Black Saturday

Who would have thought radio would become the media hero during Victoria’s bushfire tragedy. But radio, that old-fashioned medium my grandparents called ‘the wireless’, has proved to be the most vital media of all, in fact, far more useful than the Internet and television. That’s partly because the radio has become a quasi ‘bush telegraph’. … Read more about Victoria’s bushfires: radio to the rescue

We haven’t been affected by these bushfires in the way so many others here in Victoria, Australia, have very tragically been. We experienced a fright on Saturday: our hearts were racing at the thought of a possible evacuation that we were unprepared for, and the adrenalin was rushing as we packed bags, put wet towels … Read more about Victoria’s bushfires: random reflections on the trivial and the tragic, mostly the tragic

Tonight the sky is glowing an eerie orange. It’s only the sunset, but it’s a reminder of the tragedy that unfolded yesterday afternoon and continued throughout the night. And sadly for many people it’s not over. I’ve just watched the evening news on television and am stunned at the devastation caused from the fires across … Read more about Bushfires in Bendigo, part 2: the very tragic aftermath and a national tragedy

My uncle’s house, Eaglehawk (Bendigo) Australia, 1.30am 8/2/09:My how quickly things can change. This morning I woke at 6.30am, made coffee, then answered emails that had come in overnight from UK editors before getting stuck into writing the book. During a coffee break around 11am, I blogged about my online pottering during coffee breaks. Terence … Read more about Bushfires in Bendigo, part 1: why I’ve been humming The Clash’s “Should I (we) stay or should I (we) go now?” in my head all night