It's the last day of January and the temperature outside is 38 degrees C (100 degrees in the old money). The wind is gusting and the poor old cat from next door doesn't know where to put himself.

Why is this worth thinking about, after all it is summer in Victoria and we expect such days? The worth is that days like this bring back memories of Black Saturday, the first anniversary of which is just one week away. Even the Sunday Herald Sun ran an expose today on what has happened to the fire ravished areas 12 months on.