That year had an unusually warm spring, and the pollen count and wind levels were wreaking havoc on Australian noses. Listening to hay-fever stories blare from his car radio, Peter Rae had knocked off work early and went for a drive through Centennial Park. He stopped in a field of yellow flowers.  He lay down flat in the bloom. As swarms of bees hungrily collected the pollen, he recognised another end of the scale – the benefits of a pollen-heavy spring for the bees. He lay stretched in the flowerbed for 40 minutes, waiting for a bee to land on a flower.