April Newsletter

At the March general meeting we were once again treated to a lecture of
great interest and fine humour by Bill Harriman of BASC and The Antiques
Road show. A fine range of weapons and equipment were supplied for Bill
to discuss and value, ranging from some beautiful big bore fowling
pieces to a superb double .410, along with a range of lovely pistols.
Many thanks to Bill, for entertaining us so well, and to the members who
kindly supplied their treasured weapons to be evaluated.

As we end another year in the history of the LWA we should look back at
the successes of the year. We have made a good profit after spending a
great deal of money. Thanks must go to the Chairman for his foresight
and hard work in organising the sporting auction. This proved to be a
great success and most of us have enjoyed some great sport as a result.
This sport would not have been possible without the support and
generosity of the people who supplied it, free of charge, to the club.
From our Patron down to the ordinary grass roots member we saw
overwhelming generosity and we must take this opportunity to say thank
you for being there when we needed you. It is this commitment to the
club that ensures that we remain one of the premier sporting clubs in
the country.
The LWA website was launched and is one of the better websites on offer
from wildfowling clubs. We must now wait and see if it will bring new
members into the fold.
In addition to the website, we have bought a computer and it is, as we
speak, being installed into the Chairman’s office. You can see the fear
in Tony’s eyes whenever the computer is mentioned but I have no doubt
that by this time next year he will be sending E-mails and typing out
minutes as though he has been using one for years.
So all in all we have had a good year with only one problem to darken
our skies. Lets hope the next few years will be as much fun and
satisfying as the last has been.

Spring is nearly with us, and some days it feels as though its here,
only to find the next cold and miserable. The strong winds of last
weekend did a lot of damage and I’m sure I won’t be the only one putting
the garden fence back up over the next few days. With a lot of spring
drilling underway the chance for a bit of pigeon shooting over decoys is
upon us. What better way is there to spend a Saturday than sitting in a
hide with a flask and some sandwiches? Obviously a gun and some
cartridges would also be useful.


AGM

The AGM was held at Quorn Football Club on Monday 5th April at 7.30 at 8.00pm.



Sporting Auction

There is one more chance to bid for some sport for the coming season.
Two lots are available and bids must be with the Chairman by the 5th
April. They are:

1. One days shooting at Belvoir, comprising a 150-bird day in a
line of 8 guns on November 1st.
2. One days shooting at Barkby Holt for one gun. A 100 bird mixed
partridge and pheasant shoot from both woodland and game crops. Date is
to be arranged. Kindly offered by John Pochin.


"SPIDER'S APPEAL"

Did you read about the remarkable feat by Barry Atkins? Who has been
beating with his spaniel on a total 131 consecutive shoot days to raise
money for two charities. Commencing on September 1st he completed the
marathon effort at the Holkam Estate on January 31st and raised a total
in excess of £31,000 in aid of Cancer Research and the National
Gamekeepers’ Organisation Charitable Trust.
Well our committee were so impressed that they have decided to give all
the raffle money collected at the A.G.M. to this worthy cause, so please
be generous in buying your” raffle tickets”

Eric Gaten.


In addition to the normal high standard of prizes, the raffle at the AGM
will have a boxed set of 12 bore cleaning rods, kindly donated by John
Massey of Broughton Astley Gunsmiths and a new, boxed pike match reel,
kindly donated by All Seasons Angling. If anybody would like to donate
further prizes please contact Eric Gaten, The Chairman or bring them
along on the night.


Dates for your Diary


Sunday, April 18th

Work Party at Priory Water. An extra work party as we have visitors
coming the following week and I would like to ensure everything is tidy
and presentable. We will start at 10.00 am for a couple of hours.

Sunday, May 9th

Work party at Priory Water

Sunday, June 13th

Work Party at Priory Water. Starting at the normal time of 9.15 for 9.30
am.

Sunday, 11th July

Work party at Priory Water, 9.15 for 9.30 am.

Sunday, 8th August

Work party at Priory Water, 9.15 for 9.30 am.




Newsletter By E-mail

If any of you would like to receive the newsletter by e-mail please let
me know at tim.andrea@goodlife.fsworld.co.uk and I will add you to the
list. This speeds up the transfer of information and saves the club
postage costs. It also cuts down on the chairman’s time in photocopying
and labelling envelopes.



Priory Water

The recent high winds have knocked a few willows over at Priory but this
should take no time to put right with a chainsaw. A few of the migrants
have started to show up with Stonechats and Little Ringed Plovers being
seen recently. With our resident bird watcher, Dave Gamble, spending
March in Australia the March report will be a little sparse compared to
normal. No sign yet of any Sand Martins but they are elsewhere in the
county. A new record for the site in February was a Sanderling, which is
also a first February record for the county.
Most exciting news at the minute has been the discovery of otter
spraints at the end of the big lake. With luck they will stay and some
sightings would be fantastic. An advantage of having resident otters is
that they would keep mink away, which would make up for the fish that
they are bound to eat.
Many thanks to Ashley Ward for his kind donation of a brush cutting
mower and two bundles of binders for the hedge we have laid this year.
Also a big thank you to Jeremy Spencer for his kind donation of hawthorn
quick’s that have been used for gapping up the hedge.
Work on the tractor shed is nearing completion with just the finishing
touches to be done. Thanks to Paul Wright for his help with the ramps
and to all of you who have worked so hard in your own time to build such
a fantastic shed.

Fishing

With the season now closed we are preparing for the new season by
stocking the main lake with Carp, Tench and Bream. The Environment
Agency recently spent the day electro fishing the big lake and the
finger lakes but were only able to find a handful of Roach and Perch and
one nice Tench. This was surprising, as we have seen plenty of fish in
there over the years.
The final Pike match was fished in terrible conditions and not many fish
were caught. The winner was Mick Wildman who read the conditions well
and had sport throughout the day. Well-done Mick.

Wanted

Large trailer, 8x4 or larger. Also wooden ladder, minimum of 7 feet
long, cash waiting. Please contact Ashley Ward on 0116 2778898.

Keeping Members Up-To-Date
The Association Newsletter is a free bulletin for all members of the Leicestershire Wildfowlers' Association, produced twice a season (followed by a seasonal edition of The Association journal, "The Pintail").

Contact the Editor
If you have an article or photograph you wish to submit to be considered for inclusion within the next edition of the newsletter, please contact Tim Goodlife (tgoodlife@leicswa.org).