The Hampshire Avon is, arguably,
in the best state now in terms of its roach for more than a generation, so it’s
‘job done’ as far as the tanks are concerned.
However, it’s quite a wrench
starting to dismantle Project HQ; an entire hatchery painstakingly set up and
responsible for unimaginable numbers of Avon Roach over the past decade and a
half.
Now, instead of scrubbing and
reinstating everything in perpetuation, it’s very strange leaving it in
redundancy as the project concludes. A part of us feels compelled to carry on,
given the extraordinary effectiveness, but we can’t justify the level of effort
required, given the amazing roach population density now existing in the river,
which is not only made up of those we have directly reintroduced, but there are
strong signs of them having successfully increased their own numbers naturally
with plenty of fish showing to anglers and in fry sampling that are too young
to be ours, which was the whole idea. Larval drift, displacement and natural
migration means they are also showing in places we haven’t had direct access
to, but in nowhere near the same numbers; but, a positive sign, nonetheless,
and again, all part of the plan.
We have a huge and final double
helping of roach going in the river from our stews in March 2021; all being
well, which will conclude our fish growing activities, but we’ll still be very
active with spawning board placement and relocation throughout the river.
It has been strange having our
time and movement governed by something other than the doings of our roach this
year. However, like so many, it presented other opportunities.
The first lockdown enabled the
book copy to be finely honed and made ready for design then print, which
happened as we were finally allowed back out to play.
You’d have thought that having
spent a life sentence in the print, I might have been able to handle it a
little less nervously than I did. But, nope… all it did was compound everything.
This book would be the definitive chronicle of the most extraordinary,
ground-breaking fifteen years and we were both desperate for it to be a thing
of beauty and truly representative. And, oh boy did we get what we wanted… We
are both absolutely delighted with it; and immensely proud.
The link to where the book can be
purchased online is here:-
www.avonroachprojectshop.co.uk
Anyone wanting an order form sent
by email or post to pay by BACS or cheque, please email me at trevorharrop@talktalk.net
We decided to go ahead with a
book launch/signing despite the pandemic restrictions, and make ourselves
available for anyone who wanted to come along and see us. We did this in the
same hotel we’ve held our annual fundraiser doo’s, and on the same Saturday in
the year. Number restrictions could be dealt with by partitioning the bar and
large dining area off into sections and have folks filtering through these.
Unfortunately, as well as the
pandemic and all the associated inconveniences, it was possibly the wettest day
of the year. It simply thumped it down with rain all day. Not ideal for the
wellbeing of hundreds of books, nor those signing them. However, it was a great
success and lots of folks came along and made it a wonderful afternoon… All
rather strange and a little overwhelming, especially for a timid pair of little
wallflowers like us.
Since then, we have been
delighted with how the book has been received. Within just a few weeks, the
limited run of fifty leather bound copies had sold out and the open edition has
continued to sell well following a rather breath-taking initial run of
interest.
We have received some eyewatering
comments from folks saying how much they have enjoyed it, with some saying they
are already on their second read. One said ‘half of me can’t put it down, while
the other half doesn’t want it to end…’ Nice eh?
So, we'd like to thank everyone who has shown support by buying a book.
While the book was at the
printers, three weeks were spent filling three skips with the dismantled filter
tables, concrete and other assorted rubbish at Project HQ with a little help
from project supporter Steve Percival… A fitness workout the likes I can never
remember – I ended up like I was made of iron. I even had muscles in my spit by
the end.
Very evident from the start was that energy and stamina were in far greater abundance when putting it all together than when taking it all apart. I was literally cursing Budgie as I dug great lumps of concrete out of the lawn, which had supported the wooden platforms upon which the tanks had sat.. ‘Even at two tonnes apiece, when full of water and our precious roach, they didn’t move though, did they?’ was his response.
The rest of this story is told
with the pictures and captions below where we have included some amazing roachy
images, as this is what it has all been about.
We made an arrangement with the leather binders that, as long as we’d paid for the leather and blocking guide, we’d be able to bind an initial run of 30, then bind copies either singularly or in small numbers to order after that, being as they are all bound by hand. However, before the initial 30 were bound, we’d placed an order for a further five, then another ten, then the lot.
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Not only did we pour all over the words, the font, the leading, paper, spacing, design and a million other elements; we, of course, also had a catalogue of some of the most amazing pictures that exist anywhere to choose from. However, the cover image almost chose itself as one of the most representative of the project. And, we’d be happy for our book to be judged by its cover… |
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The book signing was an awesome afternoon, and we’d like to
thank everyone who took the trouble to come along; in particular, Dave Taylor,
for the fab photo’s. It was a strange thing and, I guess, not experienced by
many folks. Having illustrated and written guest chapters in other books;
always being part of the collective and ‘always the bridesmaid and never the
bride’, as was once pointed out by a fellow artist; now for us to be the
co-writers, illustrator, photographer, designers, publishers, gardeners, waste
disposal officers, architects and bottle washers, it is all really rather special. |
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Thankfully nobody asked for complicated messages and all had
fairly ordinary names. I was a bit nervous as I am a terrible speller, and have
appalling handwriting, and had visions of people asking for all kinds of
messages like ‘can you make it out to Kevin with a ‘p’ and say well done on
passing his bgsdetrsfdgetrhings exams…’ |
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Budgie’s condition means that he can’t just pick up a pen
and sign the books. So, even the obvious demand for the authors signatures
needed serious consideration. We could have me sign for us both, we could have
me place the pen in Budgies hand, wrap mine around it and hold it and sign, or
do it as he usually does, with the pen in his mouth. OK for the occasional
birthday card, but we were talking about hundreds of books. He said, ‘we have done this project together from the start,
and we have done this book together, so I am determined to sign every copy in
the only way I can, which is with my gob, so if you and everyone else are happy
to show a little patience, I will come up with something to make that possible’. Within a week, or so, he and his PA, Emily, had made an
amazing adjustable and portable table-top lectern, which you can see in the
picture… They called ‘Hannibal’. |
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Our great mate, Chris Yates, has done a very generous
Foreword to the book and we needed to get his signature in a few for those who
had requested it, while we were meeting up for one of our lunch dates. We’d usually
meet up and have a long afternoon lunch in a pub, but his daughters had
forbidden him to enter a pub because of the virus, so we met at the usual pub,
but sat on our fishing chairs, behind Budgie’s van, out of the breeze, in a
corner of the pub car park and lunched on our own homemade grub and nattered
and laughed until the sun went down; another very special day. |
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The initial rush was a little hard to keep up with, but once
I got into a rhythm, it was fine. This lot was over just a few days. |
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A few days later and same again. We realised we weren’t
going to end up with a garage full of books nobody wants. We also realised we
were going to get our money back on the leathers, which are the thicker ones to
the left in the picture. Getting whole car boot loads of books in the post all
together was always going to be an issue, but we found a very helpful and
accommodating little post office up in the New Forest at Burley which eased the
pain. Goodness knows what grief I’d have gotten had our local post
office remained open, where the big ugly one used to tut and sigh at you just
for the awful inconvenience of making her reach and get a book of stamps from
the drawer. |
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Our own two rather tired old tanks were cut up and put in
the first skip, revealing the bases which needed clearing. The other tanks,
awaiting collection by the EA, became the perfect storage units for some of the
rubbish, allowing the skips to be loaded efficiently. |
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And here’s where it all started. My first go at concrete
(with Budgie’s guidance)… Not bad for a printer. But now it all had to be
bashed up and carried to the skip. So, not just fish eggs and fun. Oh my aching
bones… |
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Even the tables that held the filter barrels were put
together so sturdily that I couldn’t unscrew them, so had to saw them into
bits. Fortunately, everything could be put in fairly neat piles rather than
having it all strewn about the place. |
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First skip full and a second load waiting on the drive.
Tonnes of concrete – Budgie. |
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All clear, cleaned and empty. Just awaiting collection by
the EA. I now see a stripey neatly cut lawn, and more runner beans and tomatoes
than I can give away. |
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And this is what it has enabled. The roach really did reward
our efforts. |
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And this is what we did with it. It’s easy to get caught in
the moment and the image that is before us, but this picture was taken many,
many years ago. And, as the clockwork symmetry of the project rolled on, the
survivors of these little sparklers might now be the two pounders themselves
providing tens of thousands of eggs every year to assist the continued growth
and health and genetic purity of the natural population. |
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One of countless nets of adult roach being returned to the
Avon and a small part of an overall astonishing level of recovery. |
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Wonderful Hampshire Avon Roach, very likely ours; and, as we
say in the book, ‘now, perhaps the Avon has the chance to look forward to
brighter days, rather than having to look back to see them…’ |
