I woke up at a quarter to nine from the best night's sleep I've had in ages, to a sunny morning laced with high thin cloud. Breakfast was late and leisurely, and it was gone elven by the time I said Morning Prayer.
On this 50th anniversary of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war Hamas launched a huge sustained cross border attack on Israeli settlements, completely unforeseen by Israeli intelligence, with thousands of missiles launched into the air and troops on the ground, capturing the key border crossing at Rafa which controls the flow of goods in and out of Gaza, making it in effect a huge prison camp for its inhabitants.
Considering how sophisticated Israel's spy network is in cyberspace and on the ground, such a carefully planned well resourced attack was prepared undetected, and is a major embarrassment to Israel's far right government, that has done so much to increase Palestinian suffering and aggravate the people into action on this scale. Hamas cannot win, only put the enemy to shame. Terrible blood letting now and the days to come in retaliation will only bring more suffering and ruin to innocent Palestinian people. I hope and pray that it causes the Israeli electorate to have second thoughts about choosing such an extreme government next time they have a choice.
I worked on making and uploading to YouTube next week's video slideshow before and after lunch with a break to prepare and cook veggies while Clare made a codfish pie for lunch. While Clare had a siesta, I worked on preparing texts for Morning Prayer two weeks hence, then we went out for walk. After one lap of the park she returned home having expended as much spare energy as she felt she could. I did another circuit, and spotted a pair of wrens feeding on seeds in the head of some dried out plant I don't know the name of. But there was no sign of the leucistic crow today.
Then I walked down the woodland path along the Taff and took photos of a female goosander fishing in the pool below the weir at the bridge. Walking further along the, I caught a heron on the east bank, then moments later I passed two young muslim girls, dressed in hijabs and full length garments. One of them smiled at me and said Hey, are you a cameraman? No, I said, just a nature photographer, and then she started asking other questions, and told me she was on a dental hygienist course at the University Dental School. Her younger quiet friend was getting ready to go to University.
The extravert one was confident and very well spoken. She asked how she could improve her English, which surprised me, until she explained that while she had plenty of medical and scientific vocabulary, she lacked broader cultural vocabulary. I suggested asking the Uni Extra-Mural Department about any book reading circles which may exist that she could join, or choose a movie to watch based on a novel she could read and find easy to follow once she knew the story. Then I set out for home.
Later on when I thought about it, I realise I've seen these girls out in the park before. Clare said the same when I told her the story. On one occasion they were out in the middle of a football pitch, dancing to music emanating from a portable bluetooth speaker, while a large muslim family barbecue was going on the the field 500 metres away. I think they must be one family's rebellious teenagers, frustrated by traditional parents, but not yet ready to stray too far from the security of home. A delightful encounter. Being an elderly man seems to make me approachable to some youngsters - a non-threatening safe man!
The sun was setting just after seven when I reached home. Clare was playing the piano, so I prepared supper. Afterwards, I spent the rest of the evening watching several episodes of 'The Bank Hacker'. A very complex plot, switching between flash backs and the present, in a way that explains itself piecemeal, so you're never aware of how it's going to work out. Clever.
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