Well, that went very well didn’t it. Nice day, nice people.

I don’t know about you but I was a bit apprehensive. I knew Jonathan Tomlinson from Sportfish was doing his bit and we (the BFCC) were trying to do our bit but you never know how it is going to turn out until the day do you? Actually, from my point of view, I didn’t really have a clue how it was going on the day because I seemed to be busy from the moment I arrived. Now, either Roger has got it in for me and sent all the students to me or we were all extremely busy, I’m pretty sure it was the latter because whenever I glanced around I saw all the other instructing members were fully occupied as well.

 I really don’t want to single anyone out, we all did our bit, but, Roger the Dodger does deserve some recognition for all the work he does in getting the punters to have a go. I suspect a lot of people turned up with the intention of just having a look to see what the BFCC is all about. Perhaps they were a bit reticent about casting in public. That just doesn’t wash with Roger, if you are there you are there to be persuaded to part with your fiver and get out there and have a go. Judging by the constant stream of students not many escaped his persuasive charm.

 Now, the beauty of this new website is that you, the viewing public, can leave a comment, and, provided you are not trying to sell Viagra, I will approve them and they will be published. We welcome comments. We need to get some feedback so that we can improve, or take into consideration any concerns you may have.

 While I am here I will tell you I have been given the dubious honour of looking after the Galleries. As you will probably notice I am not doing a particularly good job of it at the moment but I am working on it. If you have taken some photo’s at our events then I would be pleased to have them, either email them to me at heritageathome@btinternet.com  or pop them on a disc and sent them to me at 24 Albemarle Rd, Willesborough, Ashford, Kent TN240HL.

 I have also asked members to write the occassional article for us, you know who you are! Get writing. 

 I look forward to seeing you all at Brentwood in October,

 Mike Heritage

This joint BFCC – Sportfish Meeting was a great success and the BFCC owes Jonathan Tomlinson and his Sportfish colleagues a considerable debt of gratitude. Not only was their hospitality second to none, but they provided many anglers needing tuition, Badge Scheme casters and a few competition entrants.

The weather was not particularly helpful with occcasional drizzle and a moderate westerly breeze which was, unavoidably, slightly across the casting line. However, such was the general enthusiasm, it did not cause a problem and some very good distances were achieved, particularly for Badges, where there were some very proud recipients.

RESULTS:

#5F Distance – Alex Titov 115′; Jonathan Tomlinson 112′ 1″; Mike Heritage 111′; Tony Bennett 99′ 6″; Ronald Girnus 94′ 6″; Steve Kemp 93′; Terry Jenner 84′ 8″.

#7F Distance – John Renolds 136′ 2″ (congratulations PB); Jonathan Tomlinson 128′ 3″; Mike Heritage 124′ 1″; James Evans 117′ 3″; Roger Miles 106′ 6″ (congratulations PB); Tony Bennett 102′ 7″; Alex Titov 100′ 8″; Ronald Girnus 98′ 10″; Steve Kemp 96′ 5″; Steve Fox 85′ 3″ ; John Kelly 74′.

25 yd Badges – P R Coker, D J Edwards, Steve Fox.                                                 

30 yd Badges – M J Williams, Steven Davies, Matthew Gregory, Vince Granata.                                                                                                                                            

35 yd Badges – Ronald Girnus, James Evans.                                                             

40 yd Badge – Peter Mcleod.

For an example of triumph over adversity, nothing beats our newest member Stevie Davies, who struggled up from South Wales with a broken hip. Over three periods of tuition, casting from a chair, he ended up casting in fine style with double haul. What, I wonder, would he be capable of when fully fit – keep up the good work Stevie?

The next BFCC Meeting is at The Brentwood Centre on the 18 Oct. 2009.

Reporter – Mike Marshall