Fishing Frenzy

Here we go for a new week following a fantastic couple of days which was hugely enjoyable, none of which involved angling. On Friday after supper I went into Birmingham, not something I would normally do as I get confused in cities being very much the out of town chap, but I was off to see Big Country at the O2 Academy. The show was marvellous, with Mike Peters standing in for the late, great Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson's son Jamie strumming 2nd guitar.

I really hope that a live album will follow the end of the tour when the 2nd section concludes in April as it will go immediately onto the MP3 player on my iPhone. Which brings me to my question for the morning, is the personal stereo an acceptable addition of the up to date fishing tackle? I do not know what the thinking is in modern fishing etiquette, but I think that such a solitary activity will inevitably mean that plugging in the personal stereo is a keen temptation for many. But if swims are positioned by the water at fairly close proximity, the last thing the neighbours want when they are angling is the tch tch tch tch etc from the next peg if they tend not to have their own sounds.

I cannot say for sure what my preference is going to be. I love my music, my taste tends to spread from Tupac to Tchaikovsky. I don't really get much chance to use my personal stereo as a rule, but I also have always seen fishing to be something to be performed quietly to give time by myself to chill out and be alone but with a purpose that isn't too strenuous. So do I want to put my iPod in with my fishing tackle? It's a tricky one.

On Saturday I was back in the city, this time with the family as we fancied going into the city for something of a change. I had not been in since the city centre was rebuilt although I did go once while they were building and got so horribly lost that I never went back. But I was extremely impressed, we went to the Bull Ring and Selfridges, though the issue is that it is, as always in shopping centres, the self same faces of shops as you see everywhere else. It is a great shame that specialist retailers don't get a look in. Has anybody ever tried to set up a chain of fishing tackle shops? I do remember that there was a very smart looking music outlet (by which I mean a outlet for people playing or learning music rather than another HMV) but that did not last long. perhaps it's the nature of the expert retailer that they need to be situated in corners and backstreets and have that local knowledge and custom rather than a more central situation or presence in shopping centres and precincts.

I think it's a shame because the specialist shop for things such as fishing tackle or music tend to be operated by the devotee and will never make the owners well off (and I freely admit that in the majority of cases they have no intention to be so), but why can't someone make a very general fishing tackle chain work and bring more people to the sport as a result? I know that many will be aghast and say that a big chain will put the authentic local specialist into bankruptcy, but I don't see that as when someone decides to come into the sport, gets their first set of fishing tackle and a feel that they want to continue, the specialists will then come into their own. Also, owners of shopping arcades such as Westfield may not be too keen on one of their retailers being a breeding ground for maggots and other live bait so again, the specialists will get the business.

It was fabulous, another chance to see my favourite band of all time, a day out with the family and a quiet Sunday at home makes for the idyllic weekend.

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