In common with many cities around the world, Brisbane is now facing severe water shortages. That's meant I've just spent a big chunk of this afternoon filling watering cans to tend to our vegie garden. There is nothing like the taste of freshly grown vegetables, but soon that will be a distant memory. When the next level of water restrictions kicks in, we won't even be able to use watering cans (despite the fact that they are less efficient on gardens than hoses, given the spillage between tap and garden). I'm wet and I'm angry! I can understand a hose ban for people who wash their cars or spray leaves off their driveways, but not for people who have spent years building up gardens - be they for food or for simple pleasure. A reliable source tells me that less than 9 per cent of water usage is by households; the rest is by government and industry.

I used to read the British comics Cor!! and Whizzer and Chips* when I was a kid, and remember the stories about conker fights. Little did I know that it's an actual sport. The good news is that this year's 42nd World Conker Championships has gone ahead despite fears that drought last year would produce nuts that were too small and too soft for competition.
* It was two comics in one; I was a Chipite, while my brother was a Whizz Kid. Toonhound has more about the comics here.