TORREZNETES ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTA A KURT BAKER BAND, PRESENTANDO NUEVO DISCO, BRAND NEW BEAT!!

Miércoles 5 diciembre, Almansa, Código de Barras
Jueves 6 diciembre, Estepona, Louie Louie
Viernes 7 , Granada, Polaroid Club
Sábado 8, Úbeda, Lokamia
Domingo 9, Murcia, 12 & Medio
Lunes 10, Castellón, Four Seasons
Martes 11, Alicante, Las Cigarreras
Miércoles 12, Madrid, Wurlitzer Ballroom
Jueves 13, Alcalá de Henares, Ego Live

Northern Fish-in.

Well arriving on the Friday at about Noon, it was soon obvious that this was in danger of turning into a 3 day event, as numerous attendees had managed to find an extra day from somewhere. Ray & Scouse had made it despite the suspension on Rays car going AWOL on the trip down. (Must have been the weight of kit )
After a couple of years of pounding the keyboard it was great to finally catch up with Norm, TeePee, Haydn, Mookie and others which up to that point had only been names on the Forums.
Dave & Stu had departed to get some important provisions (The Beer ) so I decided to while away a bit of time, so out came the fishing gear,and I soon had a few small Roach and Skimmers, before Stan (Elvingtons Owner) had parted me from the day ticket money and informed me that Carp and Poles weren’t really on his approved list.
Dave & Stu soon returned and camp for the weekend was set up with bivvies put in place. Trogg had already set up with the flag of St George, strangely topped with a small Lizard flag proudly flying next to his bivvy, and Sil the Rotty standing guard.
Les arrived to take up his post of chief Bar Steward,and around about 7pm a group of us set off for the local pub for a meal and a couple of pints, and very nice it was too.
With no nightfishing being allowed normally at Elvington, the only thing to do on our return was to go and support the cause in the beer tent, which with the beer being only a £1 a pint wasn’t to onerous a task , with some sausage baps being dished up as well, we disappeared to our bivvies to await the proper start of the Fish-in in the morning.
6.30 Saturday morning and people were rising ready for breakfast and getting ready for the off at 8am. Breakfast consumed, the Fish-in got underway as an already warm sun continued to rise in the sky. Whether it was the hot weather or the sheer pressure of all the swims being occupied, but sport was slow to say the least with just the odd fish coming out.
Thankfully Red Leader had his rods out and these were producing fish, Just not for Dave. It would appear that someone had drunk the beer tent dry overnight, so Dave had to jump into his car and go and get another barrel Stu was soon of the mark with a 3lb Eel on Daves rod, and later I managed to get off the mark with a nice 9½lb Common Carp again on Daves rod.

Just as well really as during the course of the weekend I managed to lose all 4 of the Carp that I hooked on my own rods. I did manage a Ruffe though,for 3 points in the Fishing Race.

Dai managed to liven up proceedings by having his rod dragged in by a rather determined Carp, while Trogg showing a rather nimble turn of foot rushed to the rescue, but in trying to avoid a landing net handle, stumbled crashing down on a sleeper on the bank and ending with his head under water . Still the rod was retrieved with the Carp still attached, an 8lb Common, but at some cost as it became obvious that Trogg had cracked a rib for his trouble.
Dinner time and it was fish & chips for some and back to the pub for a few of us, prior to fishing through the night (a concession from Stan for the Fish-in)
Dave & Stu on their return tackled up for an attempt on the Cats, while myself, Simon R, Tiny and Geoff settled down to spectate. Well the banter was good to say the least, and the hysteria was probably heard round the whole lake well into the night, until we retired and left them to it .
At this point I should probably apologise to Dave,as it appears that i managed to keep him awake the whole night,as evidently my snoring resembled a Diesel Generator working overtime. Me? I never heard a thing.
Sunday morning and at breakfast a rather bleary eyed Mookie appeared, blaming Uncle Geoff for leading him astray in the beer tent the previous evening and wondering why his legs were still having trouble obeying his brain.
Dave actually managed to catch a fish on his own rod………..

………. and Jack Thresh managed to get the biggest Carp of the weekend with just a ½ hour to go, a lovely Mirror of 19½lbs.
All to soon it was over and time for Troggs ceremonial beheading shaving.  Amazingly this was accomplished without a drop of blood being spilt.

The raffle was drawn and the auction was held, and for those of you that weren’t there i can only say that you missed a treat in the shape of Rose the Auctioneer, as Stu said “what a gal”
All to soon it was all over for another year, Hands were shaken, farewells said as we all disappeared in our different directions. Thanks to everyone that made it possible, those that attended, and all the sponsors, but most of all Thanks to Dave & Stu for all their hard work in making it a Fish-in to remember .

Day Out.

This all started out with Geoff asking me a couple of months ago to suggest a venue that he could visit on a free weekend. As with all harmless requests it soon turned into a mini Fish-in, as when I suggested Elphicks, Geoff realised that he could tie it in with a visit to Mum in Hastings. Wey Back (Mick) had just joined MD’s and Geoff had established that they had fished in similar areas in the past,and Beebs (Steve) was soon roped in to join the party . So a thread was posted on the “Fishing Talk” forum (For Wey Back or Beebs) and as these things are prone to do, it developed a life of it’s own . Soon NoFinPhish (Jason) had decided to accompany Beebs and Martin found himself available to have a crack at a new water. Alan P (Eastangler) then decided that it would be a nice day out for himself and his son Loz P. Newbie Dave the Fish liked the look of it as well and joined in, so we all decided to meet at 7am in the Car Park.
Geoff stayed at my place overnight, and we set off at 6am towards Elphicks. 6.30am and we have come to a grinding halt on the A21, and there we sat for the next 3 hours caught in a 5 mile tailback.

During all this chaos Dave the Fish managed to save a young lady’s blushes by hastily erecting his brolly to shield her as nature called, and as she told us after “It was the most impressive 50 inches” she had ever seen . Meanwhile mobiles were ringing to find out where everyone was, or more correctly wasn’t .

Well the Traffic finally moved and Geoff, Dave and I finally arrived, just in time to see Beebs landing a nice Carp of 13lbs weighed by Martin. Introductions were made and swims were picked and finally we were ready for the off. Due to the recent dry spell the lake was a good foot below it’s normal level and all those that had chosen the far side platforms could find was about 18 inches of water. I took advantage of peg 11 being free and had about 3 feet on the pole line.
Sport it has to be said was far from hectic, but everyone was getting the odd 1 or 2 examples of the various species that inhabit the lake. I had got off the mark with a Tench of about 3lbs and a few Rudd caught on an expander pellet. About noon Joe32 put in an appearance as agreed to collect some tackle that various members of the site have donated to help him get a youth project off the ground. This was taken as an excuse to adjourn to Sally’s Reel Food Bar in the car park for another round of chat, tea’s & burgers.

As with all these sort of days, fishing seems to take a back seat, but during the afternoon I managed to bring my total upto 12 Tench (6 green & 6 golden) with a few skimmers thrown in for good measure.

Meanwhile Geoff had got himself a nice Golden Orfe and was adding to his species count……….

Martin was coming to terms with a peg considerably shallower than he is used to on the drains,as was a pal of his (Reg) who had come down with Martin for the day.

Wey Back and Dave the Fish were engaged in various states of relaxation as this whole get-together thing with the Maggotdrowners was a first (but hopefully not the last) for them ………

Alan P and his son Loz were suffering with a definite lack of water in their swims and so moved onto the next Lake (Kettles) in the afternoon and things picked up a bit for them with Alan finally being able to christen his new pole. though young Loz took things easy as he was suffering a headache.

Beebs having had his generous gift for Uncle Geoff refused (A Welsh Baseball Cap ) split his time between the 2 lakes while Jason soldiered on.

All too soon it was time for me to leave so I made my way around and bid my farewells. As usual the fishing seemed to have come 2nd and in truth the lake didn’t fish as well as it can, but it seemed as if everyone had enjoyed themselves, and Uncle Geoff even managed to add a Crucian to his tally as i bid him farewell.

Me? I had a blast, Thanks to all the lads that came down, Hope you all enjoyed yourselves, we must do it again sometime.

Welsh Fish-In.

I arrived at Hazel Court ponds at about 6.30am, after a nice leisurely trip down from London, to be greeted by various stumbling figures emerging from the collection of bivvies and tents that was base camp for this latest M/D’s Fish-in over the course of the weekend . The fishery is comprised of 4 ponds that are fishable and a stock pond and various hatchery pools that are dotted around the complex. After greeting and introductions were completed, 7am signaled the start of fishing for the day and everyone elected to fish the bottom pond.

The weather was absolutely glorious , though a steadily freshening breeze was to make presentation awkward for some as the day wore on.
Now as is the style at these gatherings, the social side of things tends to get in the way of the fishing, as everybody catches up with the gossip, and more walking gets done as everyone circulates and stops for various chats. Having set up a waggler and a feeder I soon established that there were more than a few small Rudd present . A slight understatement as every pool on the complex appears to be heaving with them. Very soon though I was into a decent fish, fishing the waggler tight to a bed of lilies………….

……….. and after a spirited scrap I had this nice Mirror Carp to show for my efforts …….

Geoff arrived for a chat and we walked up to the “Match Lake”, stopping off at the stock pond to admire several large Koi that were in residence.(2 of which were 10lbs+ with another not far behind ) On arrival at the Match Lake we were confronted by the site of a tent with a flag of a little red lizard flying over it!!!!! Sitting there on the bankside on a small scale model of a North Sea oilrig, surrounded by enough kit to open a tackle shop was Ray Owen. Now Ray after 30 years of fishing matches, has this year decided to give it a rest and try “Pleasure” fishing, but is still having a little difficulty adjusting to the pace of this form of the noble art, but after this weekend i’m sure he’ll get there. After a short chat Ray decided to move down and join the rest of us, and with the help of a small team of sherpas (Me & Dave) duly moved. Throughout the day, some nice Carp, mostly Ghosts and Mirrors were caught. Around about midday Dave caught a Ghostie with a deformed face that Stu christened “The Parrot”. A couple of hours later i was into a Carp myself and Stu wandered round and did the honours with the landing net,and there in the folds was “The Parrot”!!!!!!! Don’t they feed these fish??????????
As the day wore on Stu decided to break out his “Noddy” kit (his words,not mine) and get into a serious bit of Rudd bashing with his lad Daniel.

Now some might be tempted to say that Stu using a pole resembles a Garden Gnome (Trogg), but as he is considerably larger than me, I wouldn’t dream of it .
As the afternoon wore on, more and more anglers arrived and to be honest the fishery is probably too small to handle the amount of pressure placed on it by these numbers. All day long Dai and his son Daniel (Yes,same name as Stu’s son) had been fishing to a lily bed as had Geoff. Now Dai’s lad has definitely got “The Bug” following his recent exploits with Carp, and as the afternoon wore on he was into a Carp that was intent on getting back into the pads ………

But with Dai offering moral support and Ray in attendance to perform the ghillies duties, there was ample reward in the end with this fine fish………. a new PB for Daniel at just under 8lbs…..

I think the smile says it all,and he did it again later on,with another larger fish!!!!!!!!!! 2 PB’s in an afternoon. Well done Daniel. At least I think that’s what Dai said, but my Welsh is a little shaky. Geoff meanwhile soldiered stoically on, despite having one of those days, where more fish performed Houdini impressions than he would have liked .

 As the day ran towards it’s end, I had moved over to the next pool to escape the constant wind in my face, and after casting a small feeder towards the central island, the tip wrapped around and I was rewarded with a nice Tench of about 3lb (but not one of the golden one’s I’m afraid, sorry Trev. )

As everyone packed away for the night (No nightfishing allowed I’m afraid,) I decided to try out one of the Hotcan ready meals that i had won in the Elvington raffle. What can I say, following the instructions and piercing 3 holes as instructed, a mini nuclear reaction appears to take place, resulting in one very hot can with steam pouring out of the top. 12 minutes later and a piping hot meal is ready. This one was a vegetable curry and very nice it was too . After dinner some of us visited the local hostelry, and were treated to a couple of pints by Dave , courtesy of a Lottery Win. A brief chat ensued on our return, by the moonlit ponds, as the bats flew above our heads, before retiring to our bivvies ready for the next day ahead.
6.30am, and Cliff (the owner) has appeared for a chat with the gang as we assembled for the 7am start. It promised to be another breezy day, although it was coming from the opposite direction! Dai was on his own as his lad has gone on a rock climbing course, and he was joined in the next swim by Ray who was determined to get to grips with his first foray into the world of Knotless Knots and hair rigs , but still seemed a little shocked by the size of gaff (size 16 actually Ray)that made up his rig!
Dave had set up on the opposite bank to launch his customary 2 method rods towards the central island. Stu and Daniel were in Dai’s swim from the previous day. I had returned to the swim that I had finished in yesterday. Geoff meanwhile has settled into a swim on the next pond along. It had a large patch of lilies to fish to and the far bank appeared to be solid rushes. Supposedly it held a large head of Ghost Carp and almost certainly an even larger number of Rudd!
I started on the waggler with a single grain of corn and slowly but surely the swim came to life, but it was only the Rudd worrying the bait, however by keeping the corn going in a number of better examples around the 8oz mark came to hand.
In general though,things are slow. Poor Ray had a close encounter with a Coot that managed to get tangled in his line, and put up a spirited resistance before I managed to net it for him. In the net it managed to disentangle itself, and to swim off with nothing more than it’s feathers ruffled . I struck into another Rudd bite only to find that it wasn’t, and after a brief but spirited fight, i was rewarded with an immaculate Mirror Carp of about 6lbs.
Geoff meanwhile has been wading through the small Rudd in pursuit of the Ghosties that inhabit the pond he was fishing. Dave had a couple of Carp while Stu and Daniel were having great fun with the pole in pursuit of the Rudd. All of a sudden Dai’s margin rod was away,and after a brief struggle I did the honours with the net and Dai was rewarded with this nice chunky Mirror Carp ………

My swim seemed to die as more anglers arrived in the swims that were previously vacant,and with 180 miles of the M4 to negotiate before i got home, it was time to pack the kit away . Soon it was time for farewells and thanks. Walking round to Dave I arrived just as he hooked into another Ghostie………………

……………………..the fish managed to run through Dave’s other line and the resultant tangle acted as Dave’s cue to finish up and get ready to head home. Stu And Daniel were still slaying the Rudd on his “noddy” tackle. (Bet you’re glad you didn’t sell it now Stu ) Dai was still soldiering on while waiting for the family to arrive, and Geoff had come over for a chat and a break from the Rudd, and Ray was loading his mountain of kit away, while trying to get his head round this whole new approach to fishing that is so foreign to him.
Thanks a lot lads it was really enjoyable and a great weekend, We must do it again soon .

Just a brief one folks. We arrived at Old Bury Hill,at about 7 am and embarked on the good punt Maggotdrowner for a trip up to the “Jungle.” On arriving in the “Jungle” it appeared that the monsoon was arriving but with the capture of a nice Bream of 5lb 8ozs, the weather started to clear ……….

Trev broke his Tench “duck” with 3 nice fish , and Geoff had a nice male tench of 3lb 3ozs ………………….

The following is the report originally posted on Maggotdrowning.com about the day above, by a very good friend of mine,Trevor Manning aka Ziptrev. Unfortunatly Trev is no longer with us, but reading this will i hope give you a taste of the mans style which is so missed by those who were fortunate enough to know him …………. 

An Enjoyable Excursion.
As I approached Junction 23 of the M1 on Thursday 4th July, I cursed my weakness as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier. I was so looking forward to a new experience that was a long standing arrangement and here I was less than 50 miles into a 180-mile journey and falling asleep at the wheel!
I had arranged weeks ago to go and visit Peter in London and fish a, quite unique in my experience, venue. As the day approached, I asked Peter for directions and found they took me through Central London! At Rush hour time!! Panic! Peter solved that problem, by a) inviting me to stay the night & b) By arranging to meet me around the M25, a road I was much happier with! So, cheerfully, I set off (well early at 3am to arrive by 7pm ) with all the carefully prepared lightweight gear and bait. The Venue in question was Bury Hill Lake, which we were going to fish by punt! Yes PUNT! Redolent of my old Cambridge days on the Cam, I could say (except I would be a liar, as I never went to University! Let alone Cambridge!)
Peter had promised me a good chance of a Tench, something I had been looking for since January1, but this years Tench have refused to respond to my tempting. Secondly, there was an outside chance of my 1st Zander, albeit a Stillwater fish, as they sometimes fell to maggot. And Thirdly, Geoff had watched the discussion and remembering the times ‘years ago’, when he had fished the lake, had also wheedled an invitation and he is always fun to be with.
So, I groaned to myself as I pulled into the Shepshed lay-by at 3.30 and decided that 20 minutes was all I could afford, so as not to miss the fun of the next day!
When I awoke at 10 to 6.00pm, I had a choice! Either give up the idea and let this damned weakness win, or try and achieve the next 130 miles as fast as possible!
Well, of course!
At 7.00 I phoned Peter, ‘Are you there mate?’ he said ‘Not Quite’ I replied ‘Whereabouts are you then?’ ‘Err just coming into Cambridge’ I said weakly! In fact, I should have said Cambridgeshire, as I was on the outskirts of Huntingdon!
I quickly explained my predicament, and as I had to visit my parents in Suffolk anyway, to collect Macmillan Charity Money, offered to call it off.
Peter rose to the news with his lovely laid back style and wouldn’t hear of my idea. ‘Just take it easy, mate, no problems and ring me when you hit the A20’ So gratefully, I carried on down, joined the M11, hit the last services on the M25 before the scenic Queen Elizabeth Toll Bridge to buy a peace offering bunch of flowers for making Maria’s meal so delayed and made my way to the A20. On phoning, I was directed to a pub of all places and by the time Peter and Geoff arrived, had ordered 3 pints! £6.80 for the record Martin and only 1 a decent Black one! Due to the time, we only had a swift half to follow and were soon enjoying an excellent home made Spaghetti Bolognese, which was the first meal I had been able to eat for 3 days! It just goes to show how you can relax in great Company. Faced with a 5.30 start, we did as normal under those circumstances and stayed up too late yarning away, with the sheer pleasure of discussing fishing and the forums as like minded people do.
However, Peter woke me on time on Friday morning and quick preparation of flasks etc, A bundling of kit into Geoff’s car and we set off on what proved to be an hours drive enlivened by Geoff’s colourful monologue of other drivers abilities, self abuse habits and parental uncertainties!
Arriving at the Lake after negotiating overtaking the final ‘******’ we found we were only the second car to arrive and the guy in the 1st was just through unloading enough kit on a trolley to set up a base camp for a Himalayas expedition. He went through to the gate, we followed with the minimum of kit and whilst we waited for the bailiff to arrive, Peter and Geoff watched the Carp near the Boathouse rise to pieces of bread.

The wait was short: We paid our £15 pounds each! And chose a punt. I had undertaken 2 difficult tasks, Firstly not to fall in, so I obviously needed to hold on with both hands and secondly not to lose my glasses, so again, I had to keep checking on them! Therefore I relied on Redgrave in the Bow

And had to let Pinsent take the blunt end!

Come to think of it, both ends were blunt! Under the guidance of these 2 master boatmen, we made our way (sometimes straightish, often at an angle and on more than one occasion, sideways on) to the far bottom end of the Lake, known as ‘The Jungle’ Choosing a swim to the right, we started to fish close to the bank in about 3’ of water.
We all had waggler floats, Geoff and Pete with 6lb mainline and I with 10! Hook lengths of 3lb for Peter and Geoff and 3.6lb for me! Well I had come to catch a big Tench.
The 1st fish quickly fell to our Matchman!

A nice clean Bream that Peter caught within the 1st ½ hour of fishing. At about 8.30.am. We were fishing mostly red maggot, feeding Red Sensas Ground bait, dead and alive white maggot sweetcorn and hemp. Geoff and I had also brought worm, but had no bites at all on these. Geoff switched back to maggot and succeeded quickly in landing his 1st fish………

This fine specimen of a Roach was all he needed to loudly proclaim ‘Well, I’ve not blanked and so I can rest now’ As he said it for the 5th time, I nearly replied, as I had sat there, in the middle for 1 and ½ hours without seeing a Single bite! Then Peter, who had abandoned his forward facing swim in favour of fishing out the back, with the excuse that ‘My Bum hurts’ hit into a much better fish and landed this result!

The Bream was weighed carefully and proved to be 5lb 8oz, a cracking fish that would have been a PB for me! Then at last my float dipped, the line tightened, went screaming off to the right………………………….AND SNAPPED!
I ruefully wound in and found the 3.6lb hook length had parted some 4” from the hook and that with a Kamasan 911 hook to Drennan Double Strength line! A very nice Tench I guess! Then Peter was in again! This time, much more fight than the Bream! The fish took line and ran! Peter brought it in, it ran again! 3 or 4 times this happened and then it rolled on the surface, coming towards the net. Unmistakably a large Green Tench and if it wasn’t over 7lbs, it was a damn heavy 6!
We shall never know, as with one final lunge, the Fish snapped Peters line the same as mine earlier and disappeared into the depths (or shallows to be more accurate!)
Peter then retied, using a heavier bottom line and Geoff went and caught this Bream, to make me even more envious!

Shortly after, I had my second bite of the day! The fish was on for even less time this time, made straight for a pile of overhanging bushes to the right and splashed on the surface underneath the bush, before my float and line came catapulting back! Annoyed? Yes! but not devastated, the Fish were here! If I just got it right, I could have my Tench to start the season AND anything over 5lb would give me a verifiable PB. So, Going over the top as usual, I tied up a 14 hook to 7lb hook length. Lets see how this would hold them!
Peter then quickly caught another 6 to 8 Bream of the this stamp in quick succession

I had lost my 2nd fish at about 10.30 and when 12.00 came along, with no more bites to the heavier line, reluctantly went along with the suggestion to move to the other side of the lake, as I was sure the fish would come!
In the meantime, Peter had made yet another interesting catch. On the forum recently a Bullhead had been caught and identification was unsure as to whether it was a Bullhead or a Ruffe.

Well for clarification, this is Peter’s Tommy Ruffe!
We went across the Lake and rebaited a swim; fishless for half an hour Peter came to the rescue again. Suggesting we try a pellet approach, he produced some and shared them with Geoff and I. I meanwhile had retied onto 5lb line a Kamasan711 intermediate size15 hook. This small scale down worked, as at last the float dipped and after a (heart stopping for me, in view of my previous experience) 3-minute fight, guided this fish to Peters waiting net.

Yes! I succeeded in catching my Tench, which weighed 3lb 3ozs! For me a great result! As always happens, I got a second, even better at 3lb 13oz and then another bizarre one! Striking, I was into a fighter that made straight for the bushes (we were fishing so close, my rod could touch them!) Pulling hard, the fish turned and made straight for the punt. Went solid as it spun round the anchor rope! I could only hold and swear, as Peter leaned over the side with the landing net to try and scare it out. A minute passed and nothing moved and then for the third time, my line parted! I swore again, but it turned silent, as grinning hugely, Peter lifted the landing net, with my fish and hook, which he had managed to capture as it tethered itself to the anchor rope! This was a male of 3lb 7ozs.
Then Geoff caught what proved to be our 4th and final Tench, his 1st male out of over 40 Tench this year, which weighed 3lb 2ozs.

I caught at last a Bream of about a lb, but the bites were proving slow and probably as we were getting tired, poor casting was causing breakages and tangles in the undergrowth of the aptly named ‘Jungle’.
We moved to the Island at about 5.15pm, but when Geoff decided at 6.00pm, that he needed to visit ‘The little Boys room’ then we declared it a day. I believe he did need to go too, as we crossed the lake in less than half the time the outward journey took and he hit the boathouse running!
I dozed contentedly in the back of the car as we made our way home, stopping only to collect a Chinese Meal, that Geoff and I decided was only just reward for Peter and Marias hospitality and even the discovery that some nice person had stolen a wing mirror cover off my courtesy car (mine is undergoing repair) could not dampen the day.
The following morning, as Peter led me back to the M25, I could not help but feel grateful that I had fallen onto an Internet forum that has provided so many enjoyable experiences and where most of the people I have met have turned out to be genuine and true friends. Thanks Geoff for sharing the day, Thanks Peter for providing the opportunity and your great hospitality and thanks Tench for playing ball and making my wish come true!
Trev.

http://www.livenation.com/Tommy-Stinson-tickets/artist/874366

Jackie Kemp, writing for London’s Guardian, meets the professor of brewing who is working with Benjamin Zephaniah to excite black students.

‘The day I was offered a Chair, I phoned my mum in London and she said in her strong Jamaican accent: ‘What are they giving you a Chair for? Tell them to give you money.’

“She came up for the investiture and she said: ‘I paid £85 to bring this boy here in 1955, and he is still at school!’”

This memory of his mother’s joke produces a warm laugh from Geoff Palmer, professor emeritus of brewing, as we sit in the kitchen of the neat family home in the Scottish countryside he shares with his wife of 40 years, educational psychologist Margaret Palmer.

The kitchen worktop is festooned with test tubes and the dining-room table is entirely covered with books and papers as Palmer – perhaps Britain’s foremost African-Caribbean scientist – ponders an accurate test for grain spoiled by rain.

It seems unlikely that this is the same man whose report from chemistry at school read: “doesn’t really care”.

Surveying the scene, Palmer, who is working with Benjamin Zephaniah on a project to encourage African-Caribbean children to pursue science careers, points out that it was much easier for his own children, who grew up surrounded by books, to succeed at school than it was for him or others like him.

“If I were Asian, it would not be unusual that I became a scientist and I would not be doing race-relations work.” But many African-Caribbeans are still relatively poor and, coupled with all the problems of deprivation, he argues that they can suffer from cultural isolation and “negative peer pressure”. As part of his work on trying to open doors for young black children, Palmer is patron of the Ishango Science Club for African-Caribbean children in Birmingham. He is also making a film with Zephaniah for the Open University to be shown to black students.

Palmer argues that, like other poor children, African-Caribbeans have to be encouraged into science. “African-Caribbean children and students are more aware of the financial rewards of sports, music and the media than they are of the benefits of science. When I was asked how much I earned as a researcher by a group of black children, they laughed when I told them. One boy said: ‘Rio Ferdinand could earn your annual salary in a day!’”

Palmer pointed out that, although he may not be a wealthy man, his long career in science has brought him respect, and indeed, the walls of his modest home at the rural edge of the Scottish village of Penicuik are adorned with a number of awards and plaques – including an American Distinguished Research Award, which he was the first European to win, and a picture of himself posing with his family outside Buckingham Palace, where he received an OBE.

“Benjamin Zephaniah refused his OBE, but I couldn’t refuse mine. I felt it was not only for me, but for my mother, my family and for the other people who helped me on the way up.”

Palmer felt that he escaped negative peer pressure and cultural stereotypes. “I was a blank sheet when I arrived in north London in 1955 to share a room with my mother, whom I had not seen since she left Jamaica when I was eight. I had a strong traditional black religious Jamaican family-orientated background. I was outside the new young black British culture of cultural isolation, drugs, music and the dole.

“My mother and my aunts were my role models. They gave me my values. The negative influence of peer group pressure reinforces cultural isolation and promotes failure. This still applies today.”

Palmer grew up without a male role model. “My father got up one day and left, when I was seven years old. I was glad, because he used to push me around and he pushed my mum around.”

When Palmer arrived in London – aged 14 years and 11 months – after his mother saved his fare out of her wages as a seamstress, she was taking him to start work the next day as a grocer’s boy when she was stopped by an education inspector who told her the boy must attend school.

The only real education he’d had until then had been at Sunday school – “the first prize I ever won was for regular attendance” – and although he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of scripture, he had no other education.

He was classed as “educationally subnormal” and offered a place at a secondary modern in Shelborne Road. There he was discovered to be an excellent cricketer and was soon playing against Eton. He was snapped up by Highbury grammar – “they needed me” – and there followed a challenging period for him where “I just tried to look as intelligent as possible and hide how much I didn’t know”.

“I used to go to Islington Library – it was warm and it was free, you could stay there all day.” He took on two paper rounds to help his mother and stayed at school.

He has fond memories of an English teacher. “Mr Ward used to tell us stories from Steinbeck and Hemingway. It took me a long time to realise that the story I knew as Pip and the Convict was Great Expectations.”

He managed to achieve one A-level – in biology. “Those two subjects have been the basis for the rest of my life. Because I understood stories, I understood how people would behave.”

He got a job as a junior lab assistant, attended a local polytechnic one day a week and eventually gained a degree in botany. Then, Palmer found himself a job bashing spuds in Beale’s, a London restaurant.

“When the chef wanted ‘new potatoes’ you had to find the smallest spuds for him. I found another way. I would cut a big potato into four and round the pieces off in the abrader. The chef said ‘you have the greatest facility for finding new potatoes of anyone who has ever worked here’. I got promoted for that.”

In that period, he applied for an MSc at Nottingham and went to an interview where Keith Joseph, a guru of Margaret Thatcher, was on the panel. “He asked me why I didn’t go home and grow bananas.

“I said: ‘There aren’t any bananas in London.’ Because I answered him back, he became quite angry.” Joseph then asked how Palmer would tell wheat from barley from the window of a moving train.

“That was an inappropriate question. That isn’t the kind of thing that you study on a botany degree.” Palmer was stumped, and soon found himself back at the restaurant. Now, however, as one of the world’s greatest authorities on cereal crops, the professor says: “I think of him when I pass a field at 125mph and I can tell the difference.”

Undaunted, he applied for a PhD at Heriot-Watt University. He says: “I don’t know if I was the best-qualified candidate. I suspect not. But I know that Professor Anna MacLeod asked my referees about my background.

“She took the view that, given where I had come from, I would be likely to succeed.”

Professor MacLeod was right. Soon Palmer was embroiled in a controversy in which he overturned the received wisdom about where the enzymes come from when grain ferments – he also found that using a machine similar to the spudbasher at Beale’s hastened the process.

His research into brewing with an African grain called sorghum helped to encourage multinationals such as Heineken and Guinness to use it in their African breweries.

Now updating his seminal cereal text book, Palmer is sceptical about the value of gene manipulation. “The truth is that all living material, including plants, has enough variability in its genes to produce all the variation I think we will ever need, because of sexual reproduction.”

This is something he comments on from within his own experience. “If you saw me walking down the street with my grandson, you would have no idea that we were related – and that is within two generations.”

Palmer also finds himself doing an increasing amount of community, race-relations and education work.

He has tried for many years to raise the profile of Scotland’s role in the West Indian slave trade. His mother had Scottish connections and, he says, “if you look at the Jamaican telephone directory, 60% of the names are Scottish”.

Over the years, he feels he has got better at dealing with racist slights he puts down to ignorance. Once when he visited the Lothian Police headquarters in Edinburgh, a senior police officer phoned down to reception to find out why Professor Palmer was so uncharacteristically late, only to be told: “No, there is no professor here, there is just a black man hanging around.” It is typical of the professor that recounting this story prompts not anger, but another amused laugh.

For the original report go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/sep/28/geoff-palmer-interview

Approximately a dozen members of the public, including former students and wrestlers and parents of current wrestlers, were present at the meeting to speak on why they did not agree with the decision.

Hoelzle was approved, however, and Geoff Palmer, superintendent, said the policies and procedures of hiring athletic personnel were followed.

Sandra Reinhart and Doug Ranker voted not to approve Hoelzle while Rob Bodart, Linda Depinet and Greg Siebenaller voted to place Hoelzle in the position.

Hoelzle is currently the assistant football coach and boys’ track coach for the district.

Review Times reporter Chandra Niklewski will have more details Friday.