I woke up bright and early this morning and breakfasted with Clare before she went for her walk. The early start got me outdoors before lunch too, and as I was walking along Wyndham Crescent was delighted to see a dozen swifts spectacularly swirling over the street at high speed as they fed. The last time I saw swifts flying through a built up location was seven years ago in Nerja which overlooks the sea.
It suggests a cloud of insects had been blown by the wind half a mile across from the river Taff and the parks where they breed. I also wondered if it was a sign that they flying ant invasion which was mentioned in recent news has reached here. It was reported that an unusually large cloud of insects had been observed heading across the Channel into south east England, so large its was spotted on satellite radar. Probably not though. Our winds and weather tend to come from the west.
Finally, after my walk, I completed the task of translating our 1967 Greek travel diary. It's been an enjoyable labour of love, working in bursts this past month, and fascinating to glimpse our younger selves exploring a different culture as a young married couple in our early twenties. My writing, as well as being untidy is a collection of very scrappy notes, with lots of references to the times when things happened, incomplete descriptions and references to people we met, and not enough about places we visited. More like a laboratory notebook than a travel journal. Still, It's good to revisit my younger self in this way and realise how much the form and content of my writing has changed. Quite a contrast to Clare's well ordered handwritten contributions, recognisably the same through the fifty three years that have elapsed since then.
We returned to Cardiff after our month in Greece and I started training at St Mike's. That was when I really had to develop the skill of expressing myself in writing. This was the first of many journals I wrote over the next forty years, before I signed up to Blogger in 2006 and went digital.
We drove to Bristol again this afternoon for back to back osteo appointments. While I was already much improved since our last visit, the in-depth work Ruth did on my right 'glut' muscle system made a noticeable difference. Clare said the same after her appointment.
While I was waiting for Clare, I had an email from Sarah Jones, priest in charge of St John's City Parish Church telling my that Paul Williams, the City Centre Manager died on Sunday, and giving me the contact details of Steve Barrett, Paul's retired former deputy as he wanted to get in touch with me. We chatted for half an hour, remembering the man and agreeing that when restrictions ease there should be an opportunity for old friends and colleagues to meet and celebrate his life, though how and when is going to remain undetermined for now. Paul was sixty four, and had been living and still working with cancer for the past few years. He was a very private man who never burdened others with his any of his concerns, so his death will come as a shock to many, as he would have been working from home up until fairly recently.
As we were leaving Bristol I filled the car with fuel, the first time since the end of February, thirty three litres over five months, perhaps the lowest fuel consumption of any period since we started driving back in 1970. Multiply that by several million cars, and it's no wonder there's been a slump in oil consumption and fuel prices during the pandemic. It may be a cause of consternation for the global economy, but it's been good for the environment.
We've talked of getting rid of the car, and just using public transport as we'd prefer to, but using public transport is now far riskier as a result of the pandemic, and we can't afford to exchange the Polo for a hybrid or electric car. We're stuck now with choices made two years ago. Driving along the M49, along the periphery of Avonmouth and Severnside's industrial zone, I think I spotted ten big wind turbines among the factories and warehouses. That's double the number I counted a couple of years ago. The region around Bristol is a front runner on the greening of industry. Would that Wales' Severn Barrage project had not been vetoed by the English government. South East Wales, across the Severn Estuary is still playing catch-up
`
It suggests a cloud of insects had been blown by the wind half a mile across from the river Taff and the parks where they breed. I also wondered if it was a sign that they flying ant invasion which was mentioned in recent news has reached here. It was reported that an unusually large cloud of insects had been observed heading across the Channel into south east England, so large its was spotted on satellite radar. Probably not though. Our winds and weather tend to come from the west.
Finally, after my walk, I completed the task of translating our 1967 Greek travel diary. It's been an enjoyable labour of love, working in bursts this past month, and fascinating to glimpse our younger selves exploring a different culture as a young married couple in our early twenties. My writing, as well as being untidy is a collection of very scrappy notes, with lots of references to the times when things happened, incomplete descriptions and references to people we met, and not enough about places we visited. More like a laboratory notebook than a travel journal. Still, It's good to revisit my younger self in this way and realise how much the form and content of my writing has changed. Quite a contrast to Clare's well ordered handwritten contributions, recognisably the same through the fifty three years that have elapsed since then.
We returned to Cardiff after our month in Greece and I started training at St Mike's. That was when I really had to develop the skill of expressing myself in writing. This was the first of many journals I wrote over the next forty years, before I signed up to Blogger in 2006 and went digital.
We drove to Bristol again this afternoon for back to back osteo appointments. While I was already much improved since our last visit, the in-depth work Ruth did on my right 'glut' muscle system made a noticeable difference. Clare said the same after her appointment.
While I was waiting for Clare, I had an email from Sarah Jones, priest in charge of St John's City Parish Church telling my that Paul Williams, the City Centre Manager died on Sunday, and giving me the contact details of Steve Barrett, Paul's retired former deputy as he wanted to get in touch with me. We chatted for half an hour, remembering the man and agreeing that when restrictions ease there should be an opportunity for old friends and colleagues to meet and celebrate his life, though how and when is going to remain undetermined for now. Paul was sixty four, and had been living and still working with cancer for the past few years. He was a very private man who never burdened others with his any of his concerns, so his death will come as a shock to many, as he would have been working from home up until fairly recently.
As we were leaving Bristol I filled the car with fuel, the first time since the end of February, thirty three litres over five months, perhaps the lowest fuel consumption of any period since we started driving back in 1970. Multiply that by several million cars, and it's no wonder there's been a slump in oil consumption and fuel prices during the pandemic. It may be a cause of consternation for the global economy, but it's been good for the environment.
We've talked of getting rid of the car, and just using public transport as we'd prefer to, but using public transport is now far riskier as a result of the pandemic, and we can't afford to exchange the Polo for a hybrid or electric car. We're stuck now with choices made two years ago. Driving along the M49, along the periphery of Avonmouth and Severnside's industrial zone, I think I spotted ten big wind turbines among the factories and warehouses. That's double the number I counted a couple of years ago. The region around Bristol is a front runner on the greening of industry. Would that Wales' Severn Barrage project had not been vetoed by the English government. South East Wales, across the Severn Estuary is still playing catch-up
`
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