Am-bush-ed by fire

One day, while we were staying with friends in the distant suburbs of Sydney we decided to take the train to the city. Our friend dropped us at the nearest station with instructions on where and when he would pick us up in the evening. The train ride was comfortable- lots of space, little noise. Arriving in Sydney we took a leisurely walk down the main thoroughfare up to the market and along the road leading to the Botanical Gardens. Then we strolled around the wharf watching the ferries to the outlying islands arrive and depart. The walk took us to the Boardwalk that had us speechless.Hundreds and hundreds of youth were milling around the walk and the restaurants. They were all in Halloween mode - painted faces, costumes , booze, schmoozing. With this ghoulish crowd we felt more comfortable  watching from a distance.

 We figured we would need an hour to get back 'home'. We got to the station and boarded the right train, having checked the schedule, the overhead displays, etc. The train did not budge at the scheduled time. About 10 mins went by and still there was no sign of moving. We looked around to see the reaction of the other passengers. No one seemed flustered or angry or agitated. Not knowing what was going on especially when we had someone waiting for us at the other end we became anxious.Not hearing any announcement at all for more than half an hour the suspense became too much to bear. So Drink enquired of our neighbouring passenger. There had been a bushfire in the outskirts through which our train had to wind its way. So we would have to wait till the all clear signal came from the authorities and there was no way anyone could tell when that would be, if at all. There was nothing to it but to wait it out. A cautious  passenger, with some reluctance, allowed us to use his mobile to call up our friend to inform him of our delay.

Two hours later we arrived at our 'home' station, but we were not taken  home. The bush fire had flared in their area and the trees in the woods behind still bore some embers. Two homes down the street, a few houses apart, had razed to the ground. The fire had been choosy. Our friend's large glass window in the kitchen suffered a lightning-like crack. The lawn mower and a ball in the garden were damaged. Clothes hanging on the clothes line in the backyard had burn marks. There was smoke in the house and it was thus deemed unfit to live in for the next few days. Therefore, they had moved our bags to another friend's house where we would be staying at such short notice.They were a gracious family with whom we shared our experiences, cooked and baked together, and best of all, enjoyed the company of their children.

We learnt that Australian houses are insured for fire since bush fires are part and parcel of life. The insurance company representatives descend on the households affected. They inspect and list everything that has been destroyed or rendered useless by the fire. Many of the items are almost immediately replaced depending on how the insured would prefer to settle the claim - repair, replace or  claim cash.