Sombre times

It was ten o'clock on a sunny morning by the time we sat down to our Saturday pancake breakfast, having slept even longer than usual after last night's operatic uplift. I did some DuoLingo exercises and then walked to Tesco's for exercise and a couple of bottles of wine before lunch. 

Just before I went out there was a phone call from the next of kin arranging next Tuesday's funeral. His niece is doing the eulogy. She lost her father a few days before lockdown last year. It was many weeks before he could be laid to rest in such constrained circumstances, so this will be a significant moment for her, and I think we'll be remembering and praying for her Dad as well as her Gran at this time for family mourning.

Clare made a delicious fava bean and vegetable stew with brown rice for lunch. We're both agreed that we now prefer brown rice to the white kind, perhaps because we've both mastered the art of cooking it perfectly.

Then I prepared and printed next Tuesday's funeral service. These days I'm getting into the habit of advance preparation and avoiding the pressure of doing things at the last minute. I used to be good at working under pressure but now I find it debilitating. An annoying factor of old age, I'm afraid.

We walked in the woods along the side of the Taff in Bute Park. The first autumn leaves are starting to carpet the ground with golden brown, very beautiful in the afternoon sun. We stopped for a drink with some cake at the Secret Garden Cafe. The cake was nice but far too rich for me and upset my stomch - probably dairy fats which I'm no longer used to.  

After supper, Clare watched young tennis virtuoso Emma Raducanu delight the country by winning the US Open championship. I wasn't in the mood for sporting emotions, having absorbed myself in watching the Eastern European crimmie 'The Pleasure Principle' on Walter Presents, on and off in the past week, and now reaching the conclusion with a long binge watch. 

A complex tale spanning four countries, serial killings, a secret elite circle of abusers, police corruption and international arms smuggling, all touching upon each other, the murder investigation incidentally exposing the other crimes. The acting and character development were remarkably good. The pace was slow, but thoughtfully so. Somewhat different from the usual Western European offering.

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Twin Towers massacre in New York, cause for sombre reflection all around the world, but also questioning in the light of the USA's army withdrawal from Afghanistan in recent weeks, leaving the country in the hands of the Taliban again. Spy-catchers foresee more activity on the part of islamist terrorists in relation to soft targets in Western world cities. In the past few years there have been major shifts of power going on in geo-politics, and the pandemic. The world is not the same as it was twenty years ago, but terrorism like organised crime is as endemic as any deadly virus, and remain a cause for concern as serious as global warming.