After a lovely warm week last week with the promise that spring had finally arrived, the Bathurst region was plunged back into winter on Monday morning when the mercury fell to -2.1 degrees.

While not quite as cold as the -4.9 degrees Celsius recorded at Bathurst Airport on September 2, 2012 – and a fair way short of the forecast -4 – it still made for one of the coldest September mornings on record for the region.

And plenty of people were caught out.

Motorists who had parked outside found themselves having to again scrape ice from their windscreens but the ones Parade really felt for were the early morning joggers and walkers.

Having bravely endured the worst of winter, they must have been really enjoying the more mild mornings across the region last week so Monday’s drop seems especially cruel.

Parade’s reminded of the long-standing Bathurst wisdom that you should never pack away your doona before Melbourne Cup day.

SUNDAY night’s Magnitude 2.5 earthquake made the ground rumble across the Bathurst region but also got the keyboards humming.

Within minutes of the tremor the Western Advocate was receiving queries on social media asking if we knew what had occurred.

It’s a very different media world than the one Parade entered more than two decades ago and while we hear plenty about the dark side of social media, its great benefit is the ability to spread a message more quickly than of the traditional media ever could.

Who knows what the next two decades might bring?

THE countdown to this year’s Edgell Jog is entering its last days, with the starter’s gun to go at 9.30am on Sunday.

The Jog has been an institution in Bathurst for 40 years but only survives on the continued goodwill – and participation – of the Bathurst public.

If you haven’t already signed on, grab a few friends and do so today.