l DILIP Sarkar - bless him - has sent me some pictures of himself posing with some captured twaite shad.

Most of you will remember the recent bullhead mania, when the polite talk in every Worcester parlour was of the elusive cottus gobio. Sadly, such outbreaks of piscatorial insanity do not seem to extend to the shady shad, this elusive cousin of the humble herring.

As it happens, the aviation historian was a policeman in a previous life. I wonder... would those shad he apprehended on the Worcestershire Teme all those years ago have said - in shad language, obviously - "OK copper, I'll swim along quietly!" Sorry about that.

l WARMER weather's on the way and that means Worcester's riverside will once again host the summer-long winos and ciderheads convention.

The birds will sing their hearts out from the treetops, while down below on the vandalised benches from South Quay to the King's School boathouse, the air will ring to profanity and assorted vulgarities and brutishness.

Maybe the police will one day forsake their computers and do something about it. Tell you what, lads - let's not bother. We wouldn't want to walk a few yards.

However, it could be slightly worse. I've just returned from a few days' break in the Devon town of Sidmouth where stupendous examples of anti-social drinking can be observed outside the market hall most days.

At least Worcester has managed to marginalise the problem.

l AH yes. This brief sojourn in Sidmouth I was telling you about. Please don't get me wrong - it's a charming Victorian watering hole that has much to commend it.

However, I saw a notice in a pub that made me realise just how far this country has sunk. It appeared that the landlord had become so hacked off with people avoiding paying for food that he had decided to take punters' credit cards as a form of surety. After ordering, the cards are kept behind the bar until the end of the evening. That way, he can be sure of payment. How sad.