History - how the Americans do it

[GarryProcter]

Very nice Paul, but it does upset me somewhat. It upsets me that I lived for 6 years just outside Cambridge (MA) and had no idea that museum was there (almost) just up the road in Manchester (VT). Alas, now I'm sentenced to a 6 further year stretch (at least) just outside the wrong Manchester, it's no longer just up the road...

I think I remember hearing rumours (or reading) about your plan for the British Angling Museum, a great shame it never came to fruition. Hope you have recovered fully from those 'unfortunate responses'.

[GarryProcter]

I do remember seeing that post Paul (I lurk a lot, but rarely stick my snout above the surface). A great shame the museum never came off, and your experiences (referred to ion the first post above) do not reflect particularly well on some of our angling 'glitterati'.

[The VFC]

There is of course the virtual museum here:
http://www.fishingmuseum.org.uk/

and also
http://www.anglingheritage.org/

In some ways I think part of the difference with the US situation is how we British tend to deal with success: we aren't the same sort of gong beating celebrationists as our American cousins, tending more towards the "bashing off pedestal" approach! I once heard a quotation, referring to superheroes actually, that summed it up - "an Englishman would be too modest to leap tall buildings in a single bound even if he could, and as for wearing his underpants outside his trousers..."

We seem culturally to much prefer the triumphant loser - cf. Eddie the Eagle for example - than the out and out world beater, finding such people (who of necessity need a particular brand of confidence that can appear to verge on the arrogant) a little distasteful.

I kind of like it that way too....

[GarryProcter]

I've been unfortunate enough to meet (non-angling) super-egos on both sides of the pond - and I find nothing to choose between the US and UK version. There's good and bad everywhere.