Nicholas Quirke was awake early on 28th January and looking forward to a day trip to the Dandenong mountains with Kim and her Nephew Patrick, whom he hadn’t seen in person for many years.  Patrick had come to the UK a couple of times as a boy with his sadly departed Mother Lindis and on one occasion had come down to Brighton and met Harvey and Cole. Though they had not seen each other in years, through the wonder of technology and Facebook they had kept in touch. Nicholas remembered an articulate, engaging and funny boy, and it was a delight to see that he had grown into a handsome young man, though unnecessarily tall, with the same qualities in abundance. It was another extremely hot day, 38 degrees apparently; Nicholas had learned that the Australians are very conscious of the temperature. something he eschewed interest in at home. In addition to the beautiful landscape he was treated to, he was happy to discover it felt cooler, though not much,  on the mountainside and in the shade of the forest. They lunched in a charming restaurant and had a look at the shops in the village before embarking on walk through the Sherbourne forest. Kim had lost the map though somehow Nicholas had to carry the responsibility for this but they managed to find the location and get themselves to and from the car with little problem. The forest felt tropical and he was delighted to see more parrots flying around in the wild. There was an imperative to get home as it  was the final of The Australian Open and having attended and seen Roger Federer move forward into the final they had an invested interest. It was necessary for Nicholas to shower and change before the tennis, which they were watching at Kim’s cousin Maureen’s home, as the excessive heat and sweat he experienced had left him feeling and indeed smelling, a little rank. Maureens was conveniently a couple of blocks away, and she and her husband Ross were generous and entertaining hosts, though they were quoting English celebrities in the UK whom he had never heard which once again made him feel a little inadequate. It was a gripping and exciting 5 set match concluding in a victory for Federer over Cillic and an amazing 20th Grand Slam title for him. They could retire to bed content.