To be seen in the flesh

An early start for us today, driving to Clare's nine o'clock appointment at Llandough Hospital osteoporosis clinic. I met Rufus for a catch-up chat at Cafe Castan at ten thirty. We drank coffee then walked with his young Schnauzer around Llandaff Fields. A slow process with so many other dogs being walked out there for a curious puppy to check out.

I had to leave Clare to return by bus, as we didn't know how long her appointment would be. The journey is just twenty minutes by car, but it took her over an hour to return, what with waiting for a bus, the ride to Canton and then a walk home.

When I got back, I did the weekly stint of hoovering the carpets, then cooked a chick pea curry for lunch. I spent time this afternoon preparing a eulogy for the funeral based on notes received in an email. This is for a service I'll be taking on Thursday this week. I also received notification of another funeral at the end of this month when Mother Frances is on holiday. The deceased lived just around the corner in Llanfair Road. Clare was aware of his demise from the local WhatsApp group I'm not a member of.

After a siesta, an hour and a half walk in the park. We learned from social media that King Charles will arrive for the service at Llandaff Cathedral this coming Friday by helicopter landing on Pontcanna Fields. I wonder how close the public will be able to get to see him arrive?

The news today is largely preoccupied with the detail of the late Queen's funeral journey to Edinburgh and stop-over to lie in state for the public to pay their respects, with a host of interviews with people sharing memories of encounters with Her Majesty. Since her death it's been like that, in between reports of public events marking the reception of King Charles III as Head of State. 

Meanwhile significant military gains by Ukraine against Russian occupying forces in the north of the country have been given air time as well. What difference this will make to Putin's hold on power remains to be seen.

In the evening, I continued watching 'Redemption', set in the seedy suburbs of Rome far from the tourist hotspots. In addition to being a good detective story about organised crime in the city, it also portrays a bereavement and relationships in a working class family, which has several members who are poorly paid police officers. It's interesting from several angles and well paced. 

Then, the final episode of 'The Capture', a fast moving portrayal of deception, betrayal and unmasking of conspiracies, rather confusing, like watching a chess game. I think I may need to watch it again to understand fully how it all stitched together in an ending which was a polemic against video fakery, an appeal to all citizens to be vigilant against deception, and the importance of encountering and dealing with real people in the flesh, not on screen, which is universally at the heart of the rule of law. In this context, as I said yesterday, public ceremonies surrounding the establishment of a new Head of State make even more sense.