The Leonard Cheshire Trust near Braunton first contacted us earlier this year and we finally met Mike – their Risk Assessment Officer a few weeks ago at Bideford Angling Club’s water to see if he considered it appropriate for the most severely disabled, wannabe-anglers we’ve ever come across, as a fishing venue. Nick and I had no doubts because the lake was purpose-built and designed to be completely accessible and there are also toilets, including a disabled toilet, on site.
Today was the day and we’d arranged for professionals Paul Power and Alistair Wethers to come along and coach the boys. Both Paul and Alistair are registered disabled and gave their time for free today – Bravo! We arrived at 9am this morning and met Alistair and Paul at the lake. We chatted a while, waiting for the Leonard Cheshire group to arrive and I took all Nick’s tackle to his chosen swim.
Mike, Ben (a keyworker at the home), Francois, Marcus, Alex and Tom arrived at about 10am and were keen to get started! The weather was glorious and the fish were biting. Paul and Alistair set up whips for the lads and they were soon into their first fish – a gudgeon! Lots more followed throughout the day and we fished till 2pm. Dave, one of the BAC’s bailiffs had turned up aswell and helped out too – what a star! I made bacon butties, teas and coffees and DD was my runner till everyone had eaten and had their drinks. Then she and I went walkabout between the budding anglers, helping where necessary, putting maggots on hooks, landing fish, and casting out! She was amazing and got on really well with all the lads. I have never been a prouder Mum!
Here are some shots of the boys at the lake today…
Marcus with Alistair
Marcus hooked into a rather large carp, by accident and Paul valiantly and skillfully played it for a good half hour, hoping to land it, but it wasn’t to be. Next time!
DD with Ben (keyworker) and Alex, who caught 70 fish in all and had the day’s best, with a beautiful roach well over 1lb in weight!
DD with Tom, who’ll bring his voice-box next time… 
Francois, the perfect gentleman!
Alex in action, coached by Alistair.
I did get the boys’ permission to take their pics and put them on our blog. They’re quite excited at the prospect of appearing on here, although Alex already has a profile on Facebook! And finally, the Group photo at the end of the afternoon before we all parted… it says it all.
Back row – left to right: Mike, Alistair, Ben, Paul. Front row: Marcus, Francois, Tom, Alex, DD and Nick.
Filed under: News, Photos, The Buddy System | Tagged: Bideford Angling Club, Buddy System, Leonard Cheshire Disability
[...] Edited: If you’d like to see the photos of our marvellous day, click HERE. [...]
Wonderful pictures of a successful day at the lake!
Very cool for the newbies. Congrats on an awesome day fishing.
Cheers
As Artie and I filmed all this action, we knew it was going to be a great show. Fishing Tackle
Oh, how I wish I had been there to share ithis wonderful day! The pictures are gorgeous, and it’s obvious that a good time was had by all. I’ve been a special education teacher for 26 years, so I realize just how much outings like this mean.
XXXOOO,
Alberta