Christmas Comes Early...
As a fisherman who dreams of endless days on the banks catching fish,
I have come to the conclusion that the only way I am going to achieve
this, is to win the lottery, so I get up in the morning go to work and
plough on like everyone else.
But a couple of months before Christmas I got a phone call from Dave
Coster who works in our local tackle shop, Wickford Angling - and is
a legend in his own right. Dave has been on the Match Scene since the
70s and has written for the Anglers Mail for 25 years, so this guy knows
what he is talking about.
Dave informed me that he was looking to put together a group of anglers
to assist a well-known company to develop a range of coarse rods and
luggage that would be unrivalled in the fishing world. I have been asked
in the past to do a bit with another company but at the time I was concentrating
on building up Churchgatelakes. Dave didn’t tell me who the company
was and inquired about my plans for the future and whether I was linked
to any other tackle companies, I informed him that I was 'in it to win
it' and he told me to hold on for a call.
A couple of weeks later Dave called again and informed me that I had
been penciled in as a possible candidate to join the group and that
I had been invited to fly up to their head office in the week before
Christmas and have a meeting with the top brass. He proceeded to tell
me a little bit more about the whole project and the other anglers I
would be working with, also the name of the company that was recruiting
us.
I am not really the type of bloke that jumps up and down and shows his
emotions, but after I had put the phone down I distinctively remember
jumping up and down and punching the air, to the amazement of my partner
Lisa, who thought I was losing the plot.
So there I was on a plane flying to Newcastle airport to meet up with
Dave Coster, Nigel Williams, Cathall Hughes and Dave Burgess at the
head office of the world famous Hardy/Greys of Alnwick. We were going
to have a look at their new range of rods, meet all the lads and to
go through the offer on the table, I felt like a little worm on a big
hook, but they made me feel welcome and I was soon feeling a lot calmer.
This position within the Hardy/Greys group will allow me to fish far
more over the next few years and hopefully this will enable me to improve
my profile and help me towards my dream of endless days on the bank
catching fish.
As a result of this meeting I can now confirm that from January 2008
I will be associated with Hardy/Greys of Alnwick as a consultant and
member of their Course Academy, so in a way I have won the lottery!
Maybe not financially, but I have defiantly hit the jackpot with the
deal that’s been offered to me, so I would like to say that I
am honoured to be associated with Hardy/Greys and hope to be working
with them for the foreseeable future.
So Christmas has come very came early for me!
Tight Lines
Tony Runnalls
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