The Australian Bushfires

Been sent some amazing photographs of the Australian Bushfires currently raging across the south of the continent.

AUSTRALIA, BLOODY BUT UNBOWED

Thank you for these, David. They are beautiful.

It's all so very, very sad and my heart goes out to everyone suffering through this. And to think they were all caused deliberately. Arrest those criminals!!! Give them life imprisonment! Hate, hate, hate!!!

But I do have to say, while acknowledging the horror of what is happening, that, first in the heatwave and now in the fire, it's both strange and wonderful how the reclusive koala has featured so large. It's almost like they've come to realise that, in a crisis, humans can be friends.

So let's look at another shot of our old friend Sam the Koala reaching out to touch her rescuer!

Sam.

Oh, by the way, did you read that other story about Sam? It happened at the animal shelter these CFA guys took her to after this famous water incident. Seems another group had already rescued a koala in the area and had taken him to the shelter earlier, and when they saw each other, both started to squeal and Sam started squirming so much they let her go, and she raced over and the two koalas hugged each other for ages and everyone said it genuinely looked like they were both crying. This story made the Hong Kong newspapers.