When I arrived back home in Australia in October 2019 the bushfires had already started.
The amazing temperate rainforests of Northern NSW and Qld were already on fire
Rainforests don’t burn we thought but things have change
Beautiful ancient forests dating back to Gondwanaland were on fire
It was heart braking
The long summer of bushfires cast a pall over the country
Dead wildlife, rare forests burning, towns and cities choking on the the thick smoke

My long Bike trip in Europe had left me sore, depleted and nursing some nasty Shoulder Tendinitis
So my mood was low and the acrid smoke that clung to the skies of Eastern Australia only darkened my feelings
Dark like the smokey sky and the burning bush
Dark and disturbing
On a ride to Omeo in Victoria just after Christmas , I was spooked by closeness of the fires the smoke so thick
The town cut off from electricity
An eerie smokey foreboding of the horror fires that were to be unleashed on New Years eve in the east Gippsland forests.
Spooked a bit by the smoke ad proximity of the fires I left
Leaving I had a fall off the bike on some leaf litter while pulling off the road
Dislocated thumb ouch, nothing todo but pull it back in and ride the 400+ km home.
So the New Year was seen in with a cast on my hand and Australia Burning
Indeed a summer of discontent

This summer say the sale of Futura
I did the last slip, scrub and paint

And as I write, she with her new owner is approaching her new home in Whyalla South Australia

As the final blow there is now Coronavirus
Emerging and spreading
Quiet leaving Melbourne Airport
Planes only half full
A friend has told me that I’m stubborn and wont change my plans for anyone or anything
Maybe right
As here I sit in London
I’ve collected the Mighty Breva

And on Wednesday I head to Portsmouth to start the journey south to Morocco on the ferry to Bilboa
The summer of discontent, though, is a weight on my enthusiasm
And as I have been reminded though I’m 35 between the ears im actually in a 62 year old body.
But in the world of the traveller a summer of discontent doesn’t lead to winter.
Its spring here

The daffodils are in bloom in Perivale Park
And life’s adventure must go on