Ultra-early journey to shoot with Jim in the Norfolk marches where Sam made a good retrieve in a fast-flowing tidal stream.
Then to collect Wiggly from the train station for meal at the Floating Restaurant and night at The Hotel Nelson
Jim had arranged to have the day off from work and we had decided to try a day on the marshes, training the dogs and chancing our arm on the wildfowl.
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It was before 4.00am that I had to get up but I still took half an hour to get ready to usher Sam into the car for my trip to Norfolk. I was at Suton before 6.00am to collect Jimmy but it was dawn before we got to Reedham at 7.00am, after trailing behind a queue of Sugar Beet lorries bound for Cantley.
As a wild fowling expedition it was not very successful; I did not get a shot and Jimmy bagged just one female Pochard and took three shots to kill it. However, this presented a testing retrieve for Sam to try; as the bird ended up in the water on the other side of the fast-flowing tidal stream at Reedham.
After a couple of aborted efforts where Sam and I were struggling in head-high reeds and I got a couple of boots full of water, we followed the bird downstream and I could send him across. He needed encouragement and reassurance even so because of the strong flow but then fetched it back nicely.
He needed two chances to present the bird to me and I could then give it to Jim. Most of the time I was just handling Sam as he is very green for shooting over but I became concerned about Jim who uses Ben widely, even when he keeps going wrong and being unsteady.
After the wild fowling, this came to a head when I wanted to do some hunting in the sugar beet. Jim insisted on bringing Ben along and trying to handle a gun at the same time when a better result would have obtained from putting Ben away at first and Jim concentrating on his gun and advising me.
I found the constant heel commands a distraction and so I went back to the car and let them do some quartering without Sam in the way when it was his turn and then asked for the same for us later. Sam found several pheasants and then, on the last good point, Jim shot the flushed bird for Sam's first experience of this which was good. Interestingly, he then pointed the dead bird instead of retrieving it which is a fault that happens with green dogs.
I took Jim back and then had to rush a bit to get back to Horning to feed and put away Sam and then wash, shave and change in time to collect Wiggly from Norwich Railway Station.
To save taking her to Harnser and back, I booked us in to the nearby Hotel Nelson for the night so she could change and get ready for an evening meal out at The Floating Restaurant. Of course, there was time for lovemaking first! She dressed in a black miniskirt and stockings and was quite stimulating. We ordered a mixture of Hor D'oeuvres to share and then had the Barbary Duck to follow with the alcoholic milk shake for two to finish.