Encounters

Tivoli, MariainWales and I waited on Oxford station concourse for the blipmeet arrivals. Trains came and went and only SpotsOfTime showed up. I knew Oxford was down for unremitting cloud but had I really been stood up by 7 blippers? Um no, there they all were standing in the forecast-defying sun outside the station.

It was great to meet everyone and chat as we wandered round Oxford. I'd planned a route I hoped would be as interesting, varied and manageable as possible but everyone was very keen to sit down once we reached the (expensive - sorry) riverside pub at the end.

En route: this celebration of someone's end of exams. I can get a bit puritan about the quantity of fizz that ends up on the streets in this privileged place but that emotion was outclassed when the entourage of this student, who's probably been here three years, referred to me as a tourist taking photos. Upstart.

Another in Extras.

The variety of things that captured our attention is clear from other blippers' takes on the day:

FionaMuddyFox
fitzbilly
Hildasrose and Rob 
Landscapeartist
MariainWales 
SpotsOfTime
Taffydil 
Tivoli with an excellent summary of the day
woodleywise 

A rather unexpected end to the day for me. As I was cycling round the roundabout just outside the station on my last journey home, a car coming on to the roundabout failed to stop. I saw it just in time to turn my bike parallel to it but we collided and I came off. In my very slow-motion fall the only thing that mattered was protecting my camera and somehow I managed to make its padded case reach the ground quite gently. 

Suddenly the world was full of very kind people. A lovely woman was beside me instantly and told me she'd wait with me in the road until I was ready to get up. She asked whether I wanted an ambulance but it was clear from my indignation and lucidity that I was OK: the very first thing I did was to ask her husband to take a picture of where the car, my bike and I were in the road. I then informed the driver forcefully that I was on a roundabout and didn't he know I had priority? He was abjectly apologetic and agreed it was absolutely his fault.

A man from the pizza shop opposite brought me a bottle of water. A fire fighter stopped his fire engine and came to ask whether I needed help. Another driver came and said he'd seen what had happened and gave me his number as a witness. 

It was immensely reassuring to discover so much kindness and concern in so few square metres but I realised that the car driver, who must have been in at least as much shock as I was, was getting almost no attention. We ended up being concerned for each other and he even offered to drive me home. (Not an offer I was ready to accept!)

I'm astonished that both my bike and I are still working just as well as we were before the collision.