08 March 2006

Saying So Long To The Sun

I've been rather quiet on the blogging front lately, mostly because I'm down to my last couple days in Sydney and wanted to spend them in more salubrious locations than internet cafes rammed full with stoned backpackers. Plus the weather has been particularly spectacular these past few days: the haze and humidity that had been hanging over the city like a mushy blanket are gone, and the sky has turned from the pale cornflower blue of midsummer to the deeper azure of early autumn.

I note that for reasons unknown to me, Australians start their seasons not at the equinoxes and solstices, but on the first day of the month containing said E.s and S.s. Hence it has already officially been autumn here for eight days. And what sort of weather can one expect on a nice autumn day, Sydney-style? In addition to the aforementioned dazzling blue skies, temperatures in the region of 28 or 30 by day (82-86F) and cooling down to 19 or 20 (66-68F) by night. In other words, perfect beach weather. The water temperature today was 24 (75F), which as I never tire of pointing out, is warmer than the air usually gets back home in England.

Nonetheless, I must wrap myself in flannel and fur (well, not literally) and make my way back to those frozen shores, where no doubt I'll be just in time for a typical English spring featuring sudden blasts of sleet and snow alternating with howling northeasterly winds and a random glimpse of the sun on every second Tuesday. But first I'll be stopping off for a week in lovely Berkeley, California, where, if the internet is to be believed, the weather is equally bad.

Yet it would seem churlish to complain, after I've been fortunate enough to enjoy almost an entire summer here in this great city-cum-beachside resort, and as I keep reminding myself, I've got another summer coming in only a couple months. on the down side, those of you familiar with English summers will know that they are roughly equivalent to Sydney winters. Which still isn't that bad, so I'd better quit my griping now, or at least turn it to several other subjects that have aroused my ire of late.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It will be good to have you back again! You've probably chosen the right time too. It's been absolutely freezing here in London for the last few weeks, but is actually starting to get a bit milder this week. (Of course, by the time you get back, it could well be back to freezing again, knowing what it's like here!)

Anonymous said...

glad that you will be back in Berkeley again soon, the weather hasent been too great, but there are some good shows comming up at Gilman at least, hope to see you there...

your couch is still there!