We cling to our memory of the perfect summer - before flood, fire and plague. But the past is gone and we have to wake up | Brigid Delaney

Signs of collapse are everywhere, and if we think it's possible to return to 'normal', then we are deludedThe cows are found washed up on beaches, and in Lismore, they're cutting holes in the roof to desperately clamour above the rising waters. In Sydney the rain won't stop, while Perth baked in its hottest summer ever. Throughout the disorder comes the refrain: "When are we going to go back to having a normal summer?"In the summers we long for (sometimes nostalgically misremembered as bright and always perfect, warmly lit, always comfortable) the weather is hot (but not too hot) and life is lived outside. It is the season that we earn, sometimes live for, the reward for hard winters or wet springs, or just a tough year. They are our long, lovely golden days. Continue reading...