They couldn’t make the journey in 40 years! Know what I’m talking about? The Israelites could not manage to arrive on a journey that should have lasted days.

I could give this blog the title Lost in Leeds 2.

I wanted to attend a meeting in Leeds and, for once, I was feeling pretty confident. I knew how to get to my chosen car park, by a location I knew well and I was armed with a map that not only told me the streets but showed me the roads and even put dots on the path to walk! There were two routes shown. One was an 8 minute walk, and the other was 11.

I arrived early for my eight minute walk, passed a Pirate – and jumped out of my skin as a cannon was fired!

I should have realised then – that this was no ordinary day!

Somehow my 8 minute walk was not going well so I thought I’d better change to the 11.

So near – and yet so far!

I traipsed and traipsed and was unable to find this place! After pounding the pathway for well past any meeting starting time and well past any ‘oops, I’m late’ time I eventually gave in and settled for the nearest coffee shop wondering how I could salvage something of the day for having made this (now purposeless) journey.

Walking back to my car, now two hours later, I arrived at a square heaving with ‘Chillers’ and Revelers enjoying a live band on a small stage, and a banner announcing the Festival. Here I was at 12 o’ clock, seeing a large crowd and an advert for a 1.30 karaoke!

That was when I went from finding myself at a festival I had no knowledge of – to being in it; from observing that there was a stage, to being on it! Now I had to find a quiet public place to warm up and rack my brain, to rehearse a song I hadn’t sung for nearly a year – a rehearsal with some extreme focus!

And the point of the day ……?

• Keep up skills!
• You never know when opportunities will come!
• Walk through open doors.