The words aren't quite right, as some of you well know, but that's a liberty I can take at Christmas. Let's take a quick look at Christmas past.
A quick browse through part of my newspaper library shows what the angling press thought about Christmas past. Take the Fishing Gazette for December 26th 1930. W R Pape of Newcastle supplied a list of 'Anglers Christmas Gifts' which included ashtrays festooned with hand painted trout or salmon. Definitely not a product that would sell today!
Just the ticket for the girlfriend or wife in the 1930's was a 'Ladies Hand Painted Powder Box' with fish motifs. You could even have one of these with a roach on it (instead of salmon or trout). Bernard's of Piccadilly were also on the same tack with 'hat ornaments' made from real salmon flies with protected points. A Unisex product even in those days!
Fur and feather at Christmas
I picked up a December 23rd 1960 Angling Times, where the Mitre and Keys Leicester pub team set out on their annual 'Fur and feather' outing. Last man on the bus was vice-chairman Ray Robson dressed up as Santa Claus. His sack contained a variety of humorous presents including a small chicken on a very big plate, a string of balloons etc.
Some readers may be wondering what is meant by 'fur and feather'. These days the 'fur and feather' is usually a club or open match held shortly before Christmas and is a throwback to much earlier times when many different household prizes, rather than money, were on offer to the lucky winners. In those days, the Fur might have referred to a rabbit or hare and feather often meant poultry or game birds as prizes.
