SOME wag, many years ago, uttered those immortal words: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

It sounds good and in its day, was probably a truism, in as much that change was and is more effectively managed by “jaw, jaw” rather than “war, war”.

What the dickens has this to do with fishing you may well ask, and understandably so.

However, we now have truly potent means of communication; the world wide web and the internet, both of which inundate us with so called news and rumours, which if repeated often enough soon become ‘fact’.

People's reputations are tarnished or even ruined by gossip and innuendo and fear is spread through communities because the horrors of one individual are cast so far and wide that rather than a distant act of lunacy, it appears to be part of an epidemic.

As a consequence, children are confined to their own home or that of their friends and see little, if anything, of the world and their local environment.

If you are one of many who is not willing to turn off or ignore your telephone or “pad”, rather than let your children develop the same habits, which of course they will do as they get older, why not take them and your communications device out into the “environment”?

Sit with them whilst they sit by a pond and catch little silver fish, look at them and admire their beauty, and carefully return them to the water from which they came.

You don’t have to sit out in the middle of a field surrounded by sheep or cows, there are plenty of local fisheries which allow coarse fishing in specially stocked ponds.

There you may sit on a comfy chair and communicate with the rest of your world, whilst breathing in good fresh air.

The only disturbance is likely to the shout of joy as your little one hooks and lands a beautiful fish, or the song of a number of birds, which an “app” on your devise will help you to identify.

You don’t have to sit out for hours, only as long as you like and if you pay by the hour, the cost is minimal.

You will be surprised how quickly your child will come to enjoy the experience, and you never know, so may you!

It is my honour to be involved with a fishing charity that organises days out for children with learning or behavioural difficulties, as well as adult groups members of which may have suffered strokes or other life altering “issues”.

We take them, in groups of around 30, plus their carers, to a local fishery and show them how to catch fish.

We have casters, who cast out the bait, and helpers who assist in netting the catch.

The children are handed the rod when a fish is hooked, and shown how to reel it in.

All participants tend to arrive with a little trepidation, but leave with huge smiles on their faces - magic!

I have included a photo of our recent outing, which shows some of the participants.

Few can have failed to moved by the current messages making us aware of the consequences of failing to take action to protect our planet.

Yet, so few of us actually go out and actually enjoy our environment. Just a walk in a park or a field, where you are surrounded by green, is both calming and therapeutic.

It’s pure joy and it’s free.