After years of planning, the launch of Castaway finally happened. It was a glorious celebratory day of sunshine, laughter, fish being caught, flies being tied, bugs being hunted, fly casting being mastered and fabulous food being consumed at the glorious setting of Sportfish Game Angling Centre, at Theale, near Reading.
Twenty participants attended the event; a purpose designed initiative to assist the recovery from various cancer treatments and specifically aimed to build a community which will assist and then enable the individuals to share experiences. Beyond that, participants could explore angling in the very fullest way possible, as recreation and therapy.
Charles Jardine, Director of Fishing for Schools described the event:
“The day was simply joyful. A day full of smiles, learning new skills, meeting new friends …catching the odd fish and finding out just what great therapy fishing can be, especially in overcoming so many elements of our hectic lifestyles. Those of us who fish, have always known the recuperative power of angling…we now have the opportunity of taking this forward to an entirely different audience. Magical!”
Lottie Weston, one of the principal leads of Casting for Recovery and a Trustee of The Countryside Alliance Foundation continued:
“It is a privilege to be able to bring this event to fruition after what we have endured over the last few years and bring both joy and help to people who have been through so much. We are really excited for the future of CASTAWAY and it is a perfect partner for Fishing for Schools.”
The day simply would not have been possible without the brilliance of the coaches, but also, our key sponsors. Veni & Son, Shakespeare and of course, the amazing teams at Farlows and Sportfish who delivered not only an amazing setting and breathtakingly good fishing but fabulous weather.
Not forgetting the sublime imagery from Karen Bennett (karen@karenbennettphotography.co.uk) whom captured the day to perfection.
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