RandyDandy, an American Expat in London

Recently finished reading Bill Bryson’s travel memoir of Britain, “Notes From a Small Island.” A fantastic read, capturing glimpses of the country as it existed in the mid-90s and sketches of a range of British people, eccentric and otherwise.

While traveling through Malhamdale in North Yorkshire, he tells of the “Malhamdale Wave,” a highway tradition which strikes close to home and my heart. Local drivers passing on roads will acknowledge each other with a slight but significant wave involving only a raised index finger on the hand situated at the top of the steering wheel. Bill was thoroughly familiar with this tradition, as he lived for years in the Yorkshire Dales. Northwest Oklahoma, where I grew up and learned to drive, shares the tradition. Some drivers take the gesture even further, raising the whole hand. Perhaps other rural cultures do the same in other parts of the U.S. and the world. I’ve yet to experience it outside of my native territory, apart from that other gesture involving the neighboring finger.

My photographic partner in crime, Wardi, and I were conversing a few days ago about family, and I related my great-grandmother’s lifetime ritual of bathing her hair in rain water. To her dying day, she had a full head of dark hair. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Wardi’s grandmother practised the same ritual. If I remember correctly, her hair had turned grey but otherwise retained its softness and the texture of a much younger woman’s hair.

Right now I can’t think of a concluding observation that doesn’t sound trite. Insert your own here.

See you on the other side of the world.

Tags:   Bill Bryson · books · Britain · culture · Malhamdale · Northwest Oklahoma · Notes From a Small Island · rituals · UK · Wardi · world · Yorkshire1 Comment