Sometimes, when writing to you all in this newsletter, I distinctly feel like a broken record player playing the same tune again and again, but my goodness what a cracking tune it is!
As you will read elsewhere, our peak month is July. Fishing for Schools coaches are in full tilt from Yorkshire to Belfast, from Bristol to Canterbury, Newport to Norwich and pretty much everywhere in between. From one school eighteen years ago to this - amazing! But at the very core of what we do and hope to achieve are the young people. Students who inspire us to go further, work harder and just make us realise what it is to be meaningful.
Naturally, amidst the joy of angling and the thirst for knowledge by the waterside there are the human stories that come with these young people; sometimes, these are utterly heart-breaking. We had such a life-jolt from someone attending a south London school. It shoves everything into very sharp and painful focus.
However, the flip side is the worth of two or three elements; fishing and the immersion into waterborne education (which you now know all about!), camaraderie and the spirit of others, and the affection of a little black Labrador called Cai.
No, of course he shouldn’t have been at the fishery, but a special dispensation afforded the little so-and-so the privilege of joining us and spreading his own infectious brand of canine love, gleeful fun through the groups. Never underestimate the power of dog! And we filmed it all. That is for another time and day, but my goodness we have been busy.
For now, I would just like to make a vast shout out for the students who bring their sense of awe, wonder of the natural world, and inquisitiveness into what we do at Fishing for Schools; but also pay tribute to the complete professionalism and kindness of those who support us: our amazing coaches, companies such as YETI, Orvis and especially, The Tackle Box, who help us every step of the way. And of course, you.
Thank you.