I hate to be a whingeing Pom, but it’s bloody hot here. We are currently setting records for Australia, today is the 14th straight day above 35C, that’s 95F in old money. And there are still two more days before the forecast cool change.
Yesterday was 42C (107F) and the whole of Adelaide is slowly grinding to a halt. The streets are deserted, the sky a pure piercing blue and the winds are blowing from the north which is just hot desert and feel like an open oven. I can honestly feel my face burning in the breeze.
There are power cuts due to the load the air conditioners are putting on the grid and for those of us with no air con, it’s just bloody hot. There is no respite at night either, last night was 30C which made for an uncomfortable night for Mandy and I.
Jasmin just sleeps through it though; she’s a tough little Aussie, not a big soft Pom like us two.
Just to put this all in perspective, no civilised part of Australia has had this many consecutive days this hot since records began. Adelaide has not just beaten the previous records, it has smashed them.
It is hotter here than in Alice Springs which is ridiculous, Alice is in the middle of harsh, unforgiving desert and should by rights be much warmer every single day.
There is a total fire ban across the state, which means no fires at all. Anywhere. The risk of bush fire is extreme, there have been a few big ones already not far from the city which have destroyed property and vineyards but fortunately not hurt anyone.
It will be a miracle if there are no bush fires, especially with the number of arsonists around at this time of year.
One woman who is going to trial about now is accused of lighting 45 fires in the Adelaide Hills over the last couple of years! She apparently had her two toddlers in the back of the car as she drove around setting fire to the bone dry grass and woods.
While there are more than a few kangaroos loose in her top paddock, she is not alone. I am told that a lot of the people who start these fires are members of the fire service. In a place four times as big as the UK with a population of 1.5 million there are some small gene pools and ideal places for people to go potty.
So, fingers crossed we make it to Wednesday. And a bit of rain would be nice too, not a drop since before Xmas in Adelaide.
Apart from the heat and chance of fires tearing across the state, everything is going pretty well. Jasmin is growing into a proper little monkey, crawling everywhere at great pace and nearly walking. She has also mastered getting up the stairs which I am quite proud of but which sends Mandy into fits.
She’ll be one on April 11th, everyone told us time would fly by, but I never believed them until now.
As for Adelaide, the festival season is drawing to a close and we’ll all be returning to the sleepy town/city mode for the next 9 months. The street car racing grandstands are coming down, the opera singers have packed and left and the comedians have gone to Melbourne, leaving Adelaide to relax and get on with drinking coffee and gossiping which is what we do best.
Cheers for now, hope all is well.
WM&J
Yesterday was 42C (107F) and the whole of Adelaide is slowly grinding to a halt. The streets are deserted, the sky a pure piercing blue and the winds are blowing from the north which is just hot desert and feel like an open oven. I can honestly feel my face burning in the breeze.
There are power cuts due to the load the air conditioners are putting on the grid and for those of us with no air con, it’s just bloody hot. There is no respite at night either, last night was 30C which made for an uncomfortable night for Mandy and I.
Jasmin just sleeps through it though; she’s a tough little Aussie, not a big soft Pom like us two.
Just to put this all in perspective, no civilised part of Australia has had this many consecutive days this hot since records began. Adelaide has not just beaten the previous records, it has smashed them.
It is hotter here than in Alice Springs which is ridiculous, Alice is in the middle of harsh, unforgiving desert and should by rights be much warmer every single day.There is a total fire ban across the state, which means no fires at all. Anywhere. The risk of bush fire is extreme, there have been a few big ones already not far from the city which have destroyed property and vineyards but fortunately not hurt anyone.
It will be a miracle if there are no bush fires, especially with the number of arsonists around at this time of year.
One woman who is going to trial about now is accused of lighting 45 fires in the Adelaide Hills over the last couple of years! She apparently had her two toddlers in the back of the car as she drove around setting fire to the bone dry grass and woods.
While there are more than a few kangaroos loose in her top paddock, she is not alone. I am told that a lot of the people who start these fires are members of the fire service. In a place four times as big as the UK with a population of 1.5 million there are some small gene pools and ideal places for people to go potty.
So, fingers crossed we make it to Wednesday. And a bit of rain would be nice too, not a drop since before Xmas in Adelaide.
Apart from the heat and chance of fires tearing across the state, everything is going pretty well. Jasmin is growing into a proper little monkey, crawling everywhere at great pace and nearly walking. She has also mastered getting up the stairs which I am quite proud of but which sends Mandy into fits.
She’ll be one on April 11th, everyone told us time would fly by, but I never believed them until now.As for Adelaide, the festival season is drawing to a close and we’ll all be returning to the sleepy town/city mode for the next 9 months. The street car racing grandstands are coming down, the opera singers have packed and left and the comedians have gone to Melbourne, leaving Adelaide to relax and get on with drinking coffee and gossiping which is what we do best.
Cheers for now, hope all is well.
WM&J
