Nancy

It was pouring with rain this morning, and cold, so I was in on the train again. If this was mid-winter I'd have probably cycled in and thought nothing of it, but somehow it's much more difficult to face in May when you have a reasonable expectation of decent weather. I didn't get a chance to see if my swans have their babies yet, although if they've got any sense they'll wait a few more days for the weather to get warmer. It would have been a shock to their system to have hatched today.

Anyway, the sun came out late afternoon and I tried to get back home a bit earlier than usual in order to get out for a ride. As I was about to get off the train I saw an old woman with some bags and as soon as eye contact was established I was hooked. She asked if I could help her off the train but before I knew what was going on she had commandeered me to walk her home. It was kind of fair enough. She must have been ninety if a day, and very frail. I was expecting that she would be met by someone, but no, she was on her own, and with a lot of carrier bags.

I couldn't get much out of her, other than that her name was Nancy and that she'd gone to Bradford shopping for the day - and quite a successful expedition it had been too. I couldn't find out from her where she lived but she nodded when I asked if she knew the way and that I should just follow. Which I duly did. For a long while! She walked very slowly. Fair enough once more. She was probably close to a hundred.

Well, to cut a long story shot, we eventually arrived at her nursing home and the people there were very happy to see her. I think she'd gone awol. Apparently she has a reputation for picking up 'young' men and bringing them back home with her. She's possibly not quite so helpless as she made out. And I was so keen to make my escape bid and get back out on my bike ride that I clean forgot to ask if I could take her picture. So you're lumbered with a landscape. If I hadn't been delayed by Nancy then I wouldn't have been here at this place and time to capture the light. This one's for you my dear, conniving or not!