Another reason to party Down Under

I will unfurl myself from the fetal position under the blankets in my apartment in frigid Beijing today and say to myself, "global warming, wha'?"

Then, I will cast the unfrozen parts of my mind to a far warmer place - the land of my birth, Australia - and the fact that my compatriots will be celebrating the country's national day, which is imaginatively called Australia Day, in brilliant sunshine.

Jan 26 marks the date in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip, a reluctant group of British troops and an even less happy-to-travel collection of convicts set foot on Terra Australis and promptly said, "What the .... was that?" as a kangaroo hopped by.