Science by the sea at Lorne 看海——和開會議——的日子

February is the peak of summer in southern Australia and the best time to enjoy what summer has to offer. We scientists only know it too well, so every year we go to this seaside town of Lorne, about 150 km from Melbourne, for the annual conference on protein science.
二月正值澳洲的盛暑，是享受夏日最佳時機，我們做研究的也深明此道理，所以每年這個時候都會在離墨爾本150公里的海濱小鎮Lorne開一年一度的蛋白質科學會議。













Lorne has certainly received a facelift during my six years of absence from that place. Thankfully the laid back atmosphere and the lure of the sea still abound. In the mornings the beach is just an au naturel mix of golden sand, roaring waves and refreshing smells of the sea, spared of people save the odd few talking a stroll or walking their dogs. But come the afternoons and the beach will be invaded en masse by sunbathers, swimmers and surfers taking advantage of this natural playground.
和Lorne這個地方闊別六年了，Lorne的面貌光鮮了不少，可幸那種海濱悠閑的氣氛和大海的氣息依然不變，早上的海灘，金黃的沙、澎湃的浪濤和清新的海洋氣味依舊，寬廣的海灘，祇是三數漫步者和攜犬者的天下，到了下午，海灘便給弄潮兒進駐，遊泳的、曬太陽的和玩衝浪的都有。














The beach is a popular hang-out for the birds too!
連雀鳥都喜歡在海灘結集！






It’s the first time I attended this conference in the last 5 years. The last time the conference was relocated to another town as the conference venue at Lorne was undergoing renovations. Now not only the layout of the venue has changed but also how people like to congregate during free times, such as the evening social sessions which has now become a solely indoor affair, as opposed to the past when people shuttle between a hall and an open lawn throughout the evening. The only thing that was surprisingly untouched was the lecture hall, which was still crowded and stuffy: wasn’t a main aim of the renovations for improving the lecture hall, I wondered. Although the venue has had a make-over and lecture topics have progressed since 5 years ago, there’s still a sense of familiarity with so many of the same faces that I’ve met through past conferences. It’s always nice to be able to meet up with them again and have a good chat.
我也沒參與這個會議五年了，對上一次剛好因為會場要進行翻新而移師到另一個地方，這次重臨舊地，會場的佈局改變了不少，很多以前「半戶外式」的活動，例如每晚的社交時段都變成了純室內活動，唯一是那個又擠又焗的演講廳，竟然絲毫不動，我不明白，當年翻新的一大目標，不是要改善演講廳麼？儘管場地不同了，演講的課題亦推陳出新，但這個會議總有一樣是多年不變的，就是一張張熟悉的面孔，每年都出席會議的多位前輩，這次又再碰面了，闊別多年，能再次寒喧一下真好。

Every afternoon from 13:00 to 16:00 is set aside as free time, and it’s such a waste not to make use of the good weather and proximity to the beach. A swim in the sea was quite enjoyable as the water wasn’t too cold and the waves not too rough. (Normally the sea is colder with higher waves as that stretch of the coast faces the open waters of Bass Strait. It’s very well suited for surfing, even if that requires quite a thick wet suit.) On another day I also went for a saunter along the coast with a French colleague, to the pier that we could just see from our hotel room every day. The walk itself wasn’t too long; as it turned out, it would have only taken 10 minutes had we not paused so frequently to savour the scenery and to shoot photos. I almost thought I had gone back to the Manly Scenic Walk in Sydney two months ago, while my French colleague said the scenery reminded him of Corsica, a place that I still miss. Such were the good times.
會議期間每天下午一至四點都是自由活動時間，難得海灘近在咫尺，當然得好好利用一下。游泳那天沒令我失望，海水不祇不太冷，而且難得不太大浪，所以游得頗暢快（正常來說那一帶海岸面對巴斯海峽Bass Strait，海水一般較冷而且大浪，固然適合玩衝浪，但得穿厚的衝浪衣才行。）另一天跟法國同事沿着海濱小徑，走到每天從酒店都遠望到的小碼頭，路程雖祇是短短十分鐘（如果一口氣走的話），但沿路的景色，總是令我們想放慢腳步，細意欣賞，走着走着，還以為自己回到兩個月前在悉尼Manly海灘散步的時候，法國同事則覺得，景色有點像科西卡島——那裡至今仍叫我懷念啊。












The pier (left) and the beach at Lorne (right)
碼頭（左）和Lorne的海灘（右）















Views along the walk 海岸的景色












On the pier 碼頭上


Apart from conference attendants and other tourists, Lorne had a rare visitor one night. A koala was spotted up on the tree at the entrance to the conference venue! It struck everyone as being odd, since that tree was not a eucalyptus where koalas usually reside. The poor koala was probably not feeling too comfortable on the tree to start with, and it didn’t help that many curious on-lookers were gathering at the foot of the tree watching it! It was climbing up and down the tree all the time appearing somewhat agitated (in contrast to the normally more sedated state where koalas just feed themselves and rest on the trees peacefully). Eventually it decided to abandon the tree and started walking along the street, presumably in search of a better tree. But then it attracted even more attention. One of the tourists went to the extreme and bent down for a photo opportunity with this animal when it paused for a rest. The koala has turned itself into an instant star of Lorne – albeit, I’m sure, a reluctant one.
除了與會者和其他遊客外，Lorne還吸引了一位稀客。有天晚上，會場正門的一棵高樹上，無端端來了一頭樹熊！那棵並非樹熊慣住的桉樹（亦稱尤加利樹Eucalyptus），而且樹下還圍了一班好奇的人，所以看見牠渾身不自在，不停爬上爬下，到後來更爬了下來，沿着馬路走——我想是為了找另一棵樹吧，那時引來更多目光和攝影機的閃光，有遊人更趁牠停下來時蹲下跟牠拍照，那頭樹熊一時間變成Lorne的明星——儘管我想牠是十萬個不願意的！
















Lorne has left me with lots of memorable views, not least what I saw the first thing every morning. After waking up I was greeted by the brilliance of the rising gun, and as its golden rays glistened off the sea, the whole world took on a different hue, one that gave people a sense of warmth and hope for the day to come. I hope the Year of the Tiger is the dawn for the better things to come!
在Lorne還有一個令我難忘的景色，就是每天剛起床都看到的旭日初昇，鮮豔的金黃色，照在澹淡的海浪中，金光蕩漾，令人感受到溫暖和希望，但願各位虎年每一天都是朝氣勃勃、生氣盅然！