Waving

Travelling by train as a kid with my Mum and Grandmother, Nan they would encourage me to wave at the people watching the train go by. The same when we travelled by boat, or coach. The experience did not extend to travel by motorbike or even car, as we didn't have one and my family were never keen on motorbikes (but Nan was a cool mother and rode a tandem!).

The waving habit died when I became a 'cool' teenager and waving was beneath me. Well today, I must have waved at a thousand people. Kids, men, women even cows. Nan would be proud of me.

The power of a wave should not be underestimated. It smooths the path in front as you, a potential threat, approach. Although bikes are very common in India, you still detect a slight apprehension as you ride through semi-remote villages. That apprehension disappears in an instant with a friendly wave. The effect on kids is even more dramatic as their faces light up with beaming smiles. And most people wave back, the kids manically. It's certainly not regarded with disdain as it would be in most of the developed world. It works too for lorry drivers you've just overtaken, who respond with a beep or a musical cacophony of horns produced by their highly 'tuned' engineering (and artistic) master pieces.

So the next time you drive/ride through Peckham: wave. No, may be not!