Catching up

I stayed up late uploading all my holiday photos to Picasa web albums while working on a sermon. You can look at them here - four albums with Pembrokeshire in the title. Yes, I know that Picasa has been taken over by Google+, but as long as it's possible to revert to the Picasa User Interface that's what I'll so, as I don't like the new version. Although it's glossier and smarter, the very fact that it displays larger thumbnail pictures makes it slower to load, and the controls aren't all in the same places. It's like Windows 8, pushing new features on the users that didn't ask for them and don't like using them. Trouble is, clever guys only seem to talk to other clever guys, not ordinary routine dependent mortals.

I made it to Ystradowen to celebrate the Eucharist by the skin of my teeth today. I met red traffic lights at every junction from Ely Bridge all the way there. Leaving for a service later in the morning, there is more traffic around and that's reflected in the control system. Half a hour out to Cowbridge is usually more than enough. If this happens again I must be sure to leave an extra ten minutes.

After the service I had an interesting conversation with a doctor who, along with his wife is a cancer specialist. She works locally, and he travels globally in the course of his professiono, so he hasn't been there when I've celebrated before. There's another medical couple at another church in Cowbridge Benefice. How many more doctors attend their local church I wonder. It's always good to discover scientific minds that are not closed to religious faith.

It was nice to have lunch outdoors in the garden again. It's still a bright blaze of flowers and our little apple tree has a dozen fruit growing on it. We seldom ate outdoors while on holiday. Not only were we not around much at the cottage during the day, but when we were there, the weather wasn't good enough. We both spent several hours on the phone catching up with friends and family - a bit more grateful than usual for the connectivity we tend to take for granted, here in the city.