The weather was changeable. Some people said the summer was over but, depending on where in the world your eyes were focused, a different picture emerged. The newspapers said it was still silly season. TV ads said it was back to school time. The cricket and the football seasons ran in parallel. In a photo on the internet all the trees’ leaves were lush and green. But that was May. Now, outside, the leaves had started to curl at the edges and yellow. Maybe everything would fade into white and September would crumble into dust. The forecast was for storms.