✍️ Blogging || 22 years and 4 weeks Hello August, which just happens to coincide with my blog day. There are also thoughts on getting things done today and not leaving them until tomorrow. more
🎣 Angling || Small river fishing For the first session of the new month, I head to the Worcestershire Stour, where four species of fish put in an appearance. I also share thoughts on making YouTube videos, prompted by the fact that I left my tripod in the car. more
✝️ The Church At Hiraeth || Going through a difficult time The first online service for the month from the upper room is titled: Going through a difficult time, it all comes good in the end, the big picture and a blessing in disguise. more
🎣 Angling || Tench fishing on an estate lake For the second session of the month, I was up at 3.50 a.m. in order to be on an estate lake at first light. The target was tench and I did hook one… I did see a grass snake right at the end though, and filmed it, as it swam across the lake. more
🐍 Out and about || Grass snake While fishing (in my previous blog entry), I captured footage of a grass snake, as it swam across the lake. I thought it was interesting enough to publish as a separate video, in short format. more
🎥 Movie review || She wore a yellow ribbon I haven’t watched a film for a while, but I’m back on track with She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, starring John Wayne and Joanne Dru. Released in 1949, it was directed by John Ford. more
🎣 Angling || Fishing the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal My first Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal session of the new month was an evening one. A couple of hours in a new spot saw all perch on the bank, until the last three fish, when I caught a brace of roach and a gudgeon. It was nice to see Chris Jones out jogging and he features in the video. more
🎣 Angling || Targeting tench on an estate lake Following on from the blank two days ago on the estate lake – and in particular motivated by the lost tench – I returned to the venue. It looked like a case of groundhog day, until I eventually put the wrong right, as the plan came together. more
🎶 Album review || Wings Of Love from The Temptations As I continue to work chronologically through The Temptations’ album output, I’ve had Wings Of Love playing in the car for a couple of weeks. Released in 1976, it wasn’t a commercial success but, as a Tempts fan, I love it. more
🎶 Vinyl || DeBarge 12” single In Brierley Hill to do some food shopping at Iceland, my wife and I had a look around the charity shops in the town. No Motown for my collection but the market was open and I found a 12” single from 1985 on the Gordy label for £2. Welcome, DeBarge to my collection, with Who’s Holding Donna Now. more
✝️ The Church at Hiraeth || Let bad habits go and create new and better ones Today’s Wednesday Words of Wisdom is about habits – both good and bad – with the inspiration coming from our recent plumbing work at home. more
🎣 Angling || Lure fishing for perch I had a busy start and end to the day, plus there was a temporary shortage of maggots. Therefore, the perfect answer, from an angling perspective, was to load the car with lure gear and head to a lake in pursuit of perch. more
🎣 Angling || A visit to RD Tackle and a maggot crisis update, followed by a session on the Staffs & Worcs Canal With maggots back in the fridge, I visited RD Tackle and chatted with Dave. Afterwards, I fished the local canal alongside Ian Clarke, with Chris Jones joining us as he was out running. more
🎣 Angling || Estate lake tench fishing Following on from a couple of visits to an estate lake so far this month, I fancied another go at the tench. So I did. That’s the way my fishing rolls, I follow my heart. more
✍️ Blogging | 23 years and 5 weeks later as the journey evolves It’s Saturday and another digit has been added to the statistics. I’m still as enthusiastic though, all these years later, as I was back on July 5, 2003. more
🎣 Angling || On the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal to start the day As is often the case, I beat the alarm this morning to go fishing. Heading for the local canal, in three hours I caught lots of perch, roach and gudgeon. more
✝️ The Church at Hiraeth || Contextualisation, Drum and bass, Carry the burdens of others This week’s online service can be viewed via the ministry’s website. more
🎣 Angling || Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal fishing For the second session I was on the local canal, albeit in a different spot. It was good to meet with Ian Clarke and Chris Jones again. more
🎣 Angling || Back on the estate lake and back on track Following on from my blank on the last visit to the lake, I was determined to right the wrong, so to speak. After two lost fish, it came good in the end. I also caught two rudd. more
🎣 Angling || A very enjoyable couple of hours pond fishing Today was one of those days, where my morning was taken, and likewise the evening. No problem though, I just went in the afternoon instead. We are in the fifth heatwave of the year, so swim selection was important. I caught perch and roach. more
✝️ The Church At Hiraeth || The importance of motive Today’s Wednesday Words of Wisdom is based on recent fishing sessions. more
🎣 Angling || Heatwave fishing and it’s a quality over quantity session We are now into the fifth heatwave of the year and I took advantage of a free morning by being on the bank at first light. I fished a lake, with tench as the target, netting one tinca and a few nice roach. The session lasted over four hours. more
🎣Angling || Beat the heat canal session with four species on the bank It’s the hottest day of the year and, even leaving the drive before 5.00 a.m., it was 21C. I certainly beat the heat on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and, in four hours, caught numerous perch plus gudgeon, roach and rudd. more
🎣 Angling || First light on a lake and the importance of perspective in life and the big picture With wildfires raging across the country, homes in Stourbridge have been destroyed. That’s the reference to perspective and the big picture in the heading. As far as the fishing was concerned, I lost a tench close to the bank. more
✍️ Blogging || 23 years and 6 weeks later and my Netherlands football shirt from 1994 These blog days – the weekly anniversary of my first published entry – come round very quickly. In today’s, I’m wearing a replica shirt from the 1994 World Cup. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: Session one on the Staffs & Worcs Canal I enjoyed my prawn challenge in July so much, that I decided to set myself an angling task every month. This time, it’s more of the same and it was a good start on the local canal, with 21 perch on the bank. more
🎣 Angling || Jason from RD Tackle talks about fishing on the River Severn As per usual, I did some recording when I paid a visit to RD Tackle in Brierley Hill. This time chatting with Jason, as he talked about the River Severn, I decided to put it out as a standalone video. It begins with my wife and an escaped stick insect. more
🎶 Vinyl || Last Time I Saw Him by Diana Ross joins my Motown collection After visiting RD Tackle to buy some fishing tackle, I stopped off in Brierley Hill itself to have a look in the charity shops. My search for vinyl proved to be a positive experience and it cost me just 30p as well. more
✝️ The Church At Hiraeth || Decisions, Discipleship and more Check out this week’s online service from the upper room. Church with a difference. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: Session two on a pool Looking to add a tench to the list of species, I targeted a still water from first light for three hours. No tincas showed up, but I did catch 5 perch, making it 26 so far. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: Session three on a pond I had a busy morning working, followed by an afternoon visit to the council tip. With it being my wife’s birthday as well, I kept it local and short for today’s session. I caught 15 perch and a small skimmer, making it 41 perch and 1 bream so far on the challenge. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: Session four and what a cracker it was After a slow start – as far as species were concerned anyway – I more than made up for it on this early morning session. The total now stands as follows: 52 perch, 5 roach, 4 bream, 4 rudd, 2 common carp, 1 chub, 1 gudgeon. more
✝️ The Church At Hiraeth || The highs and the lows of life The latest Wednesday Words of Wisdom is inspired by the start of the new football season. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: Session five and it’s species number eight on the bank It was an unexpected session this morning on a pool but one that was very productive. I caught a brace each of tench and perch, with the former the first of the challenge. The total now stands as follows: 54 perch, 5 roach, 4 bream, 4 rudd, 2 common carp, 1 chub, 2 tench, 1 gudgeon. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: Session six on the River Severn I had two sessions in one day today – as I draw closer to the target of ten species – by adding a dace from the Severn. The total now stands as follows: 61 perch, 5 roach, 4 bream, 4 chub, 4 rudd, 2 common carp, 2 tench, 1 dace, 1 gudgeon. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: As the heavens open, a mysterious session on the Staffs & Worcs Canal Looking to reach the target of ten species on the fishing with prawn challenge, I set off for the local canal. After weeks of hardly any rain, the heavens opened big time. The mystery? How can I fish for three hours without a single bite. more
🎣 Angling || The fishing with prawn challenge: Session eight and it’s back on the canal After yesterday’s mysterious session, I returned to the same spot for more of the same. That was quite literal, as well, because once more there were no fish on the bank. As well as the heavy rain this time, in addition there was thunder and lightning. more
✍️ Blogging || Blog day, Influencers, Comments Today marks 23 years and 7 weeks of blogging. It’s always been a pleasure and never a burden. more
🎣 Angling || A visit to RD Tackle, Fishing with prawn on the River Severn The video begins with a visit to the tackle shop and a chat with Glen. Then it was off to the Severn for session nine on the fishing with prawn challenge. I caught 10 perch, 3 dace and 2 chub. more
✝️ The Church at Hiraeth: Highs and lows, Bridge Church, Embrace your uniqueness The penultimate service from the upper room is as above. more
🎣 Angling || The final session on the fishing with prawn challenge My last throw of the dice to catch species number ten was on a tiny brook. Unfortunately, due to the extremely heavy rain recently, it wasn’t in good shape. Still, I ended the challenge as follows: 71 perch, 6 chub, 5 roach, 4 bream, 4 dace, 4 rudd, 2 common carp, 2 tench, 1 gudgeon. more
🎣 Angling || An enjoyable evening on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Back in the same spot as my recent two fishing with prawn sessions – where I blanked – this time I caught well, with gudgeon, perch and roach in the bank. I was also joined by Ian Clarke. more
🎣 Angling || Fishing for perch and how to work the lure when jigging Working till early afternoon, followed by football in the evening, meant a lure session for perch (I caught four) was the perfect way to get my daily dose of angling today. more
✝️ The Church at Hiraeth || Age, is just a number in your life? Yesterday, at the age of 64 years, 4 months and 4 days, I played a game of football. That is the inspiration for today’s Wednesday Words of Wisdom. more
🎣 Angling || Rain, thunder & lightning stopped play on a canal fishing session Although there was the possibility of thunder and lightning all day, it only put in an appearance once I decided to go fishing. Therefore – due to safety reasons – the session was cut short. However, I did manage a few perch and roach before I packed away. more
🎥 Movie review || Fort Apache from 1948, starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Shirley Temple An all-star cast in the first of the trilogy of John Ford cavalry movies. more
🎣 Angling || The worst storm I’ve fished in but I still caught five species from the Staffs & Worcs Canal What a storm that was. I wasn’t even expecting it either but it made for good footage. I caught bream, eel, gudgeon, perch and roach. more
🎣 Angling || Sunrise lake fishing As we approach the end of the summer, I was hoping to catch my final tench of the year. I didn’t, however, but at least I wasn’t a blanker because some nice roach obliged. more
✍️ Blogging || Embracing the future but still connected to the past Today is 23 years and 8 weeks since I posted my first blog entry. more
🎣 Angling || On an estate lake and some nice fish on the bank I ended my tench season with some quality tincas plus lovely looking rudd and roach. more
✝️ The Church at Hiraeth || The Beluga, The Indomitable human spirit, The uniqueness of Christianity The final online Sunday service of the summer from the upper room. more
🎣 Angling || Lure fishing for perch and so close yet so far on the last cast I usually fish first thing on Sundays but, today I was out in the evening. I caught a few perch and lost a double-figure pike on the last cast. more
🎶 Vinyl || A trio of stars – Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder – join the Motown collection Brierley Hill’s charity shops have been very kind to me of late. After my latest browse, I added three new singles to the collection, at a total cost of £1.50. more
🎣 Angling || A calamitous evening, what a way to end summer I was looking forward to the final session of August and getting a few fish on the bank. However, my plans and reality were two different things. more
🏡 The home and garden at Hiraeth || Indoors and outdoors diary for August 2026 Although we look to the colder months of the year for inside work, the plumbing repair meant that we worked on the en-suite in the bedroom. Outside has been affected by the extreme heat but, nevertheless, tasks have still been completed. more
🐾 Dilwyn’s diary || A month in the life of a Bedlington terrier The latest updates from our Bedlington terrier includes footage from the home, garden and the local countryside. In my case, a dog is definitely man’s best friend. more
🐦⬛ Garden nature || August 2026 diary Nature on your doorstep. You don’t even have to leave your home to engage with the great outdoors. more
🌳 Cotwall End Valley || Nature diary for August 2026 I have always loved the natural world and, living where I do, is perfect. My local nature patch ticks all the boxes as far as I’m concerned. more