Dear Mark, I sometimes wonder if overseas news reports tally with the real situation on the ground - but here it is indeed rather sad news. Fires in South Australia have killed a number of people on the Eyre Peninsula. I believe Canberra is nervous of a repeat of their experience last year, and Sydney had the severe fires in the northern suburbs several years ago. Here in Perth, I have no illusions about the homes up in the Darling Range east of the city - many are built of wood and a lot of the owners seem careless of fire breaks. It is just a matter of time. I am glad to live on a fairly bare suburban block. We are 10 kilometres from the ocean and it is hard to set fire to paving bricks. I suppose being in the flight path of the Flying Doctor service from Jandakot is a hazard..... Uncle Dick ============================================================================================================= To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.