequently tried other sports: football, tennis, badminton, stoolball, darts, snooker, pool etc.  I enjoyed playing badminton, although I was never any good.  My problem is that I have almost no hand/eye co-ordination.  Or foot/eye co-ordination, come to that.  The only sport at which I managed to achieve a modicum of success was rock climbing.

My childhood dream of opening the batting for England in a test match against Australia could, of course, never come true.

Although I have never much enjoyed running about a field, kicking a ball (or failing to kick the ball in my usual fashion) I can well understand that people get pleasure from doing this.  Or throwing a dart straight into the double top.  Even running - although I have frequently wondered what on Earth possesses people to run marathons.  But I cannot for the life of me see how anybody could enjoy fishing.  Especially beach fishing.  If one wants to sit and read or meditate of just sit, fine, go ahead and do that.  But why sit watching a rod and line in the hope that some poor, unsuspecting fish might come along and take the bait - only for you to throw it back in the water?  It just doesn't make sense to me.

But then, who said it has to make sense?

And this is fun?

2 comments:

joeh said...

It can be very relaxing, and great fun when (if) you catch anything, but it looks a little cold there for my taste...i'll wait until July.

Sarah said...

I don't get beach fishing or throwing the fish back but I spent many happy days when I was growing up on a boat fishing around the South Devon coast. Lazing in the sunshine catching bass, pollock and mackerel and taking them home for tea. I think it was more the being out on the boat bit that did it for me.