Twelfth Night

Up early and out of the house before nine I drove to St Dyfrig and St Samson's church in Grangetown and was fortunate not to encounter heavy traffic. I arrived in good time to say Mass for a couple of regulars, standing in for Fr David, on leave today. Then I returned to St John's, Canton for the regular Thursday 10.30am Eucharist, which I'm looking after this month as Fr Mark is on leave. 

Thankfully the first service was 2004 Church in Wales rite with readings for the 12th day of Christmas, and the second was 1984 Church in Wales, with a repeat of the readings from last Sunday, for the Holy Name of Jesus. It's good to be challenged by liturgical variety, to stay in focus prayerfully and not let the taking of services become routine or automatic. Different readings also bring their own stimulus to reflection with the congregation, and this I greatly enjoy.

Not long after I returned home, Martin and Chris dropped in to see us. They were invited to a lunch party for Chris' uncle at the Cameo Club, in Pontcanna Street and had been dropped off early, so they chose to come and see us rather than hang out in a cafe for an hour. It was lovely just to have time with them quietly on our own, as so often when we visit them there's a house full of people, and lots going on.

After lunch I went out and walked my usual course again, and some extra. Even so, reaching the set daily target of 10,000 steps eluded me again. I felt I'd walked as much as I could before my dodgy knee started complaining. The daily improvement hasn't been great in this week of trying to get back to regular exercise after Christmas idleness. I probably need another osteo treatment.

At tea time, we finished off the remains of the Christmas cake. Kath let us know that they'd arrived home from Spain, and later we chatted on the phone. We had a quiet evening together, watching telly, and Clare took time carefully to remove and pack away all the decorations from the tree. My job tomorrow morning will be to return it to the back yard, in its tub. Despite dropping some needles, it doesn't seem to have been killed off by a couple of weeks indoors, though it clearly prefers being out in the cold damp air. Then I'll have clear up behind me. The past fortnight has simply flown by.