Mike, you weave the personal and intimate with the wider world picture beautifully.

Reminded me of a camping place my family and small boy me would visit on schedule the week of Christmas in New Zealand. In the evening I would trek through the forest to a high, high waterfall and read under the light of glowworms -- I guess to prove that it was bright enough to do so. Mr Kaputo, the guide, would tell of Maori legions as we walked in the dark with flashlights -- "the red blotches remain on the leaves to remind us of the slaying of a past great chief" -- that sort of thing.

All magical to a kid, and me now.

Many thanks