It would be great if we didn't have to pay attention to clocks. When all the kids are home with homeschooling, we can keep pretty well any schedule we like. (But, sadly, we've had to send three to school this term, so we're dictated to by the clock now).

We're still on daylight savings time here. I think we come off in a couple of weeks. (Better make sure we don't miss our sleep-in).

But in any case, why is the writer getting up at the ungodly hour of 6.30 (really 5.30) anyhow? Surely there's a 10am Mass he can get to somewhere.

I wouldn't assume so. I can't offhand think of a regularly scheduled daily Mass in this area between 8 or so and noon, and this is a fairly Catholic area. Many early ones are at 7 or 7:30, the latest at 8. And maybe he has to be at work, or children at school, or something.

The only thing good thing about it to me is coming off it--the sleep-in you mention.

Your backward seasons never fail to make my head spin. I don't know why I have such a hard time with it. My mind wants to envision it as time going backwards or something.

I cannot speak for all Australians, but this Aussie is getting a possibly perverse delight in making people's heads spin re: the seasons!

Although, I must beware, for I will no doubt reap what I sow. Given that a move to the Northern hemisphere seems very likely (Edinburgh is the current favourite), my own head may be spinning quite wildly soon.

Oh, I assumed we were talking about Sunday Mass b/c the daylight savings time here always ends on a Sat night/Sun morning. It's our Sunday Mass which is at 10am. Although our parish is pretty slack and has a 9am weekday Mass! Hobart workers have to go up to town for their early morning Mass if they want to go during the week.

I was annoyed by the banner on my toolbar which advertises links to various websites. Links to such things as "online dating" kept popping up. I think it was because I have been reading articles on marriage. Anyway, I didn't want to see these any more, so I typed "no dating online" into my google bar and searched for the term in the hope that my 'puter would get the idea! It seems to have worked b/c now I'm getting advertising for dinnerware (after looking at IKEA dinnerware last night).

I never install anybody's "helpful" toolbar on my computer. That kind of stuff drives me crazy.

The idea of moving that far must be a bit scary.

We used to have a Scotland correspondent, but she moved to Indiana, so you can take over from her if you end up there.

Excellent piece by Francesca--thank you, I hadn't seen it, as I don't read FT's blog regularly. There is just way too much stuff out there.

Right, I knew you were not a native, but you can still be a correspondent. :-) Like the old "foreign correspondent" idea--I suppose that's a disfavored term nowadays, as "foreign" seems to be frowned upon.