Here we go for a fresh week coming from a brilliant break which was massively enjoyable, none of which had anything to do with angling. On Friday night I drove into Birmingham, not something I would naturally do as I get flustered in cities being very much the out of town fellow, but I was off to see Big Country at the O2 Academy. The show was brilliant, with Mike Peters standing in for the late, great Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson’s boy Jamie on 2nd guitar.
I really hope that a live album will follow the completion of the tour when the 2nd part completes in April as it will go straight onto the personal stereo on my iPhone. Which brings me to my question for the morning, is the iPod an acceptable addition of the up to date fishing tackle? I don’t know what the thinking is in today’s fishing protocol, but I reckon that such a solitary undertaking will ultimately mean that plugging in the iPod is a keen temptation for many. But if pegs are situated 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 next door if they choose not to have their own music.
I cannot say for definite what my preference might be. I love my music, my taste tends to span from Dr Dre to Dvorjak. I don’t really get much opportunity to use my iPod as a rule, but I also have always viewed fishing to be something to be performed quietly to allow for time by oneself to chill out and be alone but with a purpose that isn’t too strenuous. So do I want to put my personal stereo in with my fishing tackle? It’s a tricky one.
On Saturday I went back to Birmingham, this time with the family as we fancied going into the urban experience for something of a change. I had not been in since the city centre was regenerated although I did go once while they were building and got so horribly lost that I didn’t want to go back. But I was really impressed, we went around the Bull Ring and Selfridges, though the thing is that it is, as always in shopping centres, the exact same chains of shops as you find everywhere else. It is a great sadness that specialist shops don’t get a look in. Has anyone ever tried to set up a chain of fishing tackle shops? I do remember that there was a very stylish looking music outlet (by which I mean a place for people playing music rather than another HMV) but that didn’t last long. perhaps it’s the nature of the specialist retailer that they need to be found in corners and backstreets and have that local intelligence and custom rather than a more central location or presence in shopping arcades and precincts.
I think it’s a pity because the expert shop for things such as fishing tackle or handicrafts tend to be run by the fan and will never make the owners rich (and I freely acknowledge that in most cases they have no desire to be so), but why can’t someone make a very general fishing tackle chain work and bring more people to the hobby as a result? I know that many will protest and say that a major chain will put the authentic local specialist out of business, but I don’t see that since when someone decides to come into the hobby, gets their first set of fishing tackle and a feel that they want to continue, the experts will then come into their own. Also, managers of shopping arcades such as Westfield may not be too happy 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 lovely, another chance to see my favourite band of all time, a day out with the family and a nice Sunday at home makes for the idyllic weekend.
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