Thursday 18 June 2009

Be our Guest... Introducing Glen's Fly Fishing Blog

We are thrilled to be able to introduce to you Glen Pointon, a UK fly fishing fan & blogger who has agreed, very kindly, to be our first ever guest blog-poster!

Glen's tales of fishing around the Staffordshire & Derbyshire area are a real inspiration, which he then combines with some stunning photography to make a really entertaining blog.

We hope to bring you fresh posts from Glen soon, but for now he has kindly agreed to share his 'River Dove Salmon, My first 9lb 4oz' post with us. Over to you Glen...

"Well here is my story of catching my first ever salmon. I am not a Salmon fisherman and have never tried it, but enquired around Scotland this year but never got chance to go but as things turned out i did not need to bother.

I was Grayling fishing last saturday and whilst wading through a deep run i saw a salmon come clean out the water, this fish was around three ft away from me and scared the **** out of me, i was shocked to see how big this fish was, it was around three foot long and had a red glow down the bottom of its body. It seemed unreal to see a fish so big in a small river like the dove but it made me realise that these fish are coming back to the dove around a very good size.

The next day on sunday i went back to have another go at the grayling and hoping to see these salmon again, I took a friend with me who wanted to watch me fish, As the light started to go i flicked my nymph unpstream where i had seen the fish and when i started to retrieve the bug i saw a huge salmon come out the water again, i thought wow what a nice fish when my friend shouted from the bank 'its took your fly',I lifted into the fish and felt my rod tighten into the fish, i was using a 8ft 4 weight greys streamflex rod with 5 lb line and i knew i was in for some fun!!

The fish went absolutly nuts when it felt the hook set home and just run downstream, it went through a stong rapid a i could not stop it doing anything, its took me straight onto the backing so it was at least 40 yards down stream and still running, I knew the only way i would get this fish was to tire it out so i went running down the river to my friends amusement!! I cover at least 60 yards running down the river with the fish still going when my line got caught around the reel, everything went tight and i thought it was going snap but it turned from the pressure and came leaping out of the river making my heart jump, the sheer size of this fish had me shaking like a leaf, my friend was shouting 'dont lose this fish you ****'.

I was into a fish of a lifetime and eventually got it to start turning under full pressure, my rod was just doubled over all of the time,When the fish saw me it made four more big runs but it was starting to tire, After half a hour i had the fish in full view and she was lumping around like big fish do, so I had a small trout net on my back and there was no way it would fit in there so i when i got it close to me i threw me rod down and grabbed it with both hands!I took it onto the bank and me and my friend Micky were jumping up and down like we had won the lottery! Well to me it felt better than that!! The fish was a female Hen and was quite dark. the fish measured 34 iches long with a massive tail, i got the scales from my van and it weighed 9lb 14 ozIn fact it was the lenght of my foot to my waist.When i got home i told the mrs i had had the best night of my life and she said 'better than your first night of sex with me' and i said 'no not that good babe' but i am a great liar and if you are a fisherman you know what i mean!! "

Thanks Glen! If you'd like to read more tales from Glen, then check out his blog at http://glenpointon.blogspot.com/.

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Skate Monkey

Allow us to introduce you to one of the coolest creations that we have ever seen in blog-land...


Check out Skate Monkey doing a kick flip!

Skate Monkey & his paper friends are the creation of graphic designer Morgan Gleave, whose blog http://anywereamateurreportersclub.blogspot.com/ has been entertaining us for weeks.

Now you too can create your very own Skate Monkey - simply download your completed or blank templates (for your own creative juices to flow) free of charge from http://www.morgangleave.co.uk/toyshop.htm and start sticking! It's like Blue Peter but oh so much better (my yoghurt pots & loo rolls never ended up as Tracy Island... I am emotionally scarred to this day).

If you're brave enough to complete a blank template, we'd love to see a picture of it.

Thanks to Morgan for granting kind permission to feature his creations.

Friday 12 June 2009

Naked Bike Ride...

At a loose end this weekend, footloose & fancy free?
Then why not head to London's 6th Annual Naked Bike Ride...

... watch out for sunburn though, this weekend's meant to be a scorcher!

Monday 8 June 2009

New this week...

We present the latest in mobile technology for your bike...I bet this costume seemed like a really good idea at the start of the race...
This guy's name is Bodge & he is pictured participating in a US road race this weekend.

*****
The we move on to Japan & a man who has, in all seriousness, strapped a gas barbecue to his bike... mmmm!


What else would you do with your bike rack eh, except turn it into a potentially lethal death-trap?! Still, I suppose some people live for adrenaline...


****


Closer to home, this weekend also saw the annual Smithfield Nocturne Bike races in London.


We present to you the "Commuter Race".


The competitors, dressed in business attire wait 30m away from their folded bikes & at the drop of the British Flag, the competitors have to run to their steeds building them as fast as they can and setting off on a 5 lap dash around Smithfield. In true commuter spirit, winner takes all - there’s no second chance when it comes to catching your train… There is fierce competition, barging and even a little cheating as our commuters race to prove their skills.

Tuesday 2 June 2009

F1 in Schools Challenge

For the last three years, SMB Bearings Ltd have been active sponsors of teams in the "F1 in Schools Technology Challenge". The F1 challenge sounds simple enough - design the fastest possible slotcar to win the race against other competitors down a 20 metre track, but it involves a great deal more...




Spanning age ranges of 9 to 19, F1 in Schools teams must raise sponsorship and manage budgets to fund research, travel and accommodation. The challenge inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership/teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive and exciting way. The race is then on, literally! Completed cars race side-by-side along 20-metre straights. Teams are judged on car speed, as well as supporting evidence of their design, verbal presentation and marketing display stand in ‘‘the pits”. Teams compete regionally, nationally and internationally for the Bernie Ecclestone F1 in Schools World Championship trophy.

This year, we are proud to announce that we will be sponsoring Lutterworth College in Leicester & their Mach 1 team.

Watch this space for updates on their progress...


In the meantime, for more news on the team visit: http://www.lc.leics.sch.uk/C2/News/default.aspx

Monday 1 June 2009

RC Helicopter Fishing

Yes really! This guy manages to combine two of our favourite activities in one!
Watch in wonder & awe...



We are in the process of sourcing some top-notch Japanese ceramic hybrid bearings, for our RC model & hobby nuts, so watch this space & we'll let you know when the lovelies arrive...