Page 4 of 4
Re: Dons of Edmonton
Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 3:54 pm
by Mark
I received this email today from the niece of Donald, thank you for the update Jennie it is very much appreciated.
Donald was my maternal uncle and I was very fond of him, he became very ill ( Motor Neuron Disease) and after collapsing at home in 2014, spent several months in North Middlesex and Queen Square Hospitals.
In 2015 I found a nursing home near me in Dorking, Surrey, where he spent his last few months, very unwell, bravely enduring this terrible disease, but never complaining. He died 5th September 2015. He told me just before his death, "It was a good life, always doing what I love".
On his death, he achieved his last wish, to have his body donated to The London Anatomy School, he remained in their care for 3 years, helping with research and the training of the next generation of medics. I think he would have been delighted to have carried on being useful, he loved recycling!
As a younger man Don took part in many fishing matches, which he recorded meticulously. Anyone interested in seeing some of his records, might like to find them in the archive of Enfield Museum Service. I am just in the process of passing the logs of these and some other items of interest on to them.
Many Thanks,
Jennie
Re: Dons of Edmonton
Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 7:05 pm
by John_Moore
Thanks Mark
And thank you Jennie.
I made visits to Dons in the early 1970's as a teenager.
I don't remember seeing Donald but I guess he would have been around the shop somewhere.
It truly was a most wonderful place to visit.
That lovely smell of tobbaco and bait just like all of the old tackle shops.
All you can smell when you go in now is those awful sickly strawberry boilie thingies.
John.
Re: Dons of Edmonton
Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 8:25 pm
by Lea Dweller
Thank you Mark and thank you Jennie, I have many great memories of visits to Don's and the many characters that I would meet there. Don once made a valiant attempt to teach me to cast a fly line, during a couple of lessons on a sports pitch near to the shop. After seeing my last effort Don described my casting style as 'slightly agricultural' I have never forgotten that comment
Don's of Edmonton will live in many people's memory, the man himself is already greatly missed!
Re: Dons of Edmonton
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 1:13 pm
by Liphook
Interesting thread this. I bought tackle from Dons occasionally when I lived in North London (Frames of Hendon was much closer for me being straight up Kilburn High Road). Over a series of visits to Dons I was continually drawn to a beautiful flamed 7ft6in 2/2 fly rod in a lovely wooden presentation box. It had a hefty price tag but was a real pearl. On my last visit before moving north out of the Rat Race I made further enquiries - I asked who had built it and was ponted towards one of the two senior chaps behind the counter who said he'd built it from a supplied blank but refused to say where the blank had come from - which having had a bad experience with a flawed Agutters build put me off somewhat! I made a close offer of as much as I could then afford but it was refused. I often wondered who bought it and where it was christened? It sounds like it would have been an Oliver's blank built up in house by Peter Grundel?
Re: Dons of Edmonton
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 2:27 pm
by Lea Dweller
Liphook wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 1:13 pm
Interesting thread this. I bought tackle from Dons occasionally when I lived in North London (Frames of Hendon was much closer for me being straight up Kilburn High Road). Over a series of visits to Dons I was continually drawn to a beautiful flamed 7ft6in 2/2 fly rod in a lovely wooden presentation box. It had a hefty price tag but was a real pearl. On my last visit before moving north out of the Rat Race I made further enquiries - I asked who had built it and was ponted towards one of the two senior chaps behind the counter who said he'd built it from a supplied blank but refused to say where the blank had come from - which having had a bad experience with a flawed Agutters build put me off somewhat! I made a close offer of as much as I could then afford but it was refused. I often wondered who bought it and where it was christened? It sounds like it would have been an Oliver's blank built up in house by Peter Grundel?
You are almost certainly right in you assumption Alistair, Pete Grundel made lovely rods! I always understood that Don bought in blanks from Ted Oliver, (some earlier possibly from Bob Southwell) I have a "Don's" Mark IV Carp rod which I understood to have been built on an Oliver's blank, it is superb!
Re: Dons of Edmonton
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 2:41 pm
by Liphook
Unfortunately it passed me by Ted but someone somewhere will be enjoying it hopefully. One of those "should have tried harder" items that slightly haunt us tackle hoarding types
Re: Dons of Edmonton
Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 5:52 pm
by Lea Dweller
Liphook wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 2:41 pm
Unfortunately it passed me by Ted but someone somewhere will be enjoying it hopefully. One of those "should have tried harder" items that slightly haunt us tackle hoarding types
My friend Fredline uses the phrase "You snooze you lose"