SO NOW I'M GETTING HAILED ON IN CANBERRA

I'm starting to think I harbour a bad weather curse. If only I'd returned to Aus earlier, the drought would have broken years ago. Watch out Brisbane, I'm arriving tomorrow!

(BTW it is REALLY hard to get a good photo of hail.
Don't mock me.)

DARK AND STORMY

So much for my escape into sunshine. A few days ago Brisbane was hit by the biggest storm in twenty years. I thought it was awesome. It broke about 3pm, the sky darkened, the rain started pounding down on the roof, and the thunder was the loudest I've ever heard. Lightning flashed, the noise of the rain was overwhelming and the thunder was ear-splitting. I love storms and was enjoying it thoroughly. Then there was a clap of thunder that made me physically jump and sent a twinge of fear tingling up my spine. At that point I knew that this was more than a wicked summer thunderstorm.

When I was living here in 1998, one day about this time of year saw me huddled in the office with workmates while a massive storm raged outside. Looking out the window I saw a roof flapping through the air and trees being whisked down the street. The storm on Sunday sounded at least as angry as that one, and even though I couldn't see any household pets flying around the sky where I was, I was sure there would be carnage elsewhere. And there was, check out this Youtube video below to get an idea of the ferocity of the storm.

Of course, everyone else in Brisbane was well aware that there was a big scary storm coming. I've just been a bit oblivious because of the family medical situation at the moment. I still can't talk about details, but it's traumatic to say the least. I've led an exceptionally lucky life. When something like this happens it puts all other concerns in perspective. I don't like talking about serious topics in this blog, as you may have noticed. It's just a bit difficult when my whole world is revolving around this person battling in a hospital bed at the moment. I'm flying to Sydney tomorrow, and it's going to be so hard to leave. Thanks to everyone who has sent messages of support, I'll keep you updated offline about how things are going.

LEAVING LONDON. AGAIN.

My last few weeks in London flew away from me "with indecent haste" (that's for you, S!). I'd like to say it was with a whir of parties and reckless indulgence in the full spectrum London's hedonistic pleasures, but mostly I was just working, job-hunting and packing. During my last two weeks the weather turned particularly cold, which helped alleviate somewhat the trauma of leaving my fabulous friends, house, and lifestyle in London for a return to the mundanity of my home country. Once again I miss out on a frosty christmas, and will be forced to sweat my way through the festive season in the southern hemisphere. Same old, same old.

I've been offered a job back with the government department I worked for up until four years ago, which is good. Annoyingly, there are about a thousand security hoops I need to jump through until that offer can be formalised and I can start work. I need to start earlier rather than later to help build my case for a return visa to the UK, so the delay is really frustrating. Until that comes through, my plan was to hang about and visit family up in Rockhampton but a family medical situation means I've been down in Brisbane instead. I can't really go into details here, but lets just say I've spent more time at the hospital than I ever have before and hopefully ever will again. It's not been the relaxing break I was hoping for, but on the other hand it's been great to be able to be here and support my family rather than my usual modus operandi of insulation through geographical distance.

I've also been quite impressed with the changes in Brisbane since I last lived here. There has been a lot of infrastructure development - new busways and stations, redeveloped train stations, a new cafe and shopping precinct in the Valley and a big public square in the city. It's really impressive. Plus the weather has been fabulous. Apart from my first day, in which I almost melted into my boots, it's been pleasantly warm. I've conquered my jetlag thanks mostly to a marathon sleep-free session. I last woke up in London at 7am on a Tuesday and didn't sleep until around 3am Thursday morning. A couple of ten-hour nights seems to have put me back on track now.

I've not really contacted any of my Brissy friends as I'm busy spending most of every day at the hospital, so don't be offended if you haven't heard from me. I wouldn't mind coming back up here again for a weekend some time soon though. My first priority is to get this job sorted out and start working. Did I mention it's in Canberra? Try to suppress that involuntary shudder, at least it will provide me with the motivation to get the hell out of there and go back to the UK!