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| Haydn Edwards 1964-2012 |
February is never an easy month, in the Northern hemisphere
most are deep in the grip of winter and suffering post-Christmas blues but it is punctuated with Valentine's Day to lighten the dark days. Two
years ago it took on a different meaning for me personally and one that I have
struggled with and not written about before.
It is a post about the loss of my brother almost two years
ago… a loss that I have struggled to come to terms with. They say men are not
good at sharing emotions… they also say it isn’t a man thing… I’d say it is a
personal thing and sometimes joined up thinking is hard.
This post has been driven out of me by circumstance and a
phone call from Ian Christie, friend, BUG-BOND Team member and owner of Flybox
International in Scotland. Ian rang me to say that he’d set up a monthly
NOT-FOR-PROFIT Charity Fly Event via the Flybox Facebook page and would the
greater BUG-BOND Team get involved. I said that I was sure they would… have you
got a charity in mind and when is it going to start… No and February was the
response. I don’t know why or how but I said that February was a key month in
my life because of the loss of my brother and I’d be pleased if Leukaemia &
Lymphoma Research was chosen… Deal done and now to email the team… the support
has been phenomenal, not only from the team but from people who have never
heard my brother’s name before.
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| Generously donated by Ian Christie of Flybox International |
So a bit of background as to why Leukaemia & Lymphoma
Research…
I have two brothers… rather had… Haydn & Jonathan (Jon)
both younger than me – Haydn was the middle brother. Born in December 1964… he
went to Art College from school at the age of 17… he was a talented artist,
photographer and film maker. Above all though,
he was a car nut and the Mini designed by Sir Alec Issigonis was the constant
thread in his life… he was a self-taught welder and with his artist’s eye
rebuilt Lamborghinis, Jaguars, Porsches and of course very many Minis… He did
it as a job but it was more of an art form to him.
Back in the summer of 2011 he became ill and his business
had to be closed… he was diagnosed with a blood related cancer and went through
courses of chemotherapy… he did well with it and had a stem cell transplant in
the November that year.
In January 2012 I phoned him before I got on a flight to New
Jersey for The Fly Fishing Show in Somerset... he sounded great and I promised
I’d visit him on my return to the UK. I was buoyed by his voice and the
knowledge he was OK. I was away for 4 days… what can happen in 4 days? I
touched down in the UK to find that he’d gone for a check-up and was back in
hospital. The events of the following 13 days are still difficult to compute
and are too personal for this blog, save that I spent most of my time during
his last 5 days being with him. He sadly passed away at around 10.20 in the
evening on 13th February 2012 at the young age of 47, his strength and resolve
beyond reproach and his dignity intact.
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| Haydn and I... the same at the end as it was in the beginning |
The next bit is “the how” the how you can help and this is
where Ian Christie comes back into the frame.
The Flybox Facebook page contains
pictures of individual Lots of flies and fly tying ephemera… just like a real
auction or Ebay… the auction is open for a specified period of time for each
Lot, usually 7 days. The winning bidder then places the funds they have bid in
the
JustGiving page that Ian has set up. Click on my brother’s photo to take
you there. The funds go directly to Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research to where they are needed.
Ian will generously cover the packing and postage unless it is a big item that
needs posting internationally… then I suggest you contact him for a shipping
quote.
The idea is that it is a FUN auction BUT with a serious
message and whatever you give will hopefully help to save someone from a blood
related cancer… so from this one loss I hope that many will benefit.
What can I bid for to help? Well...
Two Lots that may interest you the first is a framed fly by a great friend, Barry Ord Clarke... you'll know him from his blog
www.thefeatherbender.com and combines a fly pattern's of Barry's that was tied by him and became part of a BUG-BOND advert... in addition to the fly there is an original photo of Barry's of a brown trout... it is signed and numbered and would be a great addition to any fly tying room, den or man cave.
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| Generously donated by Barry Ord Clarke |
The second Lot is from another great pal of mine, Chris Sandford... there is tons of STUFF about him on his website
www.chrissandford.com Chris has kindly provided a signed copy of Mayflies & More a booklet and DVD combination...
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| Generously donated by Chris Sandford |
Chris is well known for his fishing – as a fly
fisher, a vintage tackle collector and a fly tyer. Many of his innovative
patterns have been featured in Fly Fishing and Fly Tying and on Sky Sports' TV show
Tight
Lines. In this DVD he
demonstrates tying flies that he has developed for fishing the rivers and still
waters of southern England. The 70-minute DVD contains 10 fly-tying films
demonstrating the tying of 10 flies. The accompanying 32-page, full colour
booklet gives step by step details for tying the same flies, illustrated with
detailed photographs.
In addition to the booklet and DVD the lucky bidder will also get 9 hand tied flies... all tied by Chris and including the two patterns that won The Dream Team, 'The River Test One Fly' competition in two consecutive years. The patterns were the Ducking Feadly and the BUG-BOND-Glass-Bug...
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| ...and of course Sandford's Bullet... a successful pattern that has featured in a few BUG-BOND adverts |
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Generously donated 9 hand tied flies by Chris Sandford
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Happy bidding...and a massive thank you to you all!
