Before the gig in Zoetermeer, Abi and I had lunch with my parents at the Kop van de Haven restaurant in IJmuiden. The restaurant is located right at the end of the dock that houses the ferry terminal for the crossing to Newcastle. We ate there with Abi’s parents earlier in the year and enjoyed it. Seeing as mum and dad were taking the ferry yesterday evening anyway, it was a great place to have lunch just before they left.
We drove back over the locks, and along the North bank of the IJ. On our way we spotted a curious atmospheric phenomenon. Directly opposite the setting sun, there was a distinct glowing “V” shape, like a colossal searchlight just beyond the horizon:
We’re not sure what it was. My guess is that the “V” shape was just an effect of perspective, and that we were really seeing horizontal lines overhead converging towards (and beyond) the vanishing point. Maybe there was some kind of horizontal banding in the air above us (zebra-striped bands of particulates or moisture?) and the sun was shining directly along one of thebands, making it appear to glow in contrast to its neighbours. Whatever the case, it was very striking, and it persisted most of the way home.
