Here for the weekend

I woke up in the small hours and it took me a long time to get back into sleep. Then I woke up at my usual time, seven, and fell asleep again listening to the news, so it was gone eight when I posted my Morning Prayer link to WharsApp. After breakfast I went to Tesco's to buy groceries for the food bank and then took them to the St John's collection point. There's been a notable dip in the volume of food donated, with the recent price rises, not only in the news but here in church. David told me he and Lynda used to take drop donations off at the Splott food bank every couple of weeks, but now it's every four or five weeks. A sobering thought. There were seven of us for the Eucharist. We celebrated St Matthew again. Why not?

We had a light lunch, planning to have a cooked supper with on sister in law Ann's arrival. Afterwards I recorded and edited the audio for next week's Michaelmass Morning Prayer, and not without difficulty with the noice of building work from next door in the background. The house 'upgrade' next door goes on still after three months. It's been messy and dirty with much dust, and most recently from dirty water on out railing and windows from the stripping of paintwork from the stone facade next door. Remedial work on cleaning our railings, path, porch and garden plants as been less than satisfactory. Less than thorough. We'll be glad to see the back of the builders whenever they go.

It's good to have Ann with us for the weekend, looking better since her surgery earlier this year. She told us that her journey from Felixstowe had been made easier by using the new 'Elizabeth Line' to get across inner London to Paddington, and now of course, the electrified train line to South Wales has reduced the journey time to Cardiff by half an hour. No wonder house prices in Wales and the West of England are fast rising as the regions come within easier reach of London. It's not a happy situation when houses become unaffordable to people living and working here.

We each had a complete sea bass for supper, a splendid treat, and a bottle of Prosecco in honur of both Ann and Clare's birthdays, which are close together. Then we sat and chatted until it was time for the news and eventually bed.