Hit and mist

1. I wasn’t going to tell this story in my blog, until the headline came to me and the temptation of a pun proved stronger than my inclination to omit this tale under the “what happens on study leave stays on study leave” secrecy clause. A vehicle turned left across the cycle lane in front of me last night, apparently unaware that I was alongside. I managed to brake and swerve enough to prevent major disaster: I ended up giving the vehicle a moderately firm hip and shoulder bump without being knocked over. I might have had some noticeable impact if the vehicle had been a mini or something lightweight or even Barry Hall*, but unfortunately it was a transit van. So, no dents on him (there’s no justice!), but at least no bruises on me, although I’m feeling a little bit jarred today.

2. It hasn’t put me off cycling however. This morning’s ride was a bit of a novelty because instead of frost there was a nice fog, reducing visibility to about 200m in places (less if you are a transit van driver!). It was still cold enough to want a demister for my glasses. I can see that I am going to have to risk the frozen eyeballs and forego the spectacles; fortunately I am only slightly myopic so I can cycle perfectly well without them (it’s just other people driving transit vans that have trouble apparently!).

Just before I left for work I noticed a full moon setting behind the trees in the north. It looked quite spectacular through the fog and the naked winter trees. The more alert of you may be surprised by my claim that it was setting in the north. In fact it was to the north-west, but with a surprisingly strong northern component. I keep forgetting that the moon, too, moves sort of seasonally north and south in the sky like the sun, only with greater frequency. In Australia, this means that it can appear to be quite far to the south in the winter when the sun has headed north, and yet about a fortnight later is more northerly again.

It’s the little differences like this that bring you up short when travelling, together with the recognition of similarities (isomorphisms). It’s recognising that Currys is the equivalent of Harvey Norman’s, that Mars bars might look familiar but don’t taste exactly the same as the ones back home, that the evening meal might be called supper, that the £1 coin is the same size as our $2 coin (or thereabouts) and is worth about the same but that this means you might get confused and think that it’s £2, and any one of a myriad other tiny things that remind you about the assumptions and take-for-granteds in your everyday life.

* For the benefit of any non-Australian non-sporting readers: Barry Hall is a rather solidly-built Australian Rules Football player, with the sort of aggressive reputation that might cause you to have second thoughts about giving him a hip-and-shoulder bump. Hip-and-shoulder bumps are one of the accepted ways of deflecting an opponent’s pursuit of the ball, provided the ball is close and you don’t go for the opponent’s head. The ideal hip-and-shoulder bump sends your opponent sprawling while you maintain your balance and proceed to grab the ball and run.