Testing testing ...

I went out to bank a cheque straight after breakfast, then we loaded the car with things belonging to Owain which have been stored in our attic bedroom since 2010, to take over to him, on our way to visit Amanda and James. Before setting out we both did Lateral Flow Tests, as did Owain, Amanda and James, just so we could all be sure it was all right to meet and interact without fear of infecting each other. This is now being seen nationally as a necessity, given the rapid rise in omicron covid infections. All clear all round. For me this was the first time to take the test, and I was a bit nervous about doing it correctly, and though it's straightforward enough it is fiddly. 

Later in the day Clare told me I should report this test to the NHS database, which was even more fiddly and frustrating to achieve as you first have to find out how to get to the Welsh reporting site, through the national NHS site. It's not user friendly, offering endless information and nothing as simple as a big blue button saying 'Go to Welsh LFT results report'. It's buried among much excess verbiage, an act of inter-departmental spitefulness in my opinion. How many people are deterred from reporting by this kind of stupidity I wonder.

We delivered all Owain's stuff, mostly vintage techno kit, ready for eBay, then went for lunch at one of his high street local eateries - carrot and lentil soup with fantastic sourdough bread, being the highlight. Then we drove across Bristol to Southmead and spent a couple of hours catching up with Amanda and James. It must be three years since we saw him last. He's gone from being a tall skinny teenager to being a well built adult male with poise and intelligence. He took time out from University when the pandemic started and returned to being his mother's chief carer, as the supply of home support became uncertain if not non-existent on times. Since then new disability aids have transformed her life and returned to her a measure of independence she hasn't had for many years. It's made a great difference to the confidence of both of them. James works from home as moderator of a gaming social media platform, and will return to his studies whenever stability returns to the University environment, and that won't be this academic for sure.

We left as it started to get dark. I wasn't keen about driving in the dark anyway, but it turns out now that the route from Southmead to Pontcanna is illuminated all the day. It's just that the lights are poorer in some sections than others, and when the road is busy but not congested, traffic, pushed by the heavy lorry brigade tends to go faster than the pace I'm comfortable with. To stay out of trouble and prevent others from driving too close to you, you sometimes have to go faster than you want to. Anyway we got home safely and without being honked at or flashed.

After supper, I completed and uploaded this Thursday's Morning Prayer and biblical Reflection video, and watched a 'Crossing Lines' episode about a kidnapping that was unwittingly linked to the spread of a highly contagious disease. Nothing to do with covid, but something much worse and fast spreading. Not a bad reminder of how an accident could easily turn into a catastrophe.