The Road goes ever on and on; Down from the door where it began;
Now far ahead the Road has gone; And I must follow, if I can;
Pursuing it with eager feet; Until it joins some larger way;
Where many paths and errands met; And whither then? I cannot say.

[JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings]

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Plans and Forecasts - Monday

My plans seem too often to change. Or, looking at it another way, one
of the advantages of unemployment is that I have the luxury of time
and thus am more disposed to change my plans to fit with changing
circumstances.

Today, had last week's intentions prevailed, I would have spent the
day walking a 12-mile route in the Todmorden area.

Then, on Saturday I checked the weather forecast, which until that
point had been reasonable for today, and with the prediction having
changed to a day of rain and sleet, with strong winds and very poor
visibility, I decided to instead travel up to Halifax today and walk
tomorrow only.

No sooner had I bought my train ticket than the Met Office changed its
mind. Suddenly the forecast was for sunshine and very good visibility.
Harrumph, I said, but having bought my train ticket there was nothing
that I could do to revert to Plan A.

As my train left Leeds it started to rain.

As I walked across Halifax the rain was looking distinctly sleety.

As I stood waiting for my bus, the sleet turned to heavy snow.

As I walked up the road to Ma-in-Law's everywhere was turning very
white and the surrounding valley sides were hidden by cloud.

As I sit here in front of the fire, being fed cups of tea and with a
promise of one of Ma-in-Law's legendary roast dinners later, I'm
rather pleased that I didn't find myself out on't moors this afternoon.

As for tomorrow's plans they, hang in the balance. If visibility is
good, I will venture out. If I can't see the other side of the valley,
then laziness may well prevail.

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