Sunday, September 16, 2012

Quiet Sunday? Sort of.

Great day, but not without its drama. This morning, I managed to collide with a small child on his bike, whilst I was riding through Nonsuch Park. He wasn't looking, and just sped out into the road. I had no room to swerve, and not enough time to do anything other than slam on the brakes, and pile into him. He just fell sideways, and I went straight over the bars. Luckily, all those years of skating taught me how to stop, drop and roll pretty well, so apart from some pretty aching shoulders, I'm OK. What shook me up more than anything was that, some ten seconds later, a 4x4 roared round the corner going considerably faster than I had been going. If he'd been hit by that, it would have been very different. At that point, I just kept thinking about Marnie, and what I'd have felt like if it had been her. That shook me up more than the impact.
Apart from that - a day of cooking, and friends. Kelly & Matt came round, with Oliver and Elliot. Lots of Indian food, including a first run for my attempt at Cauliflower and Potato Gashi, which came out BRILLIANTLY. Will definitely be doing it again - and to be honest, it looks like the sort of Curry which could quite easily be adapted - the delicate flavours would go really well with some chunks of firm white fish.
Now, I'm sitting here, nursing an aching shoulder - sipping a cold beer, and getting ready to turn in.


2 comments:

Spikeybaby said...

Iain, back when I rode motorcycles and read the bike press there was a journalist who wrote that he always rode slowly in towns and built up areas even though his colleagues berated him for it, his reason was he once hit a child who ran out from the street and although it wasn't his fault he was haunted by the sound of his motorbike hitting the child and said he would never forget it. That article struck a chord with me as I used to be a bit of a lunatic on a bike and nowadays in the car I drive like an old man around town, and I'm glad.

Iain Baker said...

Yeah - the impact hasn't quite left me.
just kept thinking about Marnie. The lesson? my life is no longer just about me.