September 15 - Day 128 -'a companion who accompanies us from the cradle to the grave - our own self. Get on good terms with that companion - learn to live with yourself.' Agatha Christie

I’ve included the quote in the title not just because I think it is one of those statements that rings so true but also because on September 15 in 1890, Agatha Christie was born, later becoming the best selling novelist of all time. I have always said that if we can live with our own conscience, regardless of what other people do, we will be happy.

The picture, of course, doesn’t make any link with Agatha Christie - apart from the fact that it looked quite eerie this morning. and seems quite fitting for my next link below.

The other, this time very unfortunate event, that happened on the 15th September was in 1830. The day should have celebrated the opening of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway, attended by a number of dignitaries , including the MP for Liverpool and former Cabinet minister, William Huskisson. While his train was stopped to refill with water, he decided to go to greet the Duke of Wellington in his carriage. Unfortunately, he stumbled and fell. At this same moment, the famous George Stephenson Rocket Train was moving down the track and Huskisson.’s legs fell right into its path. He died later that day, becoming the first person ever to die in a railway accident. I suppose it reminds us that the unexpected can happen and while none of us wants to be the first person to have something horrible happen to us, we all know that tragedy can happen at the best of times. My Mum was, as I’ve said before, someone who when she died last year could completely live with her own conscience and the principles she lived by. I trust and hope that when the time comes (hopefully not for a long while despite some drivers’ approach to cyclists) to look back at all aspects of my life, I am able to do the same.