There have been weeks of torrential rain, storms, wind and flooding. I have to restart my Haphazard tour following almost 3-weeks of suspension. Today I will aim for Norfolk in eastern England and the seaside town of Great Yarmouth.*
In event organising circles, the weather is usually the biggest risk. Best laid plans can quickly go awry if weather contingency has not been built-in. Since picking up Brook on June 2nd it has rained most days. There are constant weather warnings. In places, there is severe flooding caused by a month of rainfall in a few hours.
I stayed at friends places and attempted day trips. Cold wet summer days don’t make conditions conducive to chatting about ideas.
Fortunately, no damage or costs have been incurred. Instead, I was able to attend some art degree shows and a major conference on AI. The conference was outdoors and struggled valiantly to stay operational.
Brighton cancelled two big festivals due to weather. The Cricket 2019 World Cup has seen the most games cancelled in its history.
Learning From Event Organising
These last few weeks have been a good metaphor for Haphazardness. Expectations often do not meet reality due to external circumstances. It is good to plan for unseen eventualities without becoming obsessed. Developing a mindset that can accept and adapt is a great asset throughout life.
John M
*Updated 21 June 2019. The plan was to head to Norwich yesterday but huge storm clouds appeared and decided to hold off until today.
Haphazard Business 