Saint Clare's day

Another warm and sunny day. I worked on my Sunday sermon in the morning, and then we drove out to B&Q to buy paint to do up the garden shed, and a disc sanding attachment for a power drill. As we set out, I was struggling to make myself comfortable in the car seat and hurt my back with the same involuntary movement that strained the same muscles earlier in the week. I had to be very careful not to make things worse after that, getting out of and into the car and walking, and needed a painkiller and a massage later. When we got back home Clare discovered she already had the same sanding tool hidden away among her jewellery kit, but forgotten about.  But at least we have paint for the shed and for the front railings as both need refreshing, weather permitting, soon. 

We had a delicious salmon soup for lunch, prepared by Clare before we left for B&Q On my afternoon walk through Pontcanna Fields, I saw several extended family groups equipped for a picnic, gathering on the grass, groups of men separate from women and children. So many pushchairs in one place! I've seen this before on a Friday if not a Sunday afternoon. Asian Muslims enjoying the park together in free time at the weekend. Two hundred metres away in a different field, I saw two teenage girls in burkas dancing to music from a portable sound system, making their own statement about what they prefer to do after Friday prayers. One of those moments that make life in this part of the city a delight. 

Down at Blackweir, in addition to the resident cormorant, I saw an egret and a pair of Canada geese on the island of stones in the middle of the Taff. A family of six young goosanders, were swimming upstream, then drifting down with the current. Occasionally several would break out across the current and dive momentarily. I think I saw one with a fish in its mouth when it surfaced. We don't see these birds up there that often. Maybe they just show up when they know there's food to hunt for,

Recently I've seen Japanese Knotweed flowering there, an invasive species giving cause for concern. Its roots will help stabilise the island of pebbles which changes shape under the power of the water flow. The more the stones are bound together by root systems the more the island becomes an obstacle which can increase the risk of flooding. I hope river management people are keeping an eye on this change.

After supper I read for an hour, then watched this week's episode of 'Disturbing Disappearances'. This week the setting was Lyon and the surrounding rural area. All the cases are interesting, complex and very difficult to resolve, often involving personality clashes resulting from the emotive nature of the cases, and so far, all have a happy ending of sorts. I like the fact that the series depicts different regions of France. It's a worthwhile difference.

Tonight sees the peak of the Perseid meteorite shower. The sky is clear, but I'm too tired to stay up and keep vigil on the off-chance of seeing a shooting star - not like when we were young, holidaying and on the way across France by night for a fortnight's camping in the sunny south. Wondrous memorable times.