santa exists

This is a true story. Sadly I cannot recollect the year, but think it was around the mid 1980’s. The date is however known and the  events that follow took place on the evening of 24 December. I have recounted this story several times so thought it was about time I put pen to paper, so to speak.

My witness to back me up is my good friend Graham Johns. He recollects the night as vividly as I do.

Graham and I started fishing on Newquay headland around 8pm in the evening. We both enjoyed fishing then as we would always be on our own. We settled into a favoured spot, rigged up and chatted away like good friends do. On a fishing front, it was a busy night. We fished with 6 rods and the rod tips rattled away all night. Small whiting and coddling were to blame, sadly none of them were “keepers”.

If you have ever shore fished at night, you will know it can be a noisy place. The wind comes and goes, waves crash around the rocks so the background noise is always there. But not this night. It was eerily silent. No wind. There must have been a big high pressure zone above us as the sea was flat as a pancake. Consequently there were no waves, just a subtle lapping away to the rocks below us. It was also one of those clear nights. Once your eyes had adjusted to the darkness, a million stars were out on display.

As the evening wore on you could clearly hear revellers in Newquay singing away and generally making noise. I would estimate we were at least a mile away. If you have ever been out at night in the countryside, you will know just how far sound carries. It was just one of those rare quite nights on the shoreland.

The clock chimes of Newquay were crystal clear, so you just had the pay attention to know what the time was.

I should add that Newquay headland is pitch black as you are looking out to sea. The brightly lit town centre is pretty much straight behind you. So, as we were fishing, it was important to keep eyes peeled into the blackness. A mere glance at the town lights would ruin your darkness vision for a good 5 minutes or so.

So, the clock countdown was on and it started to chime its tune for midnight. Then the first dong rang out. Just at that very moment, way up in the sky out to sea, a bright light appeared. If you have ever seen a shooting star, it was just like that. But a lot brighter. Needless to say, you just automatically looked at it, mesmerised. It made a clear track towards Graham and myself, getting brighter all the time. The town centre clock continued to dong away the midnight countdown.

The bright light passed over our heads and arced straight into Newquay Town centre bang on the 12th chime. Graham and I just stood there watching in amazement. What a grand way for Santa to arrive on his sleigh.

With that, we packed up and made our way to our respective homes. We still grin and give one another a knowing wink at Christmas time. We have seen him. End of.

Poaching

I am sure most people reading this post will recollect the Brinks Matt Robbery. News coverage was widespread and quite rightly to. Just six robbers stole gold bullion, diamonds and cash to the tune of £26m.

So, who has heard of 17 Scottish people being prosecuted in January 2012 for stealing £62m? I confess I didn’t know until I got an email from the Angling Trust. I have copied an extract from the email in an attempt to reach a wider audience:

“Last month’s prosecution in Scotland of 17 skippers found guilty of illegal catches worth over £62 million puts the Brinks Mat robbery into the shade yet those convicted got off with pathetically weak fines of no more than £80,000 each – representing just a fraction of the illegal profits made from robbing a public resource and damaging an important fishery. The same goes for those caught with illegal set lines and nets on freshwater fisheries who really do need to feel the full force of the law if we are to curb what is in some areas a growing menace. Currently it is fair to say that all too often wildlife crime pays in Britain.”

So there you have it. A classic example of a very major crime that was not widely reported. I guess poaching fish is rather less newsworthy than stealing gold. Hope you are as outraged as I am.