A couple of months ago I posted an article that i called The Nine Lives of CryptoRah, in which I detailed several encounters that I had that were dangerous and in at least one case certain death awaited me if it hadn't have been for a friend's timely intervention - and by that I mean a second or two literally. Yesterday I remembered another incident which was just as scary, even though I only realised how scary it was after the event.

Let me explain.

It was probably March or April, but definitely 1994, and I had been to uni. Before going home I decided to go and visit Sarah a friend of mine who was in hospital. It was a warm spring day and I was dressed appropriately with a fleece top and a light raincoat. I do tend to dress light as I don't particularly feel the cold and actually have difficulty regulating my body temperature during hot periods, but even so I was onion layered and actually I was a bit warm.

To get to the hospital my route took me along a long Victorian Terraced Street, before going across the West Common, a field for common usage that came about as a result of the Enclosure Act of 1700. Then after that I had to walk about another half mile to the hospital. 

The red line picks up my route at the bottom of the map as I headed in a northwest direction towards the hospital which is roughly where the line at the top finishes. The hospital is no longer there, but it is the Common that is the most important part of the story.

And so I arrived and spend an hour or so with Sarah before deciding to make my way home. As I stepped outside the hospital I was stunned to see 2-3 inches of swirling snow and it was bitterly cold. Undeterred, and with no other realistic option I set off  back the way I came, along the red line in a roughly south east direction. I did my fleece up and then zipped up my raincoat as far as it would go and pulled the hood over my ears to offer them as much protection as possible and by the time I had reached the gate to the Common I was already shivering.

While the snow was so bad that it had hidden the path it was of no great concern because the conditions weren't so terrible that I couldn't see the other side, which in fact was just cutting the corner of the Common. Even if I deviated from the path I could simply follow the fence line or even climb over it if need be. The only other thing was that there were horses there, but even in the driving snow they were just big dark blobs that were easily avoided and so I embarked on the next part of my walk home.

Almost immediately I was more exposed to the icy wind that was threatening to blow me over and rapidly chilling me. It was hard, my stamina was faltering and suddenly a wave of lassitude washed over me. Listless and without power I was overcome by a compulsion just to lay down and go to sleep there and then in the snow. More than tired, I was exhausted and that fence line didn't seem to be getting any nearer. Hope was fading, but fortunately my brain was still alert and aware. It was screaming at me to keep going because if I were to go to sleep in the snow I would never wake up again.

This drove me on and after what felt like an eternity I made it to the fence line which gave me a massive psychological boost. Still freezing cold I pressed on and once I was among the houses the wind was no longer battering me and at least I wasn't getting any worse. I pushed on for about another half mile, all the time recognising that I had got too cold before I came across a small convenience shop. I immediately went inside and into the warmth and I asked the shop keeper if i can stay and warm up even though I wasn't buying anything - I didn't have any money on me.  He was very kind and gracious.

Once I had warmed up, I set off again, but now my vigour had returned I pressed on into the city centre and while it was still cold it was bearable and the building offered a lot of protection against the no longer buffeting wind. My intention was to get a bus - for which I had a pass - the rest of the way home but as I arrived at the bus station it was pulling off. Given this is England, and that any snow is a national catastrophe that slows all traffic down to a snail's pace I decided to walk to get ahead of the bus so I could catch it. It would be better than waiting any longer and risk getting too cold again. At least in walking I would generate my own heat.  It just so happened that the bus was a little bit faster than I expected and I was almost home when I over took it - some three miles later - and so it wasn't worth catching it and it was probably only five minutes later that I finally arrived home.

I immediately went to have a nice warm soaking bath and it was only years later that I realised how dangerous the situation had been. If I had gone to sleep I would not be here today so it was arguably at least as dangerous - but in a much different way - as that time when I was a mere couple of seconds from being hit by a train.

CryptoRah lives on!

As always stay safe and well my friends.