Clare had an appointment at the University Optometrist clinic in Cathays. I drove her there after breakfast and booked an appointment for myself a month from now when I should be ready for new prescription lenses.
Meanwhile King Charles was being visited by outgoing and incoming Prime Minister, their words being under intense scrutiny by the political commentariat, as were appointments to ministerial office in the new government. Rishi Sunak's broad spectrum of choices express his intention to unite people across the Tory party in facing up to the multidimensional crisis the government now faces. Together they have two years to make a difference they hope will keep the Tories in contention at the next election. The Labour Party has to show in the same period of time that its policies are capable of delivering something better for the benefit of all the electorate. For either side it's a difficult challenge.
After her appointment, Clare went shopping in town while I drove home and cooked lunch. After a siesta, a walk in Llandaff Fields until sunset. The weather is still mild, there have been no cold shocks or strong wind to strip the trees so far. Autumn leaf colours are noticeably different this year, with oranges, browns, reds and yellows as well as greens on some trees rather than one colour predominating. I have taken only a few photos since my cataract op, preferring to give my eyes a rest for a few days, but I must make the effort to capture this year's unusual spectacle - a product not only of summer heat and drought producing a 'false autumn', but also the mild weather and recent rain.
Clare insisted it was time to dispose of a decade of till receipts, kept 'just in case' never needing to be checked. She made a start with the shredder, and I continued the job until it stopped working, with three quarters of them not yet disposed of. I burned about half of them in a bucket in the garden which was slow and messy, and gave up when it got dark and it was time for supper. Later I checked it over and found it still worked. It must have a cut out switch for when it overheats. So I completed the task, and put out two sackfulls of shredded tens of thouands, after so many years.
After supper BBC Two's 'Autumn Watch' programme series began once more. Four hour long weeknight live broadcast programmes from nature reserves around the UK, looking in depth at a wide range of wild life in their changing habitats, observing the impact of climate change on plants and animals, producing amazing footage from special cameras night and day, plus beautiful photos and amazing film footage of creatures in the wild occurring as the weeks go by.
I was particularly struck by images of a pair of ring ousels, which lay their eggs in a nest in vegetation just above the shoreline. An area of land close to the nest site was hit by a wildfire. The mother bird was shown sitting on her four eggs until heat and smoke drove her away. Later in the same day she returned to sit on the eggs. Three of them hatched, and two of the chicks survived and flourished, we were told.
In another programme on afterwards, film footage was shown of a pod of orcas hunting down a penguin in the sea away from the safety of ice flow. It managed to stay just ahead of them, and when it saw one of the inflatable boats made several attempts to leap on board. On its third attempt, with aid from a passenger it succeeded then stood out of harm's way in the middle of the boat for ten minutes, surrounded by astonished people. Meanwhile, the orca pod stalked the boat until they lost interest. Once the coast was clear, the penguin leapt off the boat and continued uneaten for the time being. Examples of the survival instinct at work. The animal kingdom has so much to teach us in our reckless ways. This is live telly at its very best. It should be compulsory viewing for all cabinet members
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