I thought I’d write about the weather in my first ever blog entry, after all it seems to be one of the main reasons most of us Poms up anchor and move here. Today in Brisbane, it’s hot. Yesterday in Brisbane it was hot. Tomorrow in Brisbane it will be hot. I need to add humid to each of these descriptions too.

For anyone who has lived in Britain all their lives with the odd trip to the Costa Del Sol thrown in, you’ll find summertime in Brisbane a new experience. When my parents arrived to visit us and they got off the flight in the early morning, one of their first questions was “when does the day start to cool off”. They were a bit disorientated about the time - poor things. They thought it was early evening. I felt almost cruel telling them that the sun had just risen and it was only going to get hotter…… and hotter…… and stickier as the day went on. So if you’re a pom thinking about joining the stampede to the subtropics, the first thing you need to think about is that old saying - “if you can’t stand the heat……” Because for three or four months every year here, the heat and humidity feels like it will melt you.

Blimey, I’m beginning to sound like the proverbial whinging pom. Quickly cuts to a fresh train of thought. The good news is that the heat can’t be that bad - we’re still here after a couple of years - and loving it.