A warm sunny start to the day after bouts of rain this past few days, perfect for every growing thing. On Thought for the Day' this morning, Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin in the Fields gave a superb concise and clear discourse on the distinction between sin and evil. I was so impressed, I'll try and find the text of it on line to quote in a sermon, not something I often do. Here's the audio link.
As I was getting ready to do the week's grocery shopping at the Co-op, I had an email from Andrea of the Costa del Sol West Chaplaincy confirming initial arrangements for my seven week stay. After shopping and cooking lunch, I booked a flight from Cardiff to Malaga. I was looking for 12th July but the earliest flight available is on Saturday 16th July at a convenient time arriving early afternoon. It's a coach journey of just over an hour to Estepona, where the Chaplaincy house is located. Fortunately there's only one service to take the following day, then a wedding blessing the following Saturday.
It was threatening to rain when I went out for a walk at a quarter to four. My AccuWeather phone app said it was imminent so I wore a mac. I was out an hour and a quarter and it didn't rain. Clare went out to walk just as I was getting back and got soaked in a downpour. Unusual for the forecast to be that unpredictable.
I had a message from Rachel asking me if I could tweak the video I made for her. It hard to do exactly what she wanted, but I gave it my best effort. Let's see what she thinks of it now, as I've spent half the evening working on it again. There was nothing on telly interesting enough to watch, fortunately.
The siege of the Azovstahl industrial complex on the edge of Mariupol is finally ending with Ukrainian defenders withdrawing. Western defence analysts are saying this agonisingly long battle has frustrated Russian war aims, by demanding so much of their military resources, denying them a quick takeover. The port city is in ruins and thousands have been killed there. It's helped change the course of the conflict from an overwhelming sudden Russian victory into a situation in which they cannot win outright,
A prominent Russian defence analyst went public on state TV tonight repeating what he said before the conflict started, that it's not in Russia's best interests to invade Ukraine, as its citizens will fight fiercely to defend their motherland. Now there are 42 nations backing Ukraine, Russia is isolated and being hit by economic sanctions. In effect he's now saying "I told you so." It's doubtful this appearance would happen without Putin and his henchmen knowing. Perhaps it's the first step in preparing the country for bad news about the cost in lives and equipment, which in the end cannot be hidden.
The Speaker of the Russian Douma - the parliament - has declared that the Ukrainian soldiers captured should be shot as nazi war criminals, perpetuating the slander against Ukrainian people and government, while forgetting that war has not been declared, and disregarding the need for due judicial process. It's not the kind of thing you expect from someone in the role of steering democratic debate, but this is Putin's parliament, after all.
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