Scorchio

I have been introduced to a whole new world and it's BBC World. They do a weather forecast where they randomly pick one or more regions of the globe and cover their weather for the next few days. For some reason they often seem to include the Middle East, so you're treated to the sight of some poor woman having to say 'Jordan, very hot and dry,' 'Syria will be hot, and dry,' 'Saudi Arabia, extremely hot there at the moment. And quite dry.' Given the fact that this seems to have been the year when the really interesting weather started, it seems odd to concentrate on the desert.

A news item last night however informed us that Europe (and the UK in particular) is heading for an unusually cold winter this year, and in case we hadn't put two and two together yet, pointed out that fuel prices are shooting up. At least when the oil and gas run out and nobody can afford to heat anywhere anymore I shall cope better than some, as I'm being toughened up by the Berlin habit of keeping one's heating at a temperature that just about stops ice forming in the home but certainly doesn't in any way make one feel warm. I seem to spend quite a lot of time at the moment checking radiators thinking that they must not be working. Nicht warm genug, indeed.

I can't decide whether Hertha or FC Union should be my football team for the duration of my time here, but I'm leaning towards Union.