Used to hate it, now I love it

IT'S been a rainy old weekend. Warm but rainy. And the garden looks a totally different sight already.

After weeks of drought-like weather, the surrounding shrubbery has taken on a new look. Within days, the dusty and threadbare back garden has been transformed into what now resembles a lush paddock ... and it's all down to a hefty serving of the wet stuff.

I don't resent the rain here like I did in the UK. It's a powerful and much valued commodity that's taken for granted - and here, there's a severe shortage of it.

I have memories of planning countless social events with friends and family, only to have those plans scuppered by Wales' torrential downfalls. At the races, it rained. At the park, it rained. During the height of summer barbecues and camping trips, it rained. It was something we simply got used to. And it was something we simply always moaned about.

But although Melbourne gets its fair share, rain rarely stops play. It's usually warm enough to dry up right after itself and most of the public barbecue areas are under cover - predominantly to provide shade from the rays but to the contrare, to keep one's rib-eye and kanga-bangers dry too.

We've re-trained ourselves to switch off the taps when we're brushing our teeth, only fill the sink with the amount of water needed to wash the dishes and limit our time in the shower.
The cars rarely get a clean and the plants barely get a soaking, but that's purely down to the fact that I can never drag myself out of bed to make the 6am-8am twice weekly curfew in which to do it.

The time slot is most definitely one that deters the would-be water wasters and is for those diehard fans of the hosepipe. Anyone found working the water out of this time zone risks hefty fines and residential water restrictions.

I can't afford to have any more fines after the ones I've been hit with, thanks to my heavy right foot, so the more rain down here, the better, in my book.