Admin time

A cold bright sunny day to wake up to, after the night of the full Harvest Moon which I didn't see as there was a veil of high cloud last night. After breakfast I called St Joseph's hospital to find out about the pre-op PCR, only to be told this is no longer a requirement, just a larer flow test on the morning of the operation. It's a relief that I don't have to return from the Gower a second time in our holiday week. Then a resumption of Monday housework chores, followed by some preparatory work on a biblical reflection for the Morning Prayer video upload on operation day. The less I have to do while we're away, the better.

While Clare was cooking lunch, I attempted to renew my phone and broadband contract with TalkTalk on their website. I guess it was about now two years ago that I did this last. It's such a long time since I visited the webmail site I was first obliged by their security to change password. Then the upgrade/renewal links didn't work, so I had to phone the helpline. I didn't have to wait long, but the process was careful and laborious, taking twenty five minutes to complete. Doing this has reduced my monthly bill by ten quid, but it will go up again, by the measure of inflation next April. Heaven knows how much extra we'll be paying over the next eighteen months.

After lunch I went for a treatment with Clive, taking an appointment taken by Clare. Now she's started her daily osteoporosis injections, she decided to forego physical therapies while while observing whether the new treatment makes any difference or not. It's my first with Clive in three years, having last seen him before going to Ibiza. What a lot has happened since then. He's gone from grey to white hair, so have I. The treatment was more of a therapeutic massage this time than before. It remains to be seen if it makes a difference, other than relieving me of tension and stress.

When I got back home, I booked EasyJet flights from Bristol for my next locum duty 26th January to the 13th April. Fortunately both flights are at reasonable daytime hours. No Vueling flights from Cardiff airport as the spring timetable hasn't been published yet. I don't think they'll resume until April, so demand for early year flights from Bristol will be higher, so booking as early as possible to get the most reasonable prices is necessary. I didn't book hold baggage again this time, as it adds a lot to the cost. As it is, the two way flight cost £181. Another hundred for a hold bag. I can do without the extra capacity, having learned to travel light.

This evening I visited my on-line bank account for the first time in ages. There's been no need to. move money around, except by card payment. I realised that I hadn't contributed to church funds for a while, and was shocked to find it was six months since I last made an on-line transfer. Peace of mind now for a while. There's only my tax return left to do on-line. It can wait until tomorrow. A walk in the dark around Llandaff Fields, then another epidode of 'Inspector Borowski' to end the day.