VIII 
WEEKS IN WORCESTERSHIRE 
N the Sudan one day a Worcestershire man 
] spoke of the charm of the Teme valley. 
So far away, these home references impress 
the listener. Hence, one day in October— 
this month being prime for grayling, first cousin 
of the trout—Paddington was the tryst for three 
of us, The big railway strike * was just over. 
Neither of the two companions, one a plumber 
from Deptford, the other a cartage contractor 
from Rotherhithe, had done any grayling fishing. 
They were ambitious to learn but wished to 
begin, in the old-fashioned way, with worm or 
gentle. For fly-fishing they could wait, said 
they. Above all, a holiday in the country was 
their desire. 
The humorous is a happy ingredient in any 
care-free holiday, and the railway journey early 
supplied this ingredient. The C.C. had thought- 
fully provided bait in the shape of meal worms, 
Do not scorn them: the bird shops sell them 
eight a penny. These he had put in atin. In 
the hurry of packing he had clapped the tin into 
* 1919. 
