This photo was taken by my 4 x great uncle, Roger Fenton, some time in the mid 19th century, and epitomises one of the things I enjoy about the nicer side of that era.

There were a lot of grim things about the Regency and early Victorian eras, and it would be wrong to try to pretend otherwise. However, there were also some things that can still be looked back on with fondness. Such as the utter nonsense of being so concerned with dressing properly that one would go fishing in a top hat. Could any modern person of good sense conceive of a stupider, more impractical thing to do? No, but did a modern fisherman ever look so good?