Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

Rain! Rain!

There's a lot of rain coming down outside. After about a week of sultry weather, the wet stuff has finally arrived. There's no wind at ground level and so it promises to last a while and give the gardens a good soaking. I went out to collect the newspaper and could see that the frogs were out of their ponds enjoying the change.

It's still quite warm. Reading 70 degrees F on our front verandah at 6am and there's still no lightening up of the sky in the east, so the cloud cover must be pretty heavy.

I just checked the online radar. There's a huge mass of rain cloud extending over the Indian Ocean, but it's moving slowly from the northeast and away from the coast - that's odd - usually rain cloud comes from the southwest or the northwest. According to a widget on the other computer the wind is blowing at 8 kph from the southeast. Very strange

The official forecast issued a little over an hour ago says, "Cloudy with a few showers and the chance of a thunderstorm. Fresh E'ly winds." They've been forecasting electrical activity all week. We've heard the occasional rumble now and then, but nothing spectacular.

My wife has just brought me the news that I accidentally left the gas turned on to low with the garden barbecue last night. Bugger! The flame had gone out and she could smell the gas when she took Milly the pup out for morning doggy business.

The pup is settling in very well. She's been having at least two swims a day in our pool since she arrived and is obviously enjoying herself. There have been a few little accidents in the house with her toilet training, but most times she does the right thing outside.

We have a new daredevil game in our family. The dare is to see who can last the longest with the pup gently gnawing on a big toe. So far the record is about two seconds.

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I see in the paper this morning that the US toxicology report about the death of 28 year Perth filmstar Heath Ledger has revealed that he took a self-abusive cocktail of a half a dozen pharmaceutical drugs on the night he died a couple of weeks ago. His body has now been returned to Perth. Most of the media reports have said that he's been brought back to Perth "to rest."

There has been secrecy about when he'll be interred, so I suppose we won't know about it until after it's all over. A wet day like today would be a good one for a funeral.

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There was a lot of news about the US elections yesterday. I saw a few clips of Mr Obama and his followers chanting. It reminded me of the sort of mindless activity you see going on in support of the latest dictator in developing nations. I've never had much patience with slogan chanters.

© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.

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Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!