Having waited for a speeding car to pass when I got off the bus on Tuesday evening, I looked back down the hill to see two strange blue lights coming slowly towards me. Perfectly circular, smaller than the headlights on a normal car & a bit higher off the ground too. In fact one seemed a bit higher than the other & also appeared to waver from side to side.
One of the things about ageing – all your faculties grow less acute & you become ever more aware of the truth that you have to interpret what you see – it is not just a reality laid out before you.
What on earth could it be? We are used to seeing all sorts of farm or other off-road vehicles round here, but none seemed to fit this. And it was moving so slowly, perhaps it wasn’t moving at all, was just something staying put at the side of the road - an idea which was reinforced by the fact that it wasn't making any noise, not even tyres on tarmac.
Strangely perhaps, the letters U F & O did not cross my mind. But just as I was deciding it was probably safe to step off the kerb it went past - & resolved into two lycra-clad male cyclists each wearing a version of a miner’s helmet.
Of course I have seen these things before – in fact one came out of the hospital as I was waiting for the bus last night – but the lights flash, instead of burning steadily & usually provide only a faint glimmer of orangey-yellow.
I suppose the blue ones are legal tender.
