Arrived home this morning to an Edinburgh that surpassed ‘driech’. Rain has been a constant companion on our travels over the last three weeks. In Singapore, sudden and brief thunderstorms. Expected. In New Zealand, persistent heavy showers. We knew that would happen this time of year. But we and our hosts kept saying ‘Never mind, it’ll be hot in Australia.’ The four weeks prior to our arrival in Brisbane had been uncommonly hot, leading to strict controls on water usage. We arrived to overcast skies and woke to heavy rain which lasted for a day and a night and made the front page of all the Queensland newspapers. Everyone happy to see it except us. We had a wet day, a damp day, two hot days and then went to Sydney where, after a beautiful morning, the rain found us for the afternoon and evening and drove us into the cinema (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). By the time we got to Hong Kong it had become a running joke but sure enough, on the second of our two nights there, as we wandered the Temple Street Night Market – what was that? Surely not? Yes it is, stallholders madly rushing to put up plastic shelters. I’m left thinking, if I could only control this new-found power in an era of global warming, I could have power, power beyond my wildest dreams (exit burbling).
The diary of the trip will be updated tomorrow, with photos. Just now I’m wading through junk mail and trying to reacquaint myself with who I was before.
