Outdoor Discoveries

Endings

For one reason or another, it feels as if a lot of things are coming to an end at the moment. Clearly, we are coming to the end of a year and some would say that it also is the end of a decade while others suggest that there is another year left in the current one. As if that is not enough, Virgin Trains no longer operate on the West Coast Mainline so that is another change that adds an end of era feel.

For me, an ongoing work contract is coming to an end while other possibilities are being explored for 2020. That has weighed on me a bit this autumn so I have not been out and about as much as in other years. Nevertheless, there have visits to Bath, Oxford, Edinburgh and Sheffield together with time at a conference in Amsterdam. There, the weather was inclement but we were indoors most of the time anyway and it was useful to meet old colleagues, catch up with what is happening in an industry and discuss opportunities for next year.

Given a certain uncertainty, I am not embarking on a mid-winter getaway this year so the Christmas and New Year break may not see me straying far from home. Having some time for reflection and recuperation will prove useful anyway and I hope to get out and about should the weather allow that since it has not been all that encouraging these last few months. It is all too easy to let grey days bring wistfulness so a new start during next year is in order. Only time will tell what that means.