There isn’t much gardening getting done here at the moment, it’s far too hot, so here is a little conundrum for you to ponder.

We haven’t been away on holiday since 1980. There have been various reasons for this over the years, 5 cats, self-employment, money and my fear of flying being the main ones. To make up for this we do like our day trips to the seaside and one place we like to go is Whitby.

We normally go once a year, it would be nice to go more, but the 200 mile round trip is a bit daunting for an ageing, sole driver like me. This year, what with the poor weather and my bad arm, it got to the end of August and we still hadn’t done our Whitby trip.

Fearing we were running out of ‘good’ weather (I use the term loosely as the summer has been rubbish this year) we picked a promising day in the 2nd week of September and set off. It was pleasant enough, but the wind was cold, which just took the edge of our enjoyment.

Part of our Whitby tradition is to climb the 199 steps to reach the ruined abbey on the cliff top, a truly spectacular climb, to an equally spectacular and magnificent location, with breathtaking views. But this climb is not for the faint hearted.

There are seats situated at regular intervals up the steps for people to stop and  catch their breath. We had just got to the very top and were doing exactly that when an elderly gentleman walking towards the top of the steps, tripped and fell.

It was one of those slow motion moments where he seemed to be on the ground for ages and  I had visions of paramedics and rescue helicopters given our remote location. In fact he was probably only on his knees for a few seconds and was helped to our bench by various passers by.

He said he felt OK apart from a small cut on his head, and seemed a bit over whelmed by all the attention he was getting. In the end a lady provided a plaster for his cut whilst Peter and I offered to accompany him down the 199 steps so he could be safely on his way.

A couple of days ago when the weather was so hot it was breaking records for this time of year, we commented that with the benefit of hindsight, we should have postponed our Whitby trip and gone during this heatwave.

It was this discussion that prompted the question. ” If we hadn”t gone to Whitby on that particular day, would the elderly gentleman still have fallen?”

My response was yes he would, as our actions wouldn’t affect his decision to take a day trip to the seaside. However, Peter said that our presence in Whitby on that day would affect the dynamic of the people walking up and down the steps.

A  person going at a different speed or different direction because of us, could have affected where the gentleman was walking and therefore he may not have tripped up. I’m not sure if this could exactly be classed as ‘chaos theory’ but I’m sure you get the picture.

So, there we are. Was it our fault that he fell?  Discuss.