Silvercore Podcast 146 Amie Battams

https://www.instagram.com/amie.flyfish

https://www.youtube.com/@amieflyfish2577

[00:00:00] Five years over cyber Monday is done for everyone. Who's concerned about missing out on any deals as the holiday season comes up through the silvercore club member, 100 percent off of all silver core branded online courses. And 10 percent off all of Silvercore branded merchandise and free shipping.

[00:00:32] And let's not forget about all of the other fantastic discounts and deals that you can get by just being a Silvercore Club member. For example, Arbamit Technology, Tenebrex, SAI, Tangent Theta, you get 20 percent off of Tenebrex scope covers and accessories, 15 percent off of all SAI optics, Tangent Theta, 10 percent off.

[00:00:55] Between SAI, Tangent Theta, and depending on your purchases with Tenebrex, that more than pays for a Silvercore Club membership many times over. BearWatch Systems. Can Tech Gunworks. Combat flip flops, 25 percent off of all of their gear. DS Tactical, Phoenix, Fortnite Optics, 15 percent off of all of their eyewear.

[00:01:16] Again, pays for your club membership. Frontiersman gear, gear pack, rail, iHunter, international barrels, marathon watches, 10 percent off of their watches again. Pays for a club membership. Marks, perfect for shopping for everyone in your family and your friends. Nanook, you missed out on their deals. They had over Black Friday, Cyber Monday.

[00:01:39] You get 30 percent off of all of their products. It's amazing. Reliable guns, splendid bastard beard supplies. I'm wearing their product right now. Stover Canada, 25 percent off of all regularly priced clothing, 10 percent off of everything else. Stuffers Supply Company, SRS Tactical. They're the ones that carry those SWATCOM hearing protection I use for my hunting.

[00:02:02] I use them on the range, or fishing. Amazing. This is coffee. 20 percent off of their products. What an amazing stocking stuffer. Training division, 295 off if you're taking courses with them. They do firefighter training, NFPA, Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, Veritac. And, you know, this also leads up to the most recent Silvercore Club Disco that you get.

[00:02:26] If you follow the social media or watch our YouTube, I'm sure you've already seen the video that I put together on that one. It's with Alpine Lakes Air. They're offering Silvercore Club members 10 percent off of all of their flights out of their Vancouver location for 2025. They have an amphibious plane, they can take off from land, they can take off from water, they can land on land, land on water.

[00:02:47] I mean, they've got you covered. If you want to explore remote areas of British Columbia, and if you want to save time, get a few friends together, hop in a plane, what could take 11 hours by car, you're now there in one hour, enjoying pristine wilderness. And it's really interesting how this discount came to be.

[00:03:06] I'd sharpened the kitchen knives, and I forgot to tell my family members that I'd done so, and my daughter cut her hand pretty good. She required a number of stitches. As I was waiting in the hospital, I was talking to the fellow beside me. Turned out he's a pilot. He'd hit his head on one of the wings in the hangar.

[00:03:24] And the company said, go get yourself checked out. You know, cover our bases. We're talking for a while. Turned out we had some similar interests. We enjoy doing the same things. He's a Silvercore club member. He reached out to me later on and said, look, I'm involved with Alpine Lakes Air. I can see great value to the members.

[00:03:45] Anybody looking to get out into remote wilderness areas, here's the deal that we'd like to be able to extend to them. What's interesting about that to me is how these tiny little interactions that we have on the day to day basis that to me grow into something like this. We never know who it is we might be talking with.

[00:04:05] We never know what they might be going through. I think this is a very important reminder as we move into the holiday season, as traffic gets heavier, as the shopping malls get packed, as people tend to get caught up in the emotion and the commotion to remember that how we do anything is how we do everything.

[00:04:31] If we take care of those little pieces in our life, how we interact with other people, because so often people don't see the world as it is. They see the world as they are. And what I mean by that is if they come into their day and they're aggravated, that they're short tempered, if they're in a rush, you're going to see the world under that same light.

[00:04:54] And if you can take a deep breath and a bit of a step back and remember that we're always under a spotlight and our actions do have consequences, we might just find that we're able to make somebody else's day better. In this case, sitting in a hospital, in a place where people are already short tempered, not feeling well, injured, waiting a long time.

[00:05:19] If you know Canadian hospitals, you'll know you're waiting for a while. And it could be so easy to approach others with the same indifference and short temper that you might be feeling. If that was the case here, the Silvercore club members would never be able to experience this opportunity. And based on this opportunity, I'm willing to bet there are going to be some club members that go out and experience Fantastic memories in the remote wild.

[00:05:46] And it all kind of folds back to these small interactions that are had that lead to life changing events for those around you. A bit of a butterfly effect, karma, however you want to look at it. Maybe this is just a gentle reminder to be kind to yourself and to others as we move forward into the holiday season.

[00:06:06] Now, without further ado, let's get on with this episode. I'm joined today by someone who continues to make waves in the fishing and outdoor community, earning the title of best influencer at the national angling awards. She's a passionate advocate for making the outdoors more inclusive, breaking down barriers and adding a touch of humor to everything she does from fishing and hunting adventures to connecting people with nature in a relatable way.

[00:06:29] She's here to share her journey. Welcome to the Silvercore podcast, Amy Badams. Thank you very much, thank you very much. Can you like put in a round of applause? Yes, I think we probably should edit that one in there. You give me a really fantastic introduction. And all I've done is gone out and gone fishing.

[00:06:47] No, I wouldn't say that's all you've done. At least that's all I've seen. And I love that mug by the way, that's hilarious. Thank you very much. Uh, anyone who finds offensive tough, tough, tough luck. That was, um, my boat's name. So, um, I just kind of went all in and I, it was C word S E A W A R D. And I thought, I don't know if people are going to get it.

[00:07:10] So I just went all in and it was like the letter C space word. And, uh, just for the double entendre. Why not? And that was, why not? Right. That was a little embarrassing when our, um, MLA member of legislative assembly, she says, Hey, Trav, if you want to store your boat, I've got a slip and no problem. And then she's like, okay, so I've got to take down your information.

[00:07:31] What's your boat name? So I'm giving it to her. All right. Cheeky, she says. Classic. Yes. So. I reached out to you and you left me a very kind message. You came back and you said, you know, congratulations on what you've been doing. It's difficult to put yourself out there and, uh, keep up the good work. You're the first person to do that.

[00:07:57] You know, that was, uh, I thought that was kind of interesting, very kind, and maybe a little bit telling too. Well, you are human, aren't you? Last I checked, I checked. Yes. I can look at social media and, um, your setup looks very professional, I must say. And, um, it's almost like that humility goes and then, you know, people just comment so, so much.

[00:08:23] So while it's quite vile, sometimes people's comments are negative or like you put a lot of work into something and someone would just go, oh, that's rubbish. It's like, what are you doing? Nothing probably. But, uh, so yeah, well done, mate. Keep it up. Well, I appreciate that. And I, you know, watching how you navigate that social scene, you've got a, uh, fairly hefty following on social media.

[00:08:49] And you're going to get it all. I mean, you're getting the negative comments. You're getting the positive comments. Uh, how do you deal with that? Terribly. I don't look at them now. Honestly, I'm like, Oh God. Yeah. Some of them I'm a bit like, fuck you. No. Um, and then others, I'm a bit like, okay, that's, that's, you know, it is what it is sort of thing, but now it used to get to me a little bit.

[00:09:13] And I don't pay it no mind now really, because I'm not really looking at it, but, um, yeah, it's not nice. Yeah. A friend of mine, uh, April Vokey, she's got a good following in the fly fishing world over here in North America and, uh, Uh, very passionate voice for, uh, for fishing and the outdoors. And, uh, she says that YouTube can have the most vile comments on there out of all the different platforms.

[00:09:39] Have you found the same? YouTube and Instagram. Okay. And I'd love to have a chat with April, cause I'm sure we could share some stories probably about the images we've probably been sent. Cause I can't be the only one. Some things I don't ask to see, I don't want to see, I've changed my message settings.

[00:09:57] And, uh, it's not, it's a lot of like sexual comments and stuff like that. You must get them. Oh, all the time, all the time. No, I actually, I don't, I don't get these sort of things. The most that I get is, uh, the most reoccurring one that I've ever seen is people thinking that my voice sounds like Neil deGrasse Tyson.

[00:10:22] I don't get it. I don't hear it. I'm going to have to Google it. Cause I'll be honest. I don't know who that is. Yeah. He's the, um, like a physicist or something. He's been on the Joe Rogan podcast and he's got a big name for himself doing, um, science stuff. So he's, um, yeah, I don't, I don't hear it. I don't have it.

[00:10:44] But, um, so I. What really turned me on to you and your account was your crazy sense of humor. It is left field. Well, surely I just like go around thinking everybody probably mostly feels the same way that I do. They're just not putting it out there. And I'm like, such a shame. Uh, you know, I'd have to agree with you.

[00:11:10] Most people don't have the courage to put that out there though. Maybe I've got no shame. Maybe it's that maybe, or maybe, I don't know. Have you always had this sort of, um, uh, courage to just put yourself out in the way that you do? I used to be incredibly shy, like look at the floor, shy and not be able to look at people like growing up.

[00:11:32] And then like, I never really found like a circle of friends that I sort of ever stuck around with and I never really fit in. Um, so. It could be quite crushing for people, um, but for me, I'm like, well, if I make myself look stupid, there's no change there. So I'm just going to do the things that I like doing regardless.

[00:11:56] Mm hmm. So long as obviously you're not like being horrible to anyone, which I don't, but, um, yeah, just, just got to go for it. Otherwise you'll never live. If you worry too much about what people think or whatever, you know, you'll, you'll, you'll never, you'll never do things. You'll always be trapped. Yeah.

[00:12:12] Yeah. You know, growing up and people say, well, you know, I didn't fit in, I didn't have any friends I didn't, and some people will look at that and they'll take the victim mentality and they'll say, well, I'm this way now because of that, but I don't know, I think it is. or not to fit in. Every single person on this planet has something to give that's different.

[00:12:34] Why would you want to try and cap that to suit other people? You have to just, not to sound too Christian, shine your light, so to speak. I've met people that I never thought I'd ever meet. Um, and the me before would have gone, nah, you know, nah, they're, they're not gonna, not gonna like me or I'm not gonna fit in.

[00:12:53] And sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, I'll be honest. And. And even if you don't fit into what, what their sort of life is, um, I've found friends from all sorts of backgrounds that I'll go and fish with because I've kept my mind open, you know, so there's that. Yeah. And perhaps it's kind of, I look at it like a superpower, honestly, if you've never fallen and you're at the top of the steps and you're looking down and you're afraid of what it might feel like when you fall.

[00:13:23] You probably won't take that chance of stepping off, but if you've been at the bottom the entire time, you know what it's like down there. And when you say no shame, I don't know, maybe it's not a no shame thing, maybe it's, you just have less care of what other people think. And that's a wonderful thing to have.

[00:13:40] I've got four sisters. And, you know, some of them are so self conscious, my friends as well, and, um, especially females, blokes too, in a sense, they're more testosterone driven and like, ooh, you know. Yeah, like a false confidence. Yeah, and I'm just like, calm down, babes, calm down, but yeah, um. Yeah, I just it went once you get old and I fishing is a wonderful, a wonderful pastime where you can spend lots of time with incredibly old men.

[00:14:12] Doesn't sound like fun, but you learn a lot because they tell you all these hang ups you have when you're younger, you know, they're nothing. They're nothing. Because when you get to the ripe old age, if you're lucky enough to get to the ripe old age of like, you know, late 60s, 70s, 80s, even. Yeah. All that stuff doesn't really matter.

[00:14:32] So I'm like taking a leaf out of their book, trying to take as much knowledge from them, because I'm not actually, you're quite right. I don't care what Sally thinks at work about what I'm wearing. I wear what I like. I do love that. And you know, you're talking about getting to hang around with old men. Uh, and over here, we call it, um, there's this gout mentality.

[00:14:54] And I asked the guy like gout, what do you mean gout? He said, you know, G O W D, grumpy old white dudes, right? When it comes to hunting and fishing and that. Sometimes they have every white right to be grumpy. Sure. If you listen to their life stories, like you, you, you'd have to fucking ump as well. You'd be like, oh, fuck this.

[00:15:17] Like you just get the ump anyone, any young

[00:15:22] Cause everyone's had a life, everyone's had a life, but it's, it's perhaps not the, uh, image that will attract younger people in who haven't had that life, who don't understand the perspective that they're coming from, or people from different ethnicities or different backgrounds, uh, having that, uh, sort of monoculture throughout might be a difficult barrier to break.

[00:15:49] Did you find that? No. Really? Some people are just ignorant. Yeah. I'm not here to change the world. I've had a few, like, difficult situations on the bank, whether it might be misogyny or someone's homophobic or this, that, and the other. Fair enough. Don't like me for my life? That's fine. Don't try and kill me, though.

[00:16:08] That's different. Like, I just, you know, we'll walk past each other and we won't speak. That's fair enough. But, um, yeah, you just, you just gotta get on with it. I hear You're not going to please all of the people all of the time, are you? No, and he can't, and if you try, it's a recipe for disaster. And most of the time, that's a slim minority as well.

[00:16:31] Yeah, usually loud, squeaky wheel vocal, but slim minority. Yeah. Yeah. Met a lot more nicer, nicer people within the sport. If there is anything like negative, Um, usually it's, it's the old grumpy blokes that deal with it amongst themselves anyway. So can you tell me how you got into fishing? Accidental. Okay.

[00:17:00] It's lockdown. And I was like, you know what? I know a river I used to wade through. I'm going to take a fishing rod. I'm going to try and see if I can catch some fish. I didn't even know that the rod I had was a fly rod. I just thought all rods were like that. Yeah. Uh, I went out. And I caught chub for the first time.

[00:17:15] And I was like, what the hell is this? And then from there, I just went for it. I went for it first year. I was fishing. I didn't even know what a trout was. I never caught a trout until a year later. And then I was like, who is this? And then I was like, mental. And I, I tell you a secret. I know fly fishermen, they love trout.

[00:17:35] I don't really care about them. Yeah. How come? What fuels you? Just like course fish, chub fish, the things that you wouldn't usually, you know. Necessarily catch them to fly, because I suppose I fish, I'm an urban angler, so I'm going for the fish that are readily available to me, pike, you know, all of that sort of stuff.

[00:17:58] That's what I like. It's a bit unusual, well, me. Well, is it the fish? Is it the catching of them or is it the connecting with nature? What is it that, uh, uh, That you're really into at the moment. All of it. All of it. If I, if I liked going through the different species, once I knew there was more than one type of fish, there's more, how do they feed?

[00:18:23] How can I get a fly to where they're, they're sitting in the river? How can I find them? What was the best way to go? Um, All of it. Every single part of it. I, I love it. And, and the way that nature changes a river throughout the year is incredible because it's never ending. One summer you'll have a, I don't know, a clear river, it's running through, no barriers.

[00:18:45] Next thing you know, bam, you've got habitat because a tree's fallen in. That creates more light. Different things are happening. It's just truly it's nature's playground. And I love it. Here in Canada, we got something called crown land, which is the majority of the property than the land that we have out here.

[00:19:05] Anyone can go and hunt and fish on it. You just have your license and make sure that you're good to go. Um, what's it like, uh, what's it like over in your neck of the woods? You wanted to get me down, didn't you? And depress me. You know, it's not accessible where I am. Here in the Great Britain, it's uh, it's uh, it's private land, everything's private land.

[00:19:30] And the best premium fishing spots are owned by rather posh people in Twyr, and it'll cost you in excess of three hundred pounds to fish for a day in some of these places, and, and, it's stocked, so it's not even that difficult. It's not even that good fishing. Um, you know, and they, they could do a lot more habitat work on the river and just have native browns in there.

[00:19:56] But because we've got such an issue with pollution and agricultural runoff, they'd rather do a quick fix instead of actually tackling the industries that are polluting our rivers. And that's what annoys me because they make a hell of a lot of these private, um, chalk stream, uh, owners and they don't use it for.

[00:20:16] The good and people can't access it. And maybe that was a bit of a baited question. Cause it leads into a couple of things. Cause you've had some advocacy work that you've been doing for just that and cleaning up the streams. Yes, very important. Yes. Now on the marches, uh, I do my bit for the local river, the River Wandal, um, I'm part of something called the VBS, which is the voluntary bailiff scheme with the Angling Trust, who is our national governing body for fishing in the UK.

[00:20:47] Um, so when the lockdown happened and they were saying, no, you can't go fishing, you can't go fishing. They For, for us to be able to fish during lockdown, because it's a singular sport and you don't mix with anyone. And so those guys, they're, they're incredible. I mean, you've put out some videos as well. I love them.

[00:21:03] You got, uh, I don't know where you, do you have a background in animating? Do you have a background in singing? Because you pick these hilarious videos where you animate stuff over it and you're singing to it, or are you just winging it? I wing it so much. I literally, I got, I got a MacBook as a gift, buy now pay forever.

[00:21:22] I've paid off for it. I thought I'm going to invest in myself. And I've got some mics, which aren't working on this podcast. Sorry. Um, and I downloaded final cut pro for a one off price because I can't afford monthly installments. And then I just thought, you know what? I'll learn how to do this. Done a few YouTube tutorials.

[00:21:42] Here we are today. That's crazy. You do all your own editing. Yes. Yeah. That's, uh, you know, back in 2017, 2018, I looked at making videos as witchcraft. I didn't know how people actually put this stuff together. But YouTube got on there and I said, I'm going to try and figure this out. And we've, I've got a school, we get education pricing discount on the Adobe thing.

[00:22:07] I tried final cut. It's amazing. But everybody that I was talking, yeah, everyone I was talking to used a premier pro and they're like, Oh, you got to get on premier pro. And now that I'm stuck in the ecosystem, because he had to learn, Oh, addition, premier pro after effects, all the, all the other little things that go along with it.

[00:22:26] Okay. So, uh, I either learn a new system like DaVinci Resolve, or I just keep plugging along with this and play in the Black Friday deals like, uh, like I did yesterday. Yeah. Stick to what you know, you'll be all right, mate. So can I ask you a question? You can just freely go out and just like hunt your own dinner if you wanted.

[00:22:49] Yeah. During hunting season. And. So what we have is we'll have GOS, which is general open season. And then we've got, um, LEH, which is limited entry hunting. So under the general open season, you can take a look at the regulations and say, here's all the animals I'm allowed to hunt. Uh, here's how many I'm allowed to take.

[00:23:14] You've got your hunting license and you purchase a species tag and you can keep Buying species tags and filling them up until you've reached your limit. You're good to go in certain areas. They're going to say, well, you know, it's a little bit tougher over here. There's not as many animals. We're going to have a lottery and this is your limited entry.

[00:23:33] So everyone pay us some money, put a lottery in. And if you win it, great, you get to hunt there. And maybe you're lucky. Maybe you're not. That's in a nutshell, how it works over here. Yes, I think so. I think that's fantastic. That's accessible then. And you're not overdoing it. The point where you're, you know, culling basically, or, Taking away too many animals.

[00:23:55] So yeah, you know, there's, there's always going to be better ways to do it and it's going to have us detractors and, uh, they say it's trite, uh, it's based on science and they get biologists to look at it. And, but there's also politics that play a role and there's going to be people that have, uh, uh, votes and opinions.

[00:24:14] So it's not perfect. Right now, our government. I'll try and take away the land from our farmers. Get that through tax, through inheritance tax. So our farmers, they're not financially rich, but they're rich in land. And to pass down your farm, if you're a farmer, they're now going to charge the children inheritance tax, which will leave them practically broke to the point where they'll have to sell the land because they're asset rich, not money rich.

[00:24:43] And then what's going to happen to our greenbelt? They're going to take it away. How long has that been going on for? That's, that's currently just started under our new government, which is awful really. So like support the farmers, wherever you are, always support the people that feed you. Uh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

[00:25:02] Uh, I, I didn't actually know that. Well, now you do. Now I do. It's horrible. Yeah, it is. I mean, even just getting the hunt as a, just as a member of the public, you'd have to have, um, a permission from a landowner, which is, you know, really difficult to get anyway. But it, you can't, it's, it's there. Like I've started hunting, um, and I've, I've gone for the deer and the rabbit so far.

[00:25:28] So I've sort of found my own access. So it's possible. Talk me through that because you, you guys aren't known for being a place that's abundant in firearms, uh, your hunting has always been something that from an outsider's perspective is for the really rich and posh individuals. Um, how, just like you, there you go.

[00:25:52] Uh, how'd you get into this? Well, I went on Google, didn't I? So I was tying in my tying room, and I had a rabbit's face, and I'm tying a hare's ear nymph. So I was like, I could just go off and shoot a rabbit. Well, I went down a literal rabbit hole. Not a literal rabbit hole, because I'm too big to get down one of them.

[00:26:09] Anyways. Um, I was like, well, how do I go about this? I've got insurance for an air rifle with the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, and they have lots of different like women's days and other days that you can go and actually shoot firearms legally. It's all above board, and they're, they've got an abundance of knowledge about hunting and all sorts of stuff.

[00:26:30] Um, I joined a local rifle club to practice with the air rifle because I thought I'm not just going to go out And start popping away, because I'm not, not nowhere competent enough. Um, and then, yeah, practice, practice, got a permission from a good friend called Steve, and he owns a fishery, Churchwoods Fisheries.

[00:26:51] You can fish for catfish, like, like that, in his lake. Cool! Massive. Cool. Um, and I went out for a day and I successfully shot my first rabbit, cooked it up, I've got the fur, um, and then I got a few invites for deer and I went out and I went with someone who's got a licensed firearm and he's a game keeper and I successfully shot my first Chinese water deer.

[00:27:16] And it's a bit of like just a real experience if you've grown up on packaged meat and have absolutely no association, you're disassociated that it's even been alive. To now, you know, killing, butchering, and then preparing and cooking meat. It spun me right round. What did your family and friends think about this?

[00:27:38] Cause this little departure from where you were at before. My mum. My mum was like, I never brought you up to kill animals. And I was like, excuse me? And she was like putting a leg of lamb in the oven. And I was like, And then she was like, but I am proud of you. And I was like, I don't know how you really feel then, you know.

[00:27:56] Um, my dad's quite proud of me. And, um, people have been alright. Some people have a problem with it because it's like, oh no, you know, the poor animals. And I'm like, yeah, but you, you eat a burger and you don't think twice about it. About the animal's welfare, and if anything, it's made me more responsible with the meat I'm consuming.

[00:28:16] I won't just buy any old rubbish, because I'm not, I, I probably know how that animal's been reared. Like, you know if you go to like, we've got like dirty chicken shops in the UK. Sure, yeah. And farms where the chickens come from, they're like battery farm chickens. They've had no natural light. They've just been pumped and pumped.

[00:28:33] I'm like, I'm not eating any of that. I'm not eating any of that, but I do have a dialogue. I don't know what to do with the rabbit first. I think it's too nice to use a tie in stuff. So I'm thinking about making a little collar on my clothes. Maybe just a little neck warmth. Yeah, that'd be cool. Yeah. If you've canned them, they're all, yeah, that'd be a neat way to use it.

[00:28:55] Make a rabbit gloves or something. I don't want to get beaten up by like, anti, anti fur people. I don't hear that much anymore of that, but then again, you don't see people wearing fur that much anymore. We've been bullied out of it. I guess so. Yeah. Um, yeah. I mean, what would they prefer? The animal's dead now.

[00:29:17] Should it just be trashed? Yeah. I don't know. Um, so you only follow one person on Instagram, Susan Boyle. Why is that? That's awesome, by the way. She's just so neutral, isn't she? Yeah. She's, uh, she's. I had an issue with people, yeah? So like, here's the truth. I, I used to scroll on social media. And like, sometimes, you know, you see people, and they put their Sunday dinner up, or like, you know, put something up, and you're like, God, I find that boring.

[00:29:51] So you'd unfollow, because you're like, you know, I just want to see Fitch, or whatever it is. Then I get a message, Oh, why have you stopped following me? As something happened, don't you like me? And I'm like, what? I'm like, no, it's fine. I just like, just don't want to see people get, take it personal. Got it.

[00:30:09] Take it personal. Got it. Yeah. I had like, yeah. Back and forth with someone about, yeah. I don't want to go into it because it's just rubbish. But in the end I was just like, fuck this. I'm not going to follow anyone. But Instagram makes you follow. At least like one person. So I was like, well, who am I going to choose?

[00:30:26] Ah, makes sense. I figured you were specifically curating your feed. And right now you had Susan Boyle and you're waiting for the next person so that anything that pops up is going to be very specifically curated. Nah, just, just cause she's just. Susan Boyle in it. Um, so you were in the news recently. Um, the London fly fishers club saw something about that.

[00:30:57] Can you tell me about this? Well, again, it's not strictly a gentleman's club. It's an age old, old fly anglers club. for fly angling enthusiasts, you know, people that want to share knowledge, permissions and all this sort of stuff. Um, so it doesn't have any fishable waters, however, the members that attend own the rights to some of the pristine chalk streams in the UK, the ones that the likes of myself own.

[00:31:30] Well, I can get access to them now because I've done a lot of networking, but your average Joe won't get access unless they know someone who knows someone or they're filthy rich. Mm hmm. Um, it's an institution and their fly fishing library, I think it's like one of the top five in the world. I think a couple of your presidents have tied some flies there and they're on the mantelpiece.

[00:31:51] Wow, that's pretty cool. No. You're kind of, you're Canadian, isn't it? Yeah. So it'd be prime minister, but yeah. No, I meant the American ones. Yeah, I got it. Yeah. Yeah. We got it. Yeah. So yeah. Um, I've wrote to them. Years ago when I first started because I just really wanted to see the library So I've done a handwritten letter and I was like, look, I don't want to sit in and have a brandy and a cigar I said I just would really love to see the library.

[00:32:24] Just please can I have access, you know, whatever They never got back to me and I thought God so I left them like a one star Review on Google to say well, I won't be going there will I because I'm a woman There was a lady called Lucy Mantle who sort of got the ball rolling I Because she wrote an open letter and put it on Instagram.

[00:32:46] Basically saying, why aren't you admitting females now in this day and age? And I was like, oh my god, I'm not the only one who cares about this. Other people care about it. So then I wrote one publicly as well. And then Marina wrote one and other people wrote some stuff. And then it sort of got the ball rolling for them to have the discussion.

[00:33:03] It's been discussed before and they voted on it before. But now Um, they have voted for women to be admitted to a fly fisher's club. However, if you submit an application, it may take some time. Got it, got it. But you have to be pro proposed by a member, and then you have a meeting and then you, there's, there's like an interview and then you have to have a second proposal, I think.

[00:33:32] And it's not as expensive as I thought it was. I thought it was thousands of pounds, but apparently it's about 700 quid. Okay. I mean, it's sold. That's a couple of bucks. It's a bit long term. Lots of people who aren't happy about it. And some people have even said, maybe it's not a good idea if I was to join.

[00:33:56] And if the other girls was to join, because if there might be some animosity. So I'm like, bring it. Yeah, so yeah, what do you punch me? I'll duck and weave. Yeah, exactly. It's a gentleman's. Have you been proposed? Well, I've asked, um, I've sent a message to Fergal Sharkey because he he's like an 80s pop star.

[00:34:22] Uh, and he's big on Twitter and he's doing a lot for the water campaigning, the clean water campaigning. So, uh, he actually wrote to say that he'd happily propose myself and Lucy for membership because he, he's part of that, that club also. Um, so I only just sent that message like the other day. So I'll be waiting for a response and then I'm going to save.

[00:34:44] Save, save. I'm not only, if I can join it for one year, just so I can see that library, you know, um. Yeah, that'd be cool. I'll do it. That'd be cool. That's that in a nutshell. Did I hear that you dropped out of school? That you never finished school. Is that correct? How'd you, how'd you, how'd you, where'd you get your information?

[00:35:08] I don't know, a little here, a little there. I did finish school, but, um. Did you? Okay. So I'm getting false information is what you're saying. No, I, I did finish school and I got some GCSEs, but I didn't go into further education. So I think I was about 15, 16 and I, I joined a, well, I went and I worked at funfair, um, the gypsy funfairs on the cup and saucers for a little bit.

[00:35:33] Then I'd done a bit of dog walking and then 18. Okay. Yeah. I'm not educated. It's like, I've not got real, any form of like education. Yeah. You know, people sometimes confuse intelligence with education and that's an important thing not to, uh, to get conflated. What's that saying? Some people can be educated beyond their intelligence.

[00:35:58] Oh, I think a lot of people could be educated beyond their intelligence. Like some of our politicians, mate. Yes. Yes. So what was, I'm just curious about, um, You've mentioned before that you believe you are an undiagnosed ADHD. Well, it's not my belief, it's everybody else's around me. Well, I don't know, I would have to probably agree with them a little bit.

[00:36:27] Yeah, I'm gonna go for my diagnosis, cause um, It just would make, it would help me, I think, cope a little bit more with it. Cause some things I find a bit more difficult than others. But nowadays, everyone's getting their ADHD diagnosis. And I never wanna be like, Oh, I can't do things because I, I've got ADHD.

[00:36:45] Or go, Oh, that might be difficult because I've got ADHD. But if I've always had it, and I've got this far. I just work differently, that's all. And it will make a lot of sense because I couldn't really focus in school and I didn't really, I was quite impulsive, badly behaved and other areas of my life where I'm like, yeah, had I known and maybe got help previously, things might've been better because it was a rough one.

[00:37:22] Yeah. And I could see that. So honest question here, why get diagnosed? Um, cause I don't know all the coping strategies. And of course it's a spectrum, isn't it? Um, people have it, they say more severe or they have less, or there could be something else. I don't know because I'm not a trained, um, is it a psychologist that diagnoses you?

[00:37:50] Um. Yeah. I think that both psychiatrists and psychologists can, one can prescribe meds, the others can't, something along those lines. Yeah. I wouldn't, I wouldn't. I never want to be medicated. I don't want to be medicated because I cope with life just fine, like I've got a job and all that sort of stuff, but um, I wouldn't rule it out, I just would like to understand it a little bit more because some days are easier than others.

[00:38:14] And especially with the hormones. Being a female now, we canceled this podcast before, because I said, I'm not doing it whilst I'm on my period. Lo and behold, you are again.

[00:38:28] Yeah. What did I say? And then I didn't, I'm feeling rough here. Are you feeling rough? And what did I say? I responded to something back and I didn't hear anything back from you. I'm like, Oh, did I say the wrong thing? Something along the lines of, yeah, maybe, maybe the world had really, really, I get a kick out of seeing, uh, um, you speak in your mind, no matter what, but I have a feeling you do that anyways.

[00:38:53] Hormones just fucking, they just send you fucking crazy. Well, mine do. 10 days before my period and sometimes just whilst I'm having it. It's, I can't describe it. And even my wife turns to me and she's like, if I'm like, uh, a bit like snappy or whatever. And she's go, she'll go to me, you know, you're, you're due on your period.

[00:39:16] And I'll look at her and I'm like, it's nothing to do with that. When actually it's everything. And I'm like, you're absolutely right. You know, just fucking nuts. But yeah. So getting a diagnosis, understanding how actually that can affect my hormonal changes and everything else that comes with being a woman.

[00:39:38] Um, I need help to navigate it because sometimes you can slightly feel like you're losing your mind. So when I was in grade three, I was, um, assessed and I was diagnosed with severe ADHD and heavily medicated from grade three till about, well, I took myself off. I didn't want to go into high school on the meds.

[00:40:03] And so I, to the end of grade seven and, and I look at that and I look at the, the meds they put me on, they said I was on an experimental run. They, uh, this stuff is Ritalin and they hear it works good for people with ADHD, but we don't know how to titrate this. We don't know how much you should be given them.

[00:40:25] Let's give them a lot. We'll just give them a little bit more, a bit more, a bit more to the point where it's taken like eight or so pills in the morning, another handful in the afternoon, because they could only, they could only prescribe up to a certain amount per pill because it was a controlled narcotic and, um, It was terrible.

[00:40:46] I mean, I was my eyes, uh, from grade three till grade seven. So what age is that? No grades. Oh, I don't know. Um, I just, I don't know, ages, uh, five would be kindergarten. Before puberty. Oh yeah. Before puberty. Oh my God. Yeah. So you're like developing. Oh, a hundred percent. And put on all of that. Oh, a hundred percent.

[00:41:11] So similar to you, you know, didn't fit in, didn't fit in, in school, was off the walls, was bouncing all over the place, always getting into trouble. I got kicked out of, I don't know how many schools I went to. 1, 2, 3, 7 or so different schools, not because of anything malicious, but because the energy was just too much.

[00:41:34] And I had zero, um, I, I didn't have an idea of how to properly manage that in a way that was productive and conducive to the environment that everyone was trying to make me fit into. Um, I look at my kids, so. Uh, and of course it's something that can be passed down. And I, I look at my son and, um, I think, why would I want to get him diagnosed?

[00:42:03] Why would I want to do anything to, uh, to have a label put on somebody if he does, or if he doesn't, right. Uh, we're all a little. Different. We all got our own things, but, um, that's, that's what I was asking you. Like the, why, if they come back and say, no, you don't, and then you're stuck and you're saying, well, then why am I feeling like this?

[00:42:21] That they say, yes, you do. They'll say, well, what are my options? Well, medication, uh, diet, exercise, lifestyle changes. Um, I, I don't know. Um, it, I was just genuinely. Curious from, from your perspective where you're at, just because I've got a little bit of background, um, in the same thing. I think it also helps us in that, um, for me, I, I miss out on a lot of things like when it comes to writing and reading and.

[00:42:54] Sending emails and remembering stuff or if I've got an exam to sit and I've got to prepare for it if I can't focus It fucks me up so you can get like not like you can get a little bit of an extension on on the time it takes you to I've done my British Sign Language. I've done evening classes. I saw that.

[00:43:21] For three years. And, um, I, um, I actually went because I thought I had dyslexia. And the woman was like, I don't think you've got dyslexia. I think you've got ADHD. And I was like, what the hell is this then? Like, She sort of sits. She's like, but I can't diagnose you because I'm a dyslexia, um, And I was like, right.

[00:43:42] And then she wrote on something to say that, can I have extra time? Because she feels like this is what this is. And then when it comes to my exams, I passed them flying colors, but I just needed a little bit, like 15 more minutes, extra time for one of the, um, One of the exams where you've got to like read and write stuff and it helped, it did help.

[00:44:05] So if your child does have, you think that they might have something, it's always worth getting looked at. Your child's an individual, you know your child better than anyone. You know, you're the parent. If someone says to you, you know, I think we should put them on this medication, top medication, well, I've got all this stuff going.

[00:44:24] Um, you have the right to say, actually, no, I don't think my child needs that. So it's up to you ultimately, isn't it? Yeah. Hopefully you got the right, I mean, some places, some, some situations, it seems schools and a state can step in and, uh, Uh, start doing things if, uh, if they feel it's in the best interest against what you feel.

[00:44:45] Um, I don't think that would be the case in a situation of ADHD, but, uh, in other cases, I've seen it. Um, I'd run away with my child. I think people do that. Yes. I don't think they would. No. Your child? No. So, mm. Yeah, exactly. Um, yeah, uh, well, dyslexia is a comorbidity for A DHD, uh, as is depression, as is. Um, RSD, rejection, sensitivity, dysmorphia, dysphoria.

[00:45:21] I don't know which one it is. And, um, uh, yeah, there, there there's, uh, ODD, oppositional defiance disorder. Did any of those things sound like, um, uh, they fit the bill? I mean, just give me one person that doesn't have something. Mm hmm. Where is this all well rounded individual who hasn't suffered with some form of feeling low or some sort of an impulsive disorder or whatever it may be, like, we've all got something going on.

[00:45:55] I think what's good about today is that we talk about it at least, and especially men. Who usually tend to just stay tough and get on with it at their own detriment. Um, I think everybody's got something going on. Stay tough and get on with it. My stuff's I'm still sort of working it out. I've got a great therapist.

[00:46:18] She's a wonderful lady. And, uh, I talk to her a lot and it helps. How does fishing play into this? Oh, well, focus. Mm. Phillip PNL. And, uh. To be able to actually focus on a task and enjoy it and not have a hundred miles an hour thoughts Running through my head about what's happened in a day or scenarios or whatever and just being there That is the most beautiful thing I've ever experienced and I will cherish it because actually fishing has given me that where I've never found In anything.

[00:46:51] No citalopram that the doctor tried to get me on. No dizapam They tried to get me on when I was having anxiety. I just needed to talk to someone Yeah Then after a fishing session, I would be in bed, not going over all the fucking mad stuff that happens at work or in life or something that happened fucking 10 years ago, like where I nearly died or something.

[00:47:14] You know, I would play over things. I'd be thinking about fish and what flies I was going to tie. And it was beautiful. And that's what happens after I have a session of fishing. I'm relaxed. So if I get stressed, I'm like, I need to go out. Even if it's just for a walk, but fishing's always the preference.

[00:47:32] You know, that's the reason why I have Silvercore Outdoors is to help people deepen their connection with the natural environment. It's to connect people to nature because I feel that we've become a lot of times so disconnected, especially in the urban areas. And people are communicating and connecting through social media and it's got us Pros and cons to people who say social media is terrible.

[00:47:58] Well, maybe you're not using it right. Um, because maybe just need to follow one person you find inspirational, like Susan Boyle and, uh, use the social media to share your message of, of positivity and, um, your, your journey in the outdoors with others. Cause that'll inspire other people to do it. And you've been doing that.

[00:48:20] You've been inspiring people to get outdoors. I actually have. And I, I'm getting a fishing rod. What do you suggest? I always give them the cheapest option because I'm not a brand slag. Um, and I'm like, just go for it. Like. People have messaged me to say all my kids love your stuff, and I'm like they shouldn't be watching it.

[00:48:40] Yes, I swear too much. I am trying to be a little bit more, you know I'm not doing anything so crazy crazy because when I went on the march I had a couple of the kids come up so I can have a photo with you and I'm like, ah, okay I wasn't looking to be a role model, but I guess I have to try Yeah. How's that feel?

[00:49:01] I noticed, I noticed your most recent video you put out. I saw it pop up this morning. You're out, uh, well, this evening for you, uh, ferret hunting. And you were, you were so well contained in that video. I think you cracked one joke that was, uh, yeah. I mean, I am going to do some, I'll probably, you know, I love a pride video.

[00:49:24] I am going to have to do another pride, wacky pride video, which people love and hate. Um, But, uh, yeah, that ferret in one absolutely blew my mind. And I've, like I said, I've just got into air rifle shooting. And once we got, after we hunted with the ferrets, once we got into the field with the air rifles, I sat there for about two hours and I was like, can't we just get the ferrets out again?

[00:49:46] Because they're so good at what they do. Yeah. And they're so far up and you'll get the rabbits. If they're in the warren, you'll get them instead of sitting outside a warren. Weigh in at 30 yards for the hope that there might be a rabbit in there that emerges. And if you undiagnose ADHD, it's not the easiest thing to sit and wait for.

[00:50:09] No, not at all. Yeah. I learned something on there. I always thought ferrets are these vicious creatures that, uh, we bite you and attacking you, but no, no, that's, uh, apparently not the case if you raise them properly. I can be lovely. I did a, um, a hunt in Sweden, uh, about a week and a half ago. And I'm hoping to go there in July.

[00:50:32] Really? Where are you going? Talk to me. No, talk to me. Tell me what happened. Uh, so I was in Sweden. We did, um, we were hunting with dogs. That's something that we don't do over here in North America. Something you guys do more of over there. And, uh, uh, one of the hunts we did go in trail hunt in, I think you can trail hunt with dogs, but you're not allowed to kill a fox with the dogs like you used to.

[00:50:56] Okay. Okay. Well, we do hunt with dogs. We did. Sorry. I'll take that back. You can do rabbits with dogs and you can do rats with dogs. Very effective. Sorry. Continue. Yeah, no problem. Well, I had no idea the devastation that a fox can have on a, uh, like young roe deer population, uh, single fox. And so prior to that, I'm like, I don't know.

[00:51:22] Why would I want a fox? I'm like, we're on the Island of Solaron in Sweden, and it's a bit of a historic throwback. They, uh, They have a lot of pride in there. Hold on. There we go. Good thing I can edit all these coughs out. Maybe it's a leftover bear spray inside here from, uh, when we did bear spray hot wings.

[00:51:43] Um, yeah, talk about ADHD kicking in. That was, uh, I just, I grabbed bear spray out of the back of the, uh, the cupboard had a plastic bag. We're doing, uh, this hot ones challenge. You buy the set of these and it imitates see the hot ones, um, uh, Show essentially, I got to the end of it. It's like, that wasn't too bad.

[00:52:05] How do we amp it up? And so I grabbed out some bear spray, sprayed into the bag and, uh, yeah, that did it. Tasted terrible, but, uh, but hot. Um, anyways, was in a historic solar on and They use their dogs to find the fox and they had this tiny little terrier, like I'm holding my hands up and people are watching it.

[00:52:26] It's, it's literally like that big, just tiny little thing that they send into the, uh, the fox den, into the rocks to get the fox out. Crazy. Brilliant, very effective. And those terriers are phenomenal at that. Yeah. Yeah. So that was new to me. So tell me about you, Sweden, you get, you're going hunting there.

[00:52:45] You got an invite, did you? I've got an invite, a chap called Lars has put the feelers out. And I'm like, cause I've got to be saving. I've got to be saving cause me and my wife are saving. And I'm like, Lars, I don't know if I can do it or not. I had a chat with my wife and she's like, all right, maybe we can make it.

[00:53:02] For your birthday or whatever. So, I'm gonna meet Lars at the shooting show. Gonna have a chat, I'm gonna see what's what. I think we might be fishing for salmon. Um, he does a lot of hunting, so I wouldn't, I wouldn't rule out any of that, but it's a potential. And also there is a chap there called Ron. I've never met Ron, but he always comments on my videos.

[00:53:23] Okay. I go to Sweden, Ron, if you're watching, I might get to see you and I'll bring you some English tea. They got some pretty good coffee over there too, that they can trade. Yeah. Um, so. I, you brought it up earlier and I figured it, I got to ask, you said you almost died before, or should we just stay away from that one?

[00:53:48] I mean, I've been so.

[00:53:54] Okay. Yeah, that's not a problem. Well, we'll leave that one. I'm just being fucking stupid in my life and, uh, it's nothing like sad or anything. It's just like, fuck. I was just a completely different person to I am now and I'm just quite, I'm lucky. I never thought I'd make it past 30. I've got one gray hair, 33, I've got my little wrinkle here and I'm like, thank God I've got them.

[00:54:19] You know, I'm aging, I'm getting little crow's feet and I'm like, give me more. Let me get older. I want to get to the ripe old age of like 80. And then pop me clogs. I want, I want to stick around, you know, not do anything crazy. I hear you. Yeah. My parents, when I was a kid, they told me they didn't think I'd live past the age of 10 and, uh, well, I was a child.

[00:54:42] What's that? There you go alive. And, and then I made it past 10 and they said, well, I don't think you're going to make it to be an adult and then made it the adult years. And now eating bear spray and just living your life. Just live. Yes. Um, see, now that you made that reference, I can't edit that other stuff out.

[00:55:03] So I guess we're going to be leaving some stuff in here. Um, you've, One thing that I think is pretty cool that you talk about in, uh, on your social media, and that I think you're instilling in the people who follow you in the younger generation is that you're all right, getting things wrong. You're all right, making mistakes.

[00:55:28] Absolute blessings, absolute blessings teaches you how to be a failure, great skill to have. Look, imagine going through life again, everything you want, and then finally failing at something, you will be crushed by the weight of the world. So get as many things wrong as you can get, you know, wrong, like, and don't be worried about it because actually it's the best way to learn.

[00:55:53] What would people be surprised to learn about you? There's nothing. I'm just a random woman from South London. Nothing. Honestly, I am just a random woman from South London. You know, I've got my day job. I work Monday to Friday as a receptionist. Hello, Belinda's in reception. Bob, thank you very much. That's my job.

[00:56:15] Okay. Uh, and I leave all my anxieties at the back door and I go on these great adventures. With, uh, Men off the internet. Isn't that what people used to warn us about when we were younger? Yeah. Don't meet people on the internet. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, let me tell you this, and this might be controversial, but I'll just tell you this.

[00:56:42] Yeah. Yeah. Just me, just between you and me. Men are actually lovely. I found the same thing too, but don't tell anybody. Proper men, they're lovely. So I will go and meet them. Don't get me wrong. You can sort of tell if someone's a bit of a fucking weirdo, then I'm like, no, I don't want to end up dead. You know what I mean?

[00:57:03] But like. Yeah. What's your test? It's just usually ask people, are you a murderer? They go, no, and then I get in their car. Have you thought about, um, turning what you're doing here on the social side into a full time job that might be able to help facilitate trips, fishing and travel in the world. That's not realistic.

[00:57:26] Do you know how much I make on my YouTube? No. Like, like 3. 50, tenner if I'm lucky. Uh, I think that what I get from social media is the experiences, meeting new people, um, Sometimes I can stay at their venue and it's, it costs less and just the experiences as a, on a whole that's something I absolutely cherish.

[00:57:51] I don't, there's no real financial reward. I was supposed to be stuck on the same old estate with the same old people doing the same old things, but I'm out and I'm doing the incredible, incredible thing. So yeah, there's not really going to be any job. Sometimes I get like messages from people. Oh, would you like to present This or that and it'll always fall through.

[00:58:13] 'cause I just think my teeth be wonky. What? . That's funny. I don't have that. It's this one. Yeah. We could just, if I'd have got braces, if my parents loved me enough to get me braces, . Yeah. I had, I had the option growing up. Uh, you can get braces, but they're really gonna hurt and they're gonna be on for a long time.

[00:58:35] They're gonna hurt. Or we can get you a new bike. And I got neither. I was like, I don't want these, I don't want these braces. What are you talking about? Oh, well now I got that distinctive gap. Um. I don't know, I don't, I don't get anything from it, not yet. Anyway, who's to say there could be something in the future.

[00:58:54] Someone might feel sorry for me and go, I'll go and give her a break. Would you do sponsorships? If someone says, Hey, we want you to use our rod or whatever it is. If I needed the stuff which I did in the beginning, um, but the fly fishing industry can fuck themselves. I don't like it. I don't like sponsorships.

[00:59:14] Nobody's ever got anything from me. Like I did use a few rods, but I said, I'm not going to do hashtag this and hashtag that. And I'm not going to put you in my mouth and take a photo of a fish. I don't think it's cool to fish with this kind of what you don't need. People used to fish with bamboo rods.

[00:59:30] Get that. Yeah. Yeah. You catch a fish. It doesn't matter what you've got. Um, I think that industry is, is not for me. And it says, you know, be a pro team member. It doesn't mean you're a professional angler or that you're better than anyone. It just means that you're in promotions. Yeah. That's exactly it. I I've always had a difficult time with that one.

[00:59:52] And I agree with you the, so the podcast people like, Oh, wow, you do podcasting. Let's make a lot of money off of it. No, I don't monetize the podcast. But you make some fantastic connections. You meet some amazing people. The reason I was hunting in Sweden is because of the podcast and which is kind of a weird story.

[01:00:11] I started this podcast. I wanted a catchy jingle. I go online, I licensed one from this company called Epidemic Sound and five years into it, I'm like, man, I liked it, but I, anyone can license it. I want to have my own. And so I try and track down the artists, which was tough because they changed the name of the artist and somehow.

[01:00:33] And anyways, tracked him down. He lives in Sweden. He says, not a problem. I'm flattered. I'd love to make a new song for you. And by the way, I love hunting and fishing. And why don't you come over here? So that is where the, I find the real value is and the connections, meeting people like yourself and when people approach about, Hey, would you rep, would you rep this?

[01:00:56] Or would you hold that? Um, I always say the same thing. You know what? If I like your kit, I'm going to be using it anyways. Right. I have a hard time. I don't know how to bridge that gap for monetization for using the kit. Uh, so I just say, um, we've got a club here at Silvercore club, which might be something you want to look at too over there.

[01:01:17] And, uh, I said, well, why don't you give the club members a discount? I would use your stuff anyways, but if you can give the members a discount, that'd be amazing. So that's sort of the route that I've taken. I don't know if it's the right one, but, uh, uh, I, it goes from. Then that's, that's it. But I don't know what it's like in, in Canada, as opposed to the UK.

[01:01:38] I didn't like the UK scene. They don't like me. What, what is it about the UK scene that, uh, that you don't like? They're just fucking crusty old attitudes. It's almost like they just, they think they're better than other people. And you're not, you're not. or like they're an expert in catching one kind of fish because that's all they do and they fish the same beat where they know exactly the exact depth so they know where the fish are and they call themselves an expert you're not an expert you're boring how about that Yeah.

[01:02:17] I like the people that say, well, it intimidates people, especially like the younger lot. And they look up and they think, Oh my God, like these are, you know, we need, I need to be like these guys. No, don't be like them. Be yourself, bring something new to the table. I'm just a bit of a, a bit of a punk, I would say in that sense.

[01:02:36] Um, but for anyone who wants to do that, I'm not like judging, but don't talk to me. Well, there's a difference between having 20 years experience And having one year of experience, 20 times over, and a lot of times people get into it and they just get deep down into that one little safety zone of something they know how to do.

[01:03:00] And then they will, that gives them purpose. Right. Right. Yeah. Who needs that? Um, gypsy background. Is that just something your mom says, or is that something true? Well, the thing is, yeah, I've got the heritage is, is. Um, but I'm not in the community, so I'm like, I'm English. I don't see it. I mean, maybe, I don't know, some attitudes, but yeah, it not, they don't have a good rep in the UK.

[01:03:40] Where I've been to places like Seville in Spain or Sevilla as they say it and the Gypsy communities there They they obviously created flamenco and they're actually quite well respected. So it's polar opposites of what the UK is Like my great granddad I think he couldn't say that he had a Gypsy heritage because otherwise I don't think he would have got into the army or at the level that He got to in the army.

[01:04:06] So there's that sort of like historic discrimination, but now I'm not, I'm not really in it, but I'll acknowledge it because it's part of my heritage. I'm not in the community, but when I go fishing, people will say like derogatory terms, like, oh, I won't say it on here. Um, but they'll say derogatory terms about Roman, Egyptian and traveler communities.

[01:04:37] And they don't know, now they know. And I'm like, okay, I know what you are. I'll distance myself from you. Because I'm not going to challenge people all the time. Sometimes I'll go like, don't you think that's a bit much you're saying that. And they're like, no. And I'm like, alright, leave it. Don't hang around with that one anymore.

[01:04:55] But now I think I put it out there because now people will know. If they want to say anything fine, they can say it, but. Yeah, just call it out. All I know about the, uh, uh, gypsy communities would be, well, you know, traveling around some places, you see, uh, communities are called gypsies, but I guess the movie snatch and, uh, Peaky blinders.

[01:05:18] So that. Yeah, all the violent stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's fine. All the violence. Don't worry about all the dancing and the food and the family, you know, the very family orientated and stick together. And, uh, and actually, uh, a lot of, uh, gypsies and travelers hunt and they, they know more about the land than most because obviously they live off it.

[01:05:40] You're supposed to obviously take what you need, leave things untouched and then, you know, live, live your life. So. Maybe that's why I'm a bit wild, but then I think we all have that in us because that's what being human is. We're not supposed to be trapped in office, office blocks and, you know, working all the time.

[01:05:57] We're supposed to be outside. You'd be surprised at how many people are afraid to go outside. Like I know people who live in my community who don't go in the water because they're afraid of sharks. We don't really have sharks. Sure. There's going to be an odd anomaly that comes up, but they won't go into the woods because they're afraid of dogs.

[01:06:12] Bears. I mean, okay, fair enough. When somebody's told me about them, I was like, all right, okay, I get it. I get it. Do you know what? Sometimes I like to do as well. Like just sleep in the garden, like in the warmer months, just to pair everything outside. Like I like sleeping outside. I love camping, but even in my flat, I've got a little garden.

[01:06:34] If it's summer, I don't mind having a little sleep outside. It's mad, innit? But, because I'm on an estate, it's not as, like, it's not in the countryside. Like, you'll hear someone will blare their music, or someone will be having a fight or something like that, or a car alarm will go off, so it's not that soothing, but We did a whole podcast on micro adventures.

[01:06:54] One of your countrymen over there, we're talking about, uh, having micro adventures and what that looks like and how you can get outside by sleeping in your garden, by just going to the local park and engaging with the, uh, the wildlife. I just illegally camp. So, cause you're a gypsy. That's it. There you go.

[01:07:12] Um, I'm not hurting anyone. I get in someone's field. I have a lie down, get me tent up. Set a little fire, sleep under the stars, and I'm gone in the morning. So we can't do that in Canada. You guys have a rule where I think it's one night, you can go on to anyone's private property, as long as it's not a certain distance from their, their house.

[01:07:39] Is that, am I getting this right? No, you're completely wrong. You're not allowed to wild camp anywhere in the UK, apart from a place called Dartmoor. And even now they're trying to stop that from happening. You're supposed to have land owner's permission. Yes. Okay. So in Sweden, they have something called, basically it translates to like all man's land.

[01:07:59] And when I was talking to them about it, because they're allowed to go, someone owns a property over a certain size, uh, by law, they're allowed to be on that property, camp on that property. I think it's only for one night, certain distance from the, uh, um, from the house. And I thought the UK had something, or maybe it's, uh, travel through rights.

[01:08:20] It's Scotland, you can camp in Scotland. Okay. So you can't camp, it's all private land. You can't go out into the bush like we can here in Canada. Don't let your government do what ours has done to us. All right. Take this as a warning. Fight for your rights. Yeah. The right to roam. I didn't realize that, uh, you guys had, had lost that right over there and in the process of losing it.

[01:08:45] Yeah, we don't have much here really. Can you, as I should say. I have to learn how to put, uh, all the little motion graphics on like you do. You got a little car driving around with a dotted line on the map. And I watched that one, um,

[01:09:08] fly fishing competition, you did one recently, did you? Oh yeah, I didn't, I didn't make the final because I gave up basically, I only turned up with one rod that was not really the rod that I should have been using, I should have been nymphing and then like halfway through I just thought, you know what, I'll just wade and sing some Dolly Parton and I was singing and the other guys were like, what are you doing?

[01:09:29] And I was like, Ireland's in dun dun, I won't sing it for copyright reasons, but um, we need to start fishing and I was like, what do you mean? I was like, I've already, you know, I'm, I can't be bothered and they were like, no, cause the other guys are in this competition. And I If you catch a fish, it changes things.

[01:09:45] And everybody's working hard and you can't just walk up and down singing Dolly Parton. And I was like, I was like, all right. And then I'd done a bit of fishing, but I wasn't really going through it. And I caught some fish, but they were undersized. They were like tiddlers. Okay. I didn't make the final, but it was a great experience.

[01:10:04] Oh, was it? Oh, yeah. I got to have a go on a leaf blower for the first time. What do you mean have a go on the leaf blower? So there was a man in the car park before we, before we We went out and he was just doing his job. It worked for the camera. I was like, I have a go on that, mate. And he was like, yeah, of course you can.

[01:10:20] And he gave me like a little tutorial and I was blowing the leafs in the car park. Again, they were like, Amy, we're starting a competition. Get off the leaf blower. Come here now, register. So do you want your diagnosis now or, or what?

[01:10:41] Oh man. Next you're going to have a, a rolling chair in the leaf blower and, uh, having, having races with it. Um, air rifles over there. Uh, what, what's the rules on them? Are they, they're regulated over a certain feet per second or joules of energy, or. Well, they all kind of 12 sub pounds. I've got to be under 12 sub foot pounds to what you guys have, but they're perfectly legal.

[01:11:11] You can buy it, you can purchase one, obviously traveling with it has to be in a locked case and the pellets have to be separately locked somewhere else. So yeah, that's, that's very accessible. And what were you hunting with, something that exceeds that or something under that? Just under that, it has to be under that, otherwise you'll need an FAC.

[01:11:29] For anything over 12, 000 pounds you need an FAC license, which is a firearms license. Um, and I use 22 caliber air rifle. You can get 177, but I think for the rabbit 22 is, is better for me. A little more heft and, uh, yeah, yeah. We've got 500 feet per second, 5. 7 joules of energy is our sort of cutoff. So if it goes faster, but it's not a heavy pellet, don't worry about it.

[01:11:56] If it goes, uh, uh, yeah. Anyways, then it's a regulated firearm over there, over here. And so your FAC, that's your firearms acquisition certificate. Mm hmm. Okay. Yeah. And have you got, have you got that? I don't want to opt for it because I don't, I don't want a firearm because it's not, it's not something I'm going to be doing.

[01:12:18] So the air rifle for rabbit is more accessible and more realistic for my, for what I have on in the week, obviously with work, with where I can get to with it. If I lived further afield, a bit more in the countryside, then yeah, maybe I'd apply for an FAC, but I don't need one. So, because when you apply, you have to obviously state the firearm you want, why you've got it.

[01:12:40] Where are you gonna go with it? They want everything. Shoe size, brass size, you name it, they want it. Mm. I can't be bothered. Is there training that you have to do to get that? Uh, I don't think so, but I think you'll get approved quicker if you have like a deer stalking certificate or deer stalking, what do they call it?

[01:12:59] Deer stalking. The British Association are shooting the conservation. They do courses. And then once they see you've taken that course, cause they're, they're a well known organization, then the police would be like, okay, so this person is competent with a firearm. Okay. Yeah. I'm just curious how it works over there.

[01:13:17] You were named best influencer. I know. And I don't really get it because I don't influence anyone. I can't even influence myself to do my hair. You don't think you influence anybody. Well, maybe to try and get fishing. Yeah. Now I can see that now, but when I was, when I got out, I was like, Oh, pretty cool.

[01:13:40] Yeah. No kidding. Just put that one up on the CV. Next time I go for a job, I'm trying to push my way into the eat game meat competition. Which one's that it. Game meet. Yeah, game Meet GAME. Not game. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. followed. People will be going on funny websites otherwise, but, um, so I'm trying to get myself into that 'cause it's like all the posh people that go off shooting in Tweed.

[01:14:06] I'm like, I love that. So I'm trying to get an influencer reward there, even though I've only done two videos so far and there's loads of other people that have way more followers than me and get a video. But I'm just like, if I can get there. Yeah. Network, meet people like we're saying, yeah. And then I'll be like, oh, hello, you have access to this land, Lord Farquaad.

[01:14:27] Oh man, I'd shoot a rabbit upon it. I'm not drunk, I need your aunt, access. Yeah. Anything that you want the, uh, the audience to know? Um, I just want for people to not worry so much about things that aren't real, if that makes any sense. Like social media and all that. If you want to put stuff out there, please definitely, definitely, definitely do it.

[01:14:54] Because um, I've seen some awesome stuff where it'd be fishing or hunting or whatever. And, um, you may not get a lot of views or a lot of likes or whatever, but it might resonate with someone, um, just, just go for it, have adventures, meet old men, meet old men online and not that bad old men online within reason.

[01:15:18] But no, yeah. Talk to people you wouldn't usually speak with because you know, on some level we can all connect. We can all connect, all of us, all of us. And I don't like now that there's this thing like, you know, you're fishing in a male dominated sport. And I'm like dominated the word dominated. It's like trying to beat me up or something.

[01:15:40] That's not the bloody case. Like, you know, more men partake in the sport because, you know, old traditions and institutional exclusion. We're here where we are now. But it is not a barrier at all. If anything, it's a complete joy. Amy, thank you so much for being on the Silvercore podcast. I really enjoyed chatting with you and I'm sure there's going to be a lot more that we chat about offline.

[01:16:05] Thank you. Thanks for having me. Peace.