Welsh art showcased

It's getting light earlier each day, but I'm still not taking advantage of this and getting up earlier, as I find it hard to get to bed before midnight. By the time I've finished my morning routines it's time for coffee and really I've not done anything extra. It's a pity that some of the more watchable TV shows, especially the news, are on quite late if you want to watch them live.

Anyway, before lunch I went for a walk in Thompson's park with my Sony Alpha DSLR. The buds on the magnolia tree by the pond are shedding their exterior cladding and revealing their light purple colour. The highest of the buds are already starting to open into full flower. That's happened just over the weekend.

I had a telephone conversation about my blood pressure medication top up prescription with a GP who is new, working part-time in our local practice. He gave me a good hearing and agreed to prescribe two lots of doxazosin of different daily dosages, so that I can vary the amount I take in an attempt to reduce the high systolic and minimise side effects. As it happens today has turned out to be a day with less intense side effects than usual, though I haven't bothered to check my blood pressure, just enjoyed feeling good.

Then, I went out for another walk down to the river and back, taking my Olympus with the telephoto lens, determined to make an effort to learn how to get the best results form it, as it's quite different from other long lenses I work with. Knowing one's equipment, taking the same subjects with different cameras is an experiential way of learning which works well for me, and gives me a basis for understanding the theory of lens optics better. But it's a slow job!

Before supper, Clare and I sat down with a computer, and filled in the digital census form together. We'd been in this house about a year at the time of the last census. It's strange that I can't remember anything about it. It must have been a slim paper form at that time, and maybe simpler. This time around it took somewhat longer to complete, half an hour altogether, despite saying "only ten minutes" at the outset. There are multiple choice questions about identity - marital status, ethnicity, gender identity - reflecting the preoccupations of the age, I guess. Glad that's out of the way now.

We watched an excellent edition of 'Fake or Fortune' this evening, about authenticating two works thought to be by Paul Gauguin. Recently, there's been a series of three programmes about Welsh art and artists on BBC2 Wales on Tuesday nights and the final one followed on from this on BBC Two Wales. I started watching late and re-started on iPlayer once I tracked them down. The presenter Huw Stephens who works for Radio Cymru/Wales is the son of Meic Stevens, renowned Welsh language activist and author. At 17 Huw was the youngest ever Radio One Welsh language presenter. He's well known for his promotion and documentation of Welsh music, and clearly enjoys talking about Welsh art as well. I look forward to watching the other programmes later in the week.