State of Alarm - day Fifty Eight

I woke up to rain and it rained on and off until mid afternoon, then dried up nicely, as it wasn't too cold. After the emotional upheaval of yesterday, thankfully, I slept quite well, but all today I have been tired and short tempered (thank heavens I am living on my own at the moment), struggling to get work done and yet still managing to be productive.

After breakfast I did a little discursive prayer video, for a significant day. Pope Francis along with other religious leaders of the world called for a global day of prayer about the pandemic. Last night a lovely little promotional video with clips of dozens of people praying in different languages. This included our own chaplain in Nerja, Nigel Thomas, praying in Welsh. That pleased me no end! It gave me the idea of contributing, using the discursive prayer format, which I've been getting used to over the past month, and shooting the video clip using my HX90, as the sound reproduction is good.

Choosing a setting with not much time to think about it or plan properly was frustrating at first, but I ended up with the camera on a box on the table on the back terrace, pointing into the trees around the garden, occasionally waving gently, with the occasional background birdsong. It would have been nice to have had the sound of rain in the background, but dampness at that moment had no audio profile. It took me three goes to get a clear run at it, either because of passing car noise - so much more now than previously - or because I kept stumbling over words, sabotaged by tiredness. All was well in the and, and I had some appreciative feedback later, after Dave posted the YouTube link to the chaplaincy website.

Then I made an effort to bring together as many of the strands of the Sunday service as I could with the aim of getting it completed earlier this week and under less pressure. I guess I got two thirds of it done, before the call of daily exercise got me moving, first in the direction of Es Cuco to shop for food, and then out on a walking circuit past the large school complex, which I knew would enable me to reach my daily 10k target.

Next to the supermarket by the school is a small cafe/bar. It was open with four tables and maybe eight chairs between them, the whole area cordoned off so there was one point of access. I didn't count the number of people outside, socialising at a distance, but I guess it was about half a dozen. It was sweet music to hear laughter and banter in the air, people making an effort to stay safe and be their normal selves in such trying circumstances. The staff in Es Cuco are all properly kitted out but their manner is friendly and relaxed. Amazing what attitude can do to reduce a sense of isolation.