RICHARD NEGUS IS A PROFESSIONAL HEDGE LAYER AND WRITER. HE IS A KEEN WILDFOWLER AND HAS A PASSION FOR GREY PARTRIDGES
You have a choice, my boy,” I said to my son. “You can go to your school disco this Friday or come fishing with me. It is entirely up to you.” His response was both speedy and emphatic, giving me a glow of paternal pride. “Fishing, obviously!” he replied, adding a gurn of feigned incredulity by raising a corner of top lip and his eyes to the heavens. With that he shot off to find the keys to the shed, where our fishing tackle lurks amidst a jumble of chainsaws, cobwebs and mice. “Charlie, it’s only Thursday.
