Sunny Afternoon

As Ms Wuggle has indicated in her post of a few hours previously, we are not now intending to visit Australia this September. We had intended to come over for the World SF Convention in Melbourne -- only the fourth time the Worldcon has been held in Australia -- over the first weekend of the month, which would have provided an opportunity to meet up with lots of people we haven't seen for some years before going on to family-related stuff in the rest of the month; but, as Judith has related, the family-related stuff has fallen through one item after the other, leaving only the Worldcon. Which unfortunately isn't enough of a draw on its own.

Not visiting Australia in September, but deferring a visit until April next year, removes quite a lot of pressure in a number of areas. For one thing, it means that I won't be using my entire annual leave allowance in this calendar year, and will be able to carry an unused portion forward into the next. For another, inevitable slippages in the timetables for the various pieces of legislation that I'm shepherding through -- coupled with uncertainty about how the new government wants to see things done -- means that my absence in September could have been a bit awkward. For a third, we won't be absent during the first part of the harvest season in the garden and on the allotment, so can both rethink our planting plans and not have to worry about tasking someone else to look after the weeding and watering duties.

But, speaking of gardening: today was bright and warm; utterly cloudless (until early evening, when a thin skein blew in from the west -- and carried straight on; the night sky is a clear dark blue) and with temperatures several degrees above those normal for this time of year. A bit oppressive for Ms Wuggle (she says -- even though she grew up in the tropics) but just dandy from my perspective (I strip down to next to nothing and stretch out to "toast my buns", as we say here).

I also took a few photographs, which are below.