The beginning of the end and an everlasting legacy...

 

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. 

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… 

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.

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…’

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’. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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… 

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.

First skip full and a second load waiting on the drive. Tonnes of concrete – Budgie.

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.

And this is what it has enabled. The roach really did reward our efforts.

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.

One of countless nets of adult roach being returned to the Avon and a small part of an overall astonishing level of recovery.

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…’