Welcome to Cheltenham & Gloucester Fly Dressers Guild. We meet at the Hucclecote Community Centre  GL3 3RT on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays every month at 8pm.

Have we got you interested? Then drop in and visit us! We'll look forward to seeing you.

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CGFDG Social Evening July 2017

On 4th July the Guild held its Social Evening at Stanway House, which is a Jacobean manor house, located near the village of Stanway and built of mellow yellow stone known as Guiting Yellow.   The manor was owned by Tewkesbury Abbey for 800 years then for 500 years by the Tracy family and their descendants, the Earls of Wemyss and March;  the 13th Earl and his family still live in the house (but were not present that evening).

We met outside the Gate House, a very attractive building at right angles to the house itself, built about 1630, which has shaped gables, bay windows, mullions and fluted columns.   Our guide took us through the gateway to the west front, which is Elizabethan, and the oldest part of the house, containing the Great Hall with a huge bay window, enormous oak refectory table and funerary coats of arms hanging on the walls (the Tracy emblem is a scallop shell). The principal rooms are in a long south-facing range forming an L-shape with the hall, unlike The usual Tudor house plan of a central hall.   The drawing room has a pair of unique Chinese Chippendale day beds dating from about 1760 and a working Carolean shuffle-board table;  upstairs is the Library (with only one window, it is the warmest room in the house in winter), the Elcho sitting room which looks comfortable and lived-in, and the staircase to the upper floor. 

We went outside to see the famous Stanway Fountain, which is a single-jet fountain rising to over 300 feet.   It is the tallest fountain in Britain and the tallest gravity fountain in the world.   Then it was time to visit the working Flour Mill for a talk from the miller who set the waterwheel going so that we could see the wheat (grown on the estate) being ground into flour (which we could purchase).

The House is close to the church, various outbuildings, cottages and a large Tithe Barn, and is surrounded by landscaped gardens, park with ponds and, up a hill to the rear, a canal from which the Fountain rises.   However we had no time to explore further as a meal awaited us at The Pheasant Inn, Toddington, which turned out to be a splendid repast to round off a very interesting evening.   Many thanks to David Chatham for organising it all!

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Mr Dave Orritt a worthy winner at 3lbs8oz

Tackle Auction 2017

The branch held its annual Tackle Auction at the Royal William, Cranham, for the second time, as it has a large room suitable for the auction and the food & drink for the helpers is good value.

There weren’t as many lots as we have sometimes had, but there were some good things amongst the usual boxes of flies, assorted materials and fly-tying vices, fishing jackets and bags, rods and nets.   All went very smoothly thanks to our Chairman, as Auctioneer, and to Committee members acting as Auctioneer’s Clerks, porters and general dogsbodies.

The Guild’s AGM was held on Tuesday 21 March at the Hucclecote Community Centre at 8.00 p.m.   It was very well attended with 17 members turning up;  the chairman and committee consented to re-election, with two exceptions, and one new member was co-opted to the committee.   Membership subscriptions would remain at £30 p.a., the Guild is financially in good health, and the fly tying courses will continue.

WHERE TO GO FISHING 2017

You can buy day tickets for

• Bull Hotel (Fairford) from the hotel – River Coln
• Burford Angling Club from Orvis – River Windrush
• Williamstrip Estate from D&J Sports, Cirencester – River Coln
• Lechlade & Bushyleaze – Small stillwater,Tuition & rod hire available
• Woolaston Court (near Lydney) – Small stillwater
• Chew Valley Lake (Chew Stoke, near Bristol) – Reservoir
• Blagdon Lake (Blagdon), near Bristol) - Reservoir
• Barrow Tanks (Barrow Gurney, near Bristol) - Reservoir
• Farmoor (Eynsham/Botley, near Oxford) – Reservoir
• Draycote Water (Dunchurch, near Rugby) – Reservoir.
• Witcombe Estate,Witcombe, gloucester Tel 01452 863591

                           CHRISTMAS DINNER 2016

The annual Christmas Dinner was held this year at the Royal Oak in Prestbury, in what used to be the skittle alley at the back, which is about the same size as the one at the Cheeserollers in Shurdington.   We had one long table for the twenty-seven of us, which worked very well as there was plenty of room to circulate and talk, with no muzak until later on.   The food was good, the service excellent, the raffle prizes plentiful and the speeches not too long!   Presentations were made as follows:

Big Fish: John Proverbs

Best fish: Dave Chatham

Advanced fly dressing: David Wilson

Novice fly dressing: there were no entries so the trophy was not awarded

Photographic competition: David Romeo

Chairman’s Award (Richard Sturdy Trophy): Nigel Holmes

The raffle raised £130  for Guild funds.   It was a very successful evening

John Lewis.

The Fishing Museum Online

Have you ever visited The Fishing Museum Online?  It covers fly, coarse and salt water fishing and includes sections on fishing tackle and a library.

The library comprises pdfs of books important in the history of fishing, which may be downloaded at no cost.  It includes titles such as Pritt’s “Yorkshire Trout Flies”, Halford’s “Floating Flies and How to Dress Them” and “Ogden on Fly Tying”.  The reason why you do not have to pay for these downloads is that the copyright has lapsed because of the years that have passed since their publication, and some dedicated folk have been willing to spend time scanning them.  The pdf format might not be as satisfying as the beautiful leather-bound reprints that are produced from time to time, but if you are thinking of buying a copy why not check whether it would be of interest before spending your money?  The site contains a link to Medlar Press via its “Shop” where you may purchase some of the titles.

This site is well worth visiting for anyone with an interest in fishing.  You can reach it by following the link below.

http://www.fishingmuseum.org.uk/

Adrian Pound

12/04/16