Newsroom - April 11

The AAPGAI spring assessment weekend and Public Open Day which took place in Cockermouth 24 - 27 Mar was undoubtedly a great success. This was the first time AAPGAI had been able to return to the Trout hotel since the floods of 2009 and the standard of refurbishment and service provided the foundations for a most enjoyable weekend. The superb weather over the weekend only added to the enjoyment and luckily I did not need the thermals I had packed in anticipation of a more normal spring weekend in the Lakes.

I arrived on Thu afternoon in order to prepare for may Masters exam on Fri and was quickly able to catch up with many friends and colleagues after what has felt like particularly long winter. After an afternoon of less than perfect practice I retired to the bar after a wonderful dinner to try and relax with a few beers before having a relatively early and sober nights. Not something which is normally synonymous with an AAPGAI weekend!

The next day saw me and four Master Assessors on the river an 0930 hrs for my Masters exam. it was an epic and by the end of the afternoon at 1630 after a casting assessment, a written paper and a presentation I must say that I was mentally and physically drained. My Assessors (Clive, Karl, Jim & Glyn) who are all long time friends rightly gave no quarter but ensured the demanding syllabus was enjoyable and I learnt a great deal as a result. Clive thankfully informed me over a beer at 1630 that I had passed and I must say that Ii was absolutely elated. In addition to the assessor team who Ii must thank for the professionalism and humour I must pay particular thanks to my mentor, Gary Champion, who managed to sort out most of my faults despite the best efforts of the Army to once again scupper my best laid plans. i owe him more than a few drinks.

I also offer my congratulations to the other candidates who were successful; Bert Schaaf, Trevor Hayman and John Young.

The Public Open Day which took place on the Sat was a slightly revised format and was also a great success as a result of a considerable amount of planning by Karl and no small amount of backroom work by Annie - even the sun shone. Full details are available on the new AAPGAI web site - AAPGAI and the next open day is 27 - 30 Oct at Caer Beris.

The Avon trout season is almost upon us (24 Apr) and I am already champing at the bit having seen a good olive hatch on the Derwent at the weekend and the arrival of the Hawthorn blossom.

Martyn

Walt Lawson - 2009

It is two years and I still miss him every time I sit at the vice.

It was with great sadness that I found out about the death of my great friend Walt Lawson at this time in 2009 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

We must all have a similar story of a friend who