With the coming of summer, the string of provincial anniversary days provide each region an extra day to the weekend and a chance to get out in the sun. Complete with sunburns, bug bites and barbecues, Wellington anniversary weekend has come and gone. Now I’m back at work, sore from the volleyball games and wondering how we’re going to get rid of all the leftover food in the fridge.

Dense cloud enclosed the city. There was no hint of neither the island in the harbour nor the hills on the other side. The haze was impenetrable to all but the briefest columns of morning sun.