After much trial and tribulation, discussion and cogitation we are proud to announce that the above has been chosen as our new logo. It was designed in a competition organised at Aylsham High and the winner is a young man called Jack Hodson who is doing his GCSE’s. We are very pleased with it; thank you Jack. It can also be seen in our news page but the real thrill for me was the overall standard which to my untutored eye was very high. There were some close runners up and this was not an easy decision although I am very content with it. The logo sums up who we are and I think sets the right tone.
The logo has brightened my mood as I’ve been a bit down. Don’t know why but I do sometimes get a little tired and overwhelmed with things. I’m in good company, many suffer from depression and thankfully I don’t think that I am clinically depressed but I do know what Churchill meant when he said that he had his black dog about him which was his term for a very low mood. He had a solution; he built walls and painted pictures. Oh yes, he also won wars but I don’t think he was actually that depressed during the war years strangely enough. He was seriously ill when visiting Roosevelt in the US of A although the facts were hidden from the British people but I digress as usual.
I don’t build walls or paint but I do go and look at our river which always cheers me up. I close my eyes and see the wherries sailing by and hear the sound of wind on sail. We are now open for business and are starting to look at what kind of organisation we need to do our work of conservation and preservation. We can see the river itself is in reasonably good heart despite the drought but the banks and paths in some places are in need of TLC. One of my favourite places as regular readers will know is Oxnead but I just love it all; she is a grand old lady. If you know of anything that we could / should do please let us know.
In the meantime I don’t have a black dog to exercise but I do have three black cats and the wife does have a broom stick! (to be politically correct and for the record I love her to bits and joke about black cats and broomsticks to her face) Perhaps, if I’ve still got one, it’s approaching the time to take my gold plated, overblown and inflated public service pension. In case anybody complains that was said with a huge dose of irony – now no black dog here but I do have one bottle of black sheep (a rather tasty real ale) left over from Christmas – perhaps it’ll lighten my mood.
The Bure at Buxton copyright Evelyn Simak
The logo looks great Stuart
Thanks Darren – I think so too
Yes, the more I see it, the more I think the logo shows what we stand for in the BNCT. Glad you’re feeling a bit better. I think we all have a bit of the ‘Black Dog’ at times. Try reading ‘Nature Cure’ by Richard Mabey. It’s about how he used walking in the countryside to alleviate his own black dog.
Thank you. I do so agree that the logo is just right. As for the black dog, the river does it for me – and giving myself a good talking to.
Hi Stu & anyone else reading this, a nice Blog. http://www.oxneadfishery.com is under construction and i can be e mailed at oxneadfishery@yahoo.com OR if for BNCT related Publicity: ashehurst_bnct@yahoo.co.uk
The river is waking up, fresh green growth poking through, Grey Wagtails, Egrets, LapWings, even 2 Avocet spotted. Wild Brown /Sea Trout have moved up to Buxton Mill, i hope they have found some clean gravels to spawn upon and maybe a few have made the leap to increase their migration to the headwaters. The Coarse Fishing season ends on the 14th March and resumes on the 16th June. Fly Fishing for Trout resumes on 3rd April to 1st October. Im working towards several angling events as part of the Angling Trusts Angling Development Boards National Fishing Month in July & August. If i can secure a Sponsor towards the funding of Pro Coaches, we can then offer these fun family events for FREE. I also hope to sell Advertising Space and secure other sponsors to raise income that will, i hope, match fund towards River Habitat Enhancements.
Our Buxton Mill section of the Bure has had its Lease Agreement renewed so will continue into its 2nd year for Members & Day Ticket Fishing only, from 3rd April 2012. Members of the public are permitted as normal to walk the foot path, but no other activities are permited. Our Membership waiting list has been increased such was the interest and I have a few places left so get in touch ASAP. As a member you have 3 miles of Private River Fishing, Members Off Road Private Permit Parking & the Fly Fishing Fees have been reduced in line with Coarse Fishing Fees.
No Black dogs around here, all looking bright. On the issue of dogs, a few people are not cleaning up fouling or are in fact leaving the poop bag and wipe on the river bank/foot path. Also last year a number of dogs off the lead chased Horses, Cattle & Sheep causing injuries and a Fire Service rescues of Cow in a ditch. On the instructions of the Land Owners & myself as Fishery Manager, can ALL dogs be kept on the lead when animals are in the fields or when walking along the river banks put you dog on a lead as a few members have had dogs in their laps and through their rods.
New signage is soon being installed at fishery access points to replace the disapeared signs along the fishery. These will be more robust and secure.
One last area of interest is access, several (most) of the stiles along the river are in poor repair or at best difficult to navigate, even ive slipped, snagged up on barbed wire or got wedged. BNCT & O-F want to see these eventualy removed if no longer required or replaced with kissing gates, a working progress.
Ashe is an active supporter of BNCT and the operator of the Oxnead Fishery where he is doing good conservation work but the inclusion of this material should not lead one to believe that we automatically agree or support absolutely everything. We stand for responsible access to the river for all but we do acknowledge and respect riparian and landowner rights as well as fishing rights over those sections where they exist. It is in our interests to try and retain good but healthily robust relationships with all interested parties.
The Logo looks good, I like it. can i use it on my support adds web page with a link to BNCT?
Our logo can be used by agreement (which you have for the stated purpose) and so long as our copyright is acknowledged.
I don’t think you should be discussing Black Dogs in this part of the country, you never know where Old Shuck may be.
That’s made me smile – I didn’t even think about Old Shuck when I wrote it. He has an interesting history all of his own which is shared with other coastal counties who have their own versions. I tend to the view that he was code for the fact that the smugglers were passing. Now in Brampton we have had recent sightings of a big black cat.
We bookmarked your site a couple of days ago because your blog impresses me.