We have fallen into a time of lovely spring weather, the days mild and sunny, the nights cool. The garden is alive with insects and birds, all of whom appear to sense that the moment is now and should not be missed, for there may not be another. It's a kind of "gather ye rosebuds while ye may/ Old Time is still a-flying" point in the yearly cycle, understood instinctively in the natural world. Humans, who are becoming less in tune in spite of aeons of being, need a shove to remember what they are increasingly losing.

October is a different kind of month in the Northern Hemisphere, where autumn is settling upon the landscape. Apparently it is a month for political surprises too, one thinks of the Comey email imbroglio in 2016 which may have cost Clinton the election in the US. Australia is not immune to scandal or controversy - the current Premier of NSW is embroiled in a scandal over an ill-conceived romance with a dubious former MP.

It is easy to throw stones and from what I've heard, many have been hurled before a thought is given to the action. It is the time we are in perhaps, of instant judgement, made possible by social media, anonymity and the rise of the irrational. Readers will know that I do bang on about these things periodically.

But really, I would just welcome a return to the considered opinion. Ideas expressed calmly and rationally. Disagreements between mutually respectful parties argued out reasonably. The volume to be turned down a notch or two.