George Kaptur; leaves a wife, two children, 4 grandchildren, a great grandson and a lot of fishing friends

Ol' George - An Obituary: During January the VAC was advised of the passing of one of its much loved members. George Kaptur, better know to his many friends as simply Ol' George, was unable to recover from the illness that had kept away from the waterside for the last year or so. Forum members will have seen the many posts praising his generosity and kindness.

Born in 1934, at the age of 5, due to Russian invasion of Poland during war he, together with some of his family (older males sent to the Army) and thousands of others were "displaced" and started a journey over several years to refugee camps in Siberia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Afghanistan & Karachi.
Until the age of 12 home was in the jungle in India where he had a great time, growing up like Tarzan. Once the war ended he relocated to Cirencester and then to a Polish Technical College in Northampton. He worked various jobs and put himself through night school to study and train as a draughtsman, for many years working with aeroplanes. Married in '63 he worked as a Civil Engineer until redundancy in 1992.

Ice Breaker No.1 : Once again the winter weather put the mockers on the Moor Mill Pike Match. Not that a few inches of ice was going to stop Paul (Hornet) Chilton.

He decided to fish regardless and, after much effort in breaking the ice, he caught this surprised looking pike.

Paul therefore decided he was, rightly so, the winner of this years 'unofficial' Pike Match. Well done Paul, next time you'll catch his mum.

Ice Breaker No.2 :  The VAC match guys are just as mad when it comes to fishing through the ice. Arriving at Lakeside Farm for our recent fixture, the 13 match fanatics found the lake almost completely ice-bound. Undeterred, a combination of ice breaking kit and the owners boat soon had enough clear water for everyone to drown a maggot or two. Of course, expectations were rock bottom so what a great surprise to find that a number of pegs were soon producing quality roach and, for the winner with over 14lb, a pair of bream to 4lb as well.

Half year memberships still available

The General Committee has again agreed to release a number of half-year memberships at half price. They represent excellent value as they are valid through until June 15 2010. It's worth noting that many VAC and associate waters are open all year and provide reliable angling opportunities even in the winter.

If you've been thinking of joining the VAC here's the excuse you've been looking for. For further details of this and all VAC subscriptions, plus a link to our on-line Member Services system simply click the Subscriptions button at the top of the page. Note. the half price option will not show on-line until November but you can download and print the form now.

Got your picture?

Club DB, our excellent member database, is now serving us well with members able to log in and update their details at any time.

However, a large number of members have not yet sent in or uploaded a passport style picture which we will need to print up your next membership card. We believe we have now resolved some the technical difficulties but for those who cannot upload a suitable picture please find time to either email your photo (quoting ID number) or pop a picture in the post to the Registrar. More details on the Subscriptions page.

VAC members can fish The Tring Anglers stretch of the Aylesbury Arm as part of a water share agreement.

 £1 off all day tickets for VAC members