Cold Evenings, Being in Oxford

It has been one of the coldest Novembers to date, and certainly nothing like the previous two Novembers I have experienced in Oxford. I was quite surprised to see my bike seat frosted over when I unchained it to ride back to my flat on Woodstock Road a couple of days ago, and it is some measure of how truly freezing it is that the days following that were colder still. The previous two days have been rather misty (or foggy - I prefer misty as it sounds more enchanting and less threatening) too boot - you can feel the moisture in the air. It is indeed rather disturbing to read the weather forecast and see a low of -4 predicted for this evening, and -2 and -1 respectively for the days prior to and following tonight.

How do you know you are in Oxford? Well, you stand at the side of the street late at night, enjoying the streetlights in the mist, and the empty road stretching out before you, the scene lending an almost mysterious feel to things. Within the space of 5 minutes, as you stand there with a friend, two seperate people crash their bikes upon passing you (going in opposite directions) mainly because they are too drunk to walk straight, yet alone balance themselves on two wheels. What a way to spoil the magic of the moment.