Young pilgrims in Portugal

Another rainy cloudy start to the day. Morning worship was a recording of songs and interviews made at the World Youth Day gathering in Portugal last week, with half a million youngsters getting together with Pope Francis and a huge number of Bishops and clergy from all over the world. The enthusiasm and sincerity of those interviewed was touching, and I was surprised at the warmth of devotion to the Virgin Mary expressed by some, as well as the love they had for the Pope and his teaching. Perhaps that had something to do with the theme of the week being based on the mystery of the Visitation, which was celebrated just as the gathering began. 

I drove to St Edward's in Roath to celebrate the Eucharist with thirty people. The choir of seven sing together very well so it's an enjoyable traditional Sung Eucharist. There wasn't any coffee and chat afterwards, so I was home by a quarter to one.

I fell deeply asleep in the chair for an hour after lunch. It seems to happen on Sundays that I don't sleep so well at night and the make up for it with a good hour after eating. We then went out together for a walk in the park. Clare did a shorter circuit than me and I walked for two hours. Just below Blackweir bridge the four Canada geese passing through made themselves visible close to the river bank, standing right next to the older heron, which was perched on a stone immobile and indifferent to the movement of the geese, within a couple of wing spans away. 

I think there are two almost mature goslings and their parents, to judge by the different sizes of the two couples. One of the smaller ones went on walkabout. The parents got restive and started to honk loudly. Within a few minutes the stray returned. There were several wagtails out on the stone island and an egret too, with a pair of cormorants fishing up be the weir. Only one of the goosanders was around that I could see. That's an unusual amount of variety in one small stretch of river.

In the evening after supper I watched a Finnish crime series, featuring the work of a newspaper reporter into suspicious activities which may be connected with the murder of a famous footballer in Barcelona. One scene took place in Spain and it was good to find that all the Spanish spoken I could understand.