e-mail                                                                                                                          6/10/08

"All my life's a circle, from sunrise to sun down" This line is attributed to a sixties middle of the road outfit called the 'new seekers'. Famed for there coca cola add I'd like to teach the world to sing. An admirable life's work especially if they had heard my drunken rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "Move on up" in the Goblet last night. Yet all my life's a circle is an apt description of myself and the Irish master angler competition. Almost to the day last year I slipped a disc in my lower back a week before the competition. And knock me down with a pouting's potty if I didn't do the exact same thing this year, last Tuesday to be absolutely honest. It has left me with a huge problem in the collection of maddies the small ragworm which are the number one bait on the Antrim coast, it hasn't done a lot for my darts game either.

There was no way I could get out fishing this weekend even though there was a great tide on Sunday with high water at 9.30am, I was flat on me back. Yet the result of Spurs loosing to Hull city did me more good than all the muscle relaxants and pain killers available to the modern day pharmacist and I made it to the Goblet for a few pints.

To represent your club in the Irish masters competition is as high as you can go in competition fishing. I have been proud to fish along side the top anglers on the island of Ireland  for the last eight years and this year will be no exception. I would like to thank 'Paudie Dineen proprietor of the Goblet bar' for once again sponsoring myself and Damn Dave Desmond, 'thanks mate, though this doesn't extend to letting you win a game of pool! We will be heading up country at 4.30am on Friday, early I know yet another visit to the Bushmills distillery beckons. In fact Friday is the only day for the competitors to relax meet old friends and have a laugh. Not forgetting getting your peg numbers for the three matches. We will be based in Port Rush (for those who haven't been there before its a northern Youghal) Though only myself and Dave will be fishing six of us will be travelling Damn Dave and his wife Helen, myself and Fizz O'Rourke followed later on by all our gear and Jer Hurley and the 'Beekster' Big Bren Kennelly. If you see us say hello and buy us drink! Till the week after next.................................Chris