We are now in the middle of winter, the days being quite pleasant and sunny, the nights chilly. I have been re-engaging with my woodsman's skills, using my trusty splitter to get logs into the smaller size required to fit in the combustion heater. Not being the Temple of Adonis that it once was, my body creaks under the strain of thwacking wood into shape. I like doing it, its just that things are wearing out after much use.

As for the pandemic that dare not speak its name, the second wave is upon us, having an epicentre in the southern state of Victoria. Generally speaking, the authorities have handled the whole outbreak fairly well, the population has taken its lumps with reasonably good humour and it seems we are well situated to deal with whatever is next. Those could, of course be famous last words.

How different is the view across the Pacific, where the world's preeminent democracy is in what can only be described as a shambles. The daily footage is most disheartening, for while most people are likely doing the right thing, a critical mass is not. America's second wave looks horrific. There is an election in November and I pray that at least one of the causes of this shambles is gone and quit the scene. If ever the US needed an unhurried, decent and stable pair of hands at the helm it is now.