A Passiontide work in progress

A bright morning, but with the sky covered by a thin layer of cloud. It was gone eight thirty by the time I posted the link to today's Morning Prayer, as again I didn't wake up in time for Thought for the Day. After breakfast, I walked to St John's to celebrate the Eucharist with just four others this week. After coffee and a chat, I returned home and cooked lunch as Clare was out shopping in town

Surprising news from Ukraine about the sinking of a Russian warship capable of carrying troops and tanks to shore, as it did eight years ago when Crimea was annexed. The navy probably has others, but this will not be easy for Putin to explain, any more than the loss of six generals and many more ranking officers and over fifteen thousand soldiers in this offensive. Apparently the GRU Russia's military intelligence agency has someone senior leaking information abroad about disquiet in its ranks over Putin's campaign. If this isn't fake news, it could mean that his leadership is finally coming under internal scrutiny. Churches as well as governments around the world make continuing efforts to sustain communication and appeal for and end to fighting. There's little sign of change but nobody knows completely what is happening under the surface.

Clare wanted to visit a closing down sale of a store on Newport Road that sells outdoor leisure clothes, so I drove her there after lunch, but there was nothing she was interested in buying. After we got back, I walked over to Victoria Park to take photos as it has some spectacular blossoming trees. The wonderful pink flowers on the magnolia tree overlooking the pond in Thompson's Park have dropped most of their petals already. The leaf buds are still tight dark green spikes yet to unfold. The magnolia in next door's garden is slightly different, as it still has much of its blossom, and its leaves are already bursting out of the buds. Does this reflect adaptation to a different environment, or it is a different variety, I wonder?

Not much of interest on telly tonight, so I spent a couple of hours working on the script for the service on Good Friday that I propose issuing as a podcast while it happens live. An experiment and a challenge for which I hope I don't lose my nerve.