Land of Confusion - Genesis

Now did you read the news today,
They say the danger's gone away…

Yikes, have you had much snow where you live? If you escaped the deluge, don’t worry as we’ve had your share down here in South Wales and mainly in Cardiff it would appear. To say it ‘Closed the City Down’ would be an understatement and in Canton where we live, we had some most amazing snowdrifts I’ve ever seen - some well over a metre high.

There's too many men, too many people

Making too many problems…

And that’s what it’s caused- ‘Problems’. A plethora of problems, most of which could well have been avoided with better knowledge, equipment and planning. I mean, the snow didn’t just appear without prior warning. I knew from Monday that it was heading our way. I ran a couple of 42.2kms earlier on in the week and it was positively ‘Baltic’. The severity of the weather, well that was no surprise either - that’s the beauty of modern day weather forecasting and media output. So why did it cause so many problems?

Can't you see, this is a land of confusion.

This is the world we live in…

Well because, there’s no time for bad weather or communication systems failure in our modern-day world. I saw a few cars and 4x4’s driving around Cardiff yesterday and wondered just how many of those journeys were Essential’. I did see a couple of snowploughs, one clearing snow directly in front of an ambulance and the other trying to clear one of the major city exit-routes - neither to much effect if I’m being honest.

When everything's gone wrong somehow, the men of steel, the men of power.

Are losing control by the hour…

But then where I live, there was a calm. People literally took to the streets, Smiled, said ‘Hello’ or ‘Bore Da’ to each other and headed for a Friday afternoon of fun sledging and walking in Thompson’s Park which is normally our local ‘Green Space’. In the six years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen so many people in it and for the rest of the day our street had a steady stream of folk heading forwards and backwards to experience the ‘Community Fun’.

This is the time, this is the place

So we look for the future…

The World kinda stood still. Well ours did. For a few hours anyway and nothing else mattered apart from getting out into a fresh white environment and wonder at the natural beauty that snow adds to our familiar surroundings.

Stand up and let's start showing,

Just where our lives are going to…

All-in-all it’s been an enlightening experience. Listening to the news and plentiful weather warnings will mean that ‘Mother Nature’ and a few of feet of Snow won’t bring simple living to a complete halt. For those that didn’t listen, they took crazy risks in making unnecessary journeys and grown men fought in supermarkets over the last of the supplies, all because they didn’t have a plan or think that what was forecast, would actually happen. But then is there time in our busy lives to listen or take time out for an afternoon sledging in the park

Keep warm my friends and enjoy whatever the Snow brought your way…

Rory Coleman - rory@colemancoaching.co.uk

1,013 Marathons - 245 Ultras - 14 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records