Billboard

It was the cigarette run to Georgia this afternoon. Sadly, it did not conincide with a particularly nice day. It was overcast but at least it kept dry.

I gave the historic area of St Marys a miss today because I wanted to try and capture the wetland vista I see heading back to Jacksonville. It wasn't the best day for landscape photography. The light was flat and the colours were muted.

But this disused store -- autoparts I would guess from the chequered stonework in the Grand Prix flag motif -- and the billboard caught my eye. It seemed to sum up small town Georgia and large parts of America where giant roadside billboards are the norm.

I am fading a little as I write this entry. I got up at the ungodly hour of 7:00 am to watch Stoke City's game against Sunderland, which was being broadcast on ESPN. Usually, matches kick off at 10:00 am EST but for some reason Stoke's kicked off at 7:45 am. But at least they won 3-2, if somewhat fortuitously, with Robert Huth's winner coming in the last minute. If am honest, a draw would have been a fairer result but as a Stoke fan I will gladly take the win and the three points.

At half-time, the cameras gave a view of the ground and in the distance I could see Penkhull church. I lived in Penkhull for the first 20 years of my life, so that was quite nostalgic to see it on TV.

I am off to watch a movie on DVD with my wife, I know not which one but have the feeling I may well fall asleep at some point. I guess I need the rest for tomorrow's Super Bowl at Arlington, Texas, the place I used to live before we moved to Jacksonville. It would have been quite exciting to have the Super Bowl going on in one's own backyard so to speak.

I will be rooting for the Green Bay Packers. They have impressed me with their displays in their last three games and I am a big fan of Aaron Rogers.