A fool and his rod...

Ever made a wrong turn or taken the wrong route? Ever said "No, I won't bother to take that"? Well, today has been one of those days. The journey from London to Ironbridge is one we make often.There are several routes we can take and today I took the wrong one. I decided to take the M11/A14 option, through Birmingham. Not only are there major roadworks at the A14 junction with the bottom of the M6, but an serious accident had closed the M6 between junctions 6 and 7 in both directions causing absolute grid-lock in and around Birmingham. The diversion route took us over four hours to travel three miles! The signs were helpful too...

A typical example of Birmingham's idea of clear road signing - What!?

My original intention was to spend Monday fishing the river but as we were going to have to get on south I had decided to leave the tackle at home. What a fool! what about the three evenings I will be here? I can fish right outside the door and could have spent a couple of hours trotting before heading off for a meal. Instead I will just have to sit here and watch the fish swim by. Next time I will pack a float rod, reel a few hooks, landing net, a few floats and a tin of Spam. I bet I will not be able to use them, but at least I will have the wherewithal to drown some dead pig if the opportunity presents itself.

Ralph