quicko: rain, rain, go away

In the throes of finally remembering to write an actual article, I completely forgot I always give a quicko in the meantime ... so here goes Monday, from Tuesday.

It's been raining a lot in Sydney. So much in fact, that I let someone give me an umbrella. Generally I have utterly no use for umbrellas -- they're bulky, get in the way, hardly help all that much and, besides, I like being in the rain. But it's been so torrential lately I accepted an umbrella on Friday.

It's not a great umbrella -- I think either I was going to get it or the trash was --and generally I spend more time trying to keep it from flipping up than walking peacefully along under it. But it's been doing the job, trusty little thing.

Which brings me to my actual observation: Sydneysiders think "winter" means "rain." They accept chills and a bit of wind and puddles, but don't understand anything so intense as requiring central heating, much less snow. And, recalling how little they like rain in general, you can guess how little they like winter.

Me? I'm fairly ambivalent. Oh, look, it's a bit damp today. Oh, look, it's a bit dry today. Oh, look, who cares, I'm not going outside anyway. Welcome to winter.