When I woke up after the gig yesterday morning, Clare was out in the garden putting the finishing touches to the installation of a set of curtains she made for Rhiannon's Wendy house. It was a lovely surprise for her when she arrived home from an overnight sleepover at her best friend's Imogen's house. Imogen also has a Welsh granny who visits and looks after her from time to time.
I spent much of the day trying to process video material shot at last night's concert, with little success, as the computer I was using was underpowered and crashed from overheating when asked to work hard. I couldn't use my little portable, perfectly up to the task, for long as I forgot to pack the power lead. I learned hands on about the frustrations of converting video files from one format to another. It's a tricky business at the best of times, and hard to explain simply to those who can't be bothered to get to grips with the complexities of proprietary software, happy to stick with products only if they work 'out of the box', as they should do.
To my mind there is not enough interchangeability between the formats different hardware manufacturers use. Their philosophy is: to keep customers loyal, make it as difficult as possible for them to switch and use the digital output of their video camera on another system. With the arrival of Windows 7 it's become easier to play back and edit different video formats, but for those still using Windows XP, it's just an obstacle course.
I began today with a walk to Kenilworth Parish Church for the eight o'clock Eucharist, then we breakfasted together late and hear about Kath and Anto's duo gig in Lichfield last night, for which we were enlisted as babysitters. We took a picnic lunch out to the Abbey fields and sat on the grass, where we attracted the nerve racking interest of a series of curious dogs being walked by their owners. Then it was time to drive home to permit Clare to spend the end of the afternoon helping clear up after the Steiner School summer fair, taking place in St Catherine's church nearby, while I cooked supper.
I found a message on the answering machine which led to a call to the our local USPG advisor, my old friend Chris Reaney, to learn of the death of Father Elfed Hughes. Elfed has worked for USPG in Wales before he got a headquarters job in charge of USPG's affairs in Britain. Failing investments and declining revenue has plagued USPG for the past twenty years, and led to a drastic downsizing of the organisation in order to keep as far as possible its funding commitments in the Third World. Elfed was one of those who made sure that the crisis was faced in a positive and creative way. He had recently volunteered to become redundant and was on the hunt for a new job. Before the weekend, a friend in London saw him and described him as looking well, full of life hope for the future. He was found dead, most likely from a heart attack, in his Tonyrefail home yesterday. From his days as a young priest, when I first met him, thirty years ago, I was aware he suffered from two life threatening conditions, either of which could overtake him at any time. His walk of faith was always on the tightrope between them. It's the only way to explain his exuberant adventurous faith.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
I found a message on the answering machine which led to a call to the our local USPG advisor, my old friend Chris Reaney, to learn of the death of Father Elfed Hughes. Elfed has worked for USPG in Wales before he got a headquarters job in charge of USPG's affairs in Britain. Failing investments and declining revenue has plagued USPG for the past twenty years, and led to a drastic downsizing of the organisation in order to keep as far as possible its funding commitments in the Third World. Elfed was one of those who made sure that the crisis was faced in a positive and creative way. He had recently volunteered to become redundant and was on the hunt for a new job. Before the weekend, a friend in London saw him and described him as looking well, full of life hope for the future. He was found dead, most likely from a heart attack, in his Tonyrefail home yesterday. From his days as a young priest, when I first met him, thirty years ago, I was aware he suffered from two life threatening conditions, either of which could overtake him at any time. His walk of faith was always on the tightrope between them. It's the only way to explain his exuberant adventurous faith.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
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