Ist January 2013 I decided to checkout a stretch of the River Wandle I had driven past dozens of times over the years but had never had time to stop. So Rosalind and I drove up to the Sava Centre on Merton Road, parked in the PC World car park and went for a walk. Just outside Sainsburys we saw our first fisherman, probably Polish, talking with his pals and ledgering. A bit further on we came across a French chap fishing a stretch of fast deep water from a high bank. I asked how he was getting on just as I noticed the bend in his rod. He said I have got a barbel on. I asked how he knew it was a barbel and not a chub and he said he had been playing it for 10 minutes and it was still staying deep and that a chub would have given up by now. Eventually he got the fish to the top of the water and his son tried to get it in the long handled landing net. He could only reach the fish with the net held in one hand and the current kept sweeping it away. The problem was overcome when he climbed down the bank got into the water and netted the fish.  Walking further upstream we saw several other fishers and some nice swims. The net (joke) result is that I have been searching around the house rounding up my course fishing tackle. Also I have sent off an application to join the Wandle Piscators! 
4th January 2013  I got all the necessary gear loaded into the car. Just north of Croydon the traffic came to a standstill and the traffic radio announce a broken water main flooding the Purley Way. I decided to abort and try my luck tomorrow.