July 3, 1999 11:04 PM

Thank heavens. The thunderstorm that my pressure-change induced headaches have been predicting over the last few days has arrived, bringing with it a welcome temperature plummet and a cool summer shower to enjoy from my secluded patio.

Watching the sky flit from black to white, feeling the rain course over me - this is what it's like to be alive! Only the yelps of confused car alarms snap me back to reality.

Earlier on in the evening, back at TDV Towers, our room was so unbearably hot we we had to take refuge in north-facing shade of the newly-vacated orange office to plan the next stage of the guide ...