Through the generosity of you, our supporters, the project has gone from a couple of nutcases with a far-fetched, possibly implausible pipe-dream to a tantalising prospect we can all truly believe in. And as the years rattle by and the financial burden continues to be met, this allows us to concentrate on trying to make the dream a reality. No more string, elastic bands, sticky-backed plastic, crossed fingers and compromise. We are now able to trundle on unencumbered, knowing we carry the hopes of more people than we ever dreamt we would.

Despite the heat on the day, not withstanding the nervous exhaustion
of staging the event, we are well recovered and able to look back on the day with
more than a little pride. We have mentioned before that we sometimes get lost
in our own little world with this project; sploshing about in the

Charlie Duffy (Right) receiving the well earned 2011 trophy from Trev.

cold, mud, frost, snow and the rain, teetering sometimes on precipitous river banks with spawning boards on ropes, trying to secure them to spindly little twigs that even the most foolhardy squirrel would trust to support his weight, risking life and sanity through all the seasons of the year just trying to secure a future for the Avon Roach. And as the Roach Project, especially, grows, not to mention the
great work of the Barbel Society, and the years stack up, funding it all could become an ever increasing pain in the bum, but events such as the one we have enjoyed together make even this an absolute pleasure and indeed honour, thanks to the growing number of supporters we are increasingly reminded we have.

We were all pretty aware that this year might be a real acid test of the popularity of our little bash, especially when you take into account the poor economic climate and the general condition of our countries rivers.  However, it appeared that you are as fond of us as we are of you, and we are delighted to be able to report that through your astounding generosity this years’ event raised a remarkable £5,350. 

Funding such as this now allows us to move beyond the sticky-back plastic, toilet rolls and elastic band style of project construction and into a state where we can afford the materials we need for the job. We can hire diggers, buy our fence posts, netting and timber, and ensure the best chance of achieving our objective without having to compromise.

And this is what we are all investing in - Avon Roach. These are a few of the roach we have grown from spawn collected three and a half years ago and kept back to raise in a tank at Project HQ. Our ‘Toddlers’, as we like to refer to them, have already rewarded us by spawning in the tank earlier this year, so we must be doing something right... Maybe it’s the occasional treat of red maggots and casters, the bed-time story, the promise of eventually having pecs as big as Wayne Rooney’s ears and a whole river valley to themselves that added to their contentment.

We are delighted and extremely proud to be able to tell you all that we won the ‘Fred J Taylor Environmental Stewardship Award’ for 2011.
This is awarded by the Angling Trust in association with the CLA Game Fair, which this year was held at Blenheim Palace. We went along in
July to collect our trophy and, more importantly for the project, a cheque for a thousand pounds.

To have our project chosen above all the other applicants in the country is really uplifting. It was also nice to get a slap on the back of appreciation and recognition. The eye of the storm in a project such as this can be a strange and sometimes quite lonely place, especially when you’re expected to have all the answers, but know that there aren’t yet as many answers as there are questions.

As the many of you who know us realise, we are constantly trying to come up with ways of funding our aspirations, from organising our annual fundraising event, our float-making escapades, sponsored events, and trying to rob you lot of your loose change, beer tokens and pocket money, so to receive this award and windfall was a real shot in the arm for us.

While we are completely engulfed in this project; rolling our sleeves up for it daily, freezing to the marrow for it in winter, getting soaked through for it in spring and autumn, sweating like swamp donkeys for it in summer and banging on like demented politicians, pub landlords and half baked car insurance salesmen the rest of the time, the underlying pain in the bum is, and always will be, the funding of it all and our press releases statement, we think, just about sums it up...

 ‘We are delighted and honoured to receive the Fred J Taylor award. Funding is always the proverbial thorn in the side of any project such as ours and this will help us enormously in our efforts to return a self sustaining population of one of the country’s most enigmatic species of fish to one of the country’s most endearing rivers. An Avon without roach is an Avon that has lost some of its soul. And, to contemplate this is simply unthinkable.’

We would like to thank a couple of our great friends who helped us in our application for the award, Hugh Miles who hurriedly finished a short version of a film he is making of the project in time for us to send a copy with our application, and Chris Yates, who wrote us a lovely testimonial. He even got it to me via email, would you believe. And, in plenty of time..... Wonders never cease.

Well, what a day, and what a doo; and what a GREAT bunch of people.

While we strive to make the difference we truly believe we can, it is only with the open-handedness and support of others that we have even the slightest chance of doing so. We can only peddle as hard as we are able, but without the wheels being oiled by the amazingly generous folk who continue to show the kind of boundless benevolence as was shown at this years’ annual fund raising event, we wouldn’t stand a chance of achieving anywhere near the success we hope to. And while we believe passionately in what we’re doing, we are never quite sure, and sometimes need reassurance, about what the rest of the world thinks; especially when we are asking for a small portion of it to cough up good money and time to support us.

It is always a great worry organising a ‘bash’ such as this, and we get more and more fretful (on an incrementally upwards only scale) the closer we get to the actual day. However, not a single drop of angst needed to be spilt as the attendees made this year’s doo a truly wonderful and memorable occasion. Our collective sighs of relief could probably be heard from space.

So, we are delighted to be able to boast that this year's Avon fundraiser was an absolutely, unadulterated, outrageous success. We are also delighted to be able to report that this years’ was even more successful than last. Not just in terms of bums on seats, nor indeed the sum raised, hefty though that was, but for the aura of camaraderie which permeated the whole day and the feeling of goodwill which only comes from a group united behind a cause. Once again we were blown away by everyone’s support.

Pete Reading doing his best to describe the somewhat unusual lot of a flask of vintage 1973 Redmire water donated by Chris Yates, together with the hand written certificate of authentication, complete with the brown smear where Chris had wiped away a blob of chocolate cake he’d dropped on it as he was writing it.

Trevor presenting match winner Mattew Price with the coveted trophy.

We can now report on the first of our annual fund raising events which took place on 3rd October 2009.
Well, what a doo.

The day comprised of a friendly match to the death on the Somerley stretch of the Avon, followed by a delightful three coarse meal at the
Tyrrells Ford Country Inn at Avon. After the meal we had an amazing auction followed by a raffle draw.
We decided the winner of the match would be the person with the best specimen caught on the day; so a three pound roach gets it over a
four pound chub, a two pound gudgeon gets it over a five pound barbel, a seven pound dace gets it over a twenty stone carp angler and so on.

We joined forces in organising and hosting the event as equal partners with the Research and Conservation arm of the Barbel Society, ably
represented by Pete Reading, fellow Roach Club member, avid Roach Project supporter and extra pair of hands whenever we have called on him. Interestingly, on the day, and with almost forty anglers fishing, there wasn’t a single barbel or roach caught. The match was won by Chris Bush
with a chub of five pounds four ounces, which was slightly disappointing, but not a complete surprise, and despite the river not being in the best
of moods on the day, perhaps the result confirms the necessity of projects such as ours.

Trevor presenting the trophy to match winner Chris Ball.

Just a few of the ruffians who attended and made it a wonderfully memorable evening.

The generosity of some of the auction lot donors, and indeed the bidders on the night, was absolutely eye watering;  with lots such as a new 15’ Hardy Marksman float rod, a Match Aerial centrepin reel, a weekend fishing at the famous Redmire Pool, plus a whole heap of other rods, reels, fishing days, books, pictures and so on. Some mug even paid a pretty penny for a print of one of Trevor’s own scribblings – the ‘Peregrine Falcon’ that wasmistaken for a chicken and nicknamed ‘Foghorn Leghorn’ (Only kidding Jim). See for yourselves on Trevor’s web site www.avondalegallery.com

Not only through the recent fund raising event, but also, and perhaps especially, through this web site, we have received some outstanding support and overwhelming personal contributions, and we would like to just take a little space here to list some of you, as it is only through the continued generosity and open-handedness of folk such as you that projects such as ours have any chance of success.

Richard Middleton of Ringwood Tackle in Ringwood and Nigel Gray of Davis Tackle in Christchurch have shown an outrageous level of munificence above and beyond anything we could have hoped for, and just continue to do so. Then there are the personal pocket dippers, and in no particular order, but worthy of a two pound gudgeon any day, are Colin Gilson, Stuart Brown, Bob Gibbs, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey, plus the angling clubs, syndicates and organisations such as Longford Estate, the Red Spinners Angling Society, Christchurch Angling Club, Ringwood and District Anglers Association.
Such was the success of this year’s event, we are going to organise a replica next year. It’s just about the best doo we have ever attended. If only the wonderful atmosphere could have been bottled.

The latest news, as it stands at the moment (July 2009), is the web site itself, being that we have only just launched it. However, we are planning events that we will be reporting on later in the summer and autumn; one of which is the Avon Roach Project and Barbel Society Annual Fund Raising Event.
In collaboration with the BS we have organised a day of fishing on the Avon followed by an evening meal  and auction, at which it is hoped we can raise some much needed funds for the project. All proceeds on the day are to be split equally between the two organisations.
It should be a great day, with many generous people having donated some wonderful lots to go under the hammer, with rods and reels and even a weekend fishing at the famous Redmire Pool. It is going to be attended by some of the great and the good of angling, and us, the great unwashed. If successful, we will hold it annually which will go some way to easing the financial burden the project is continually under.