A Christmas Story

This is Ola...

Town was heaving with shoppers, I’d done my few jobs and needed coffee. The only remaining free seat in the café was opposite her. She was browsing a couple of newly published books on cycling. She saw me glancing at them and asked me if I cycled (you know the answer to that!); we introduced ourselves and for the next hour we talked about:

Bikes: cycling generally and cycle routes across town to avoid cars, Dutch bikes, Pashleys...
Music: she’s a musician; plays various instruments, just taught herself the harmonica. Led us into jazz, blues, electronica, indie, the importance of the lyric...
Pubs: best in York for good beers & atmosphere, best for live music...
Culture & heritage: British, Polish, where they come together in York...
Family and growing up: home, childhood experience spilling over into adulthood, life changes, her daughter, J and our four daughters...
Art: the seeing eye, the hearing ear, instinct, healing...
Photography: cameras, film, digital, all genres of the art, but eventually around to portraits and above all, the need to just like people for peoples’ sake and gain their trust. Here, she’s looking for an image she wanted to show me...

So, thanks Ola, have a very merry Christmas.