The gift of Law

We woke up a little later than usual and had a slow breakfast. Another Sunday without duties to perform, so I decided I'd go and worship at the Cathedral. As I walked along Llanfair Road, I spotted the familiar figure of Lord Elis-Tomos walking ahead of me, When I caught up with him I found that he was headed for the Cathedral as well, so we walked together, and arrived just at eleven. The bells were still ringing, and there were a crowd of people outside the West Entrance wearing official regalia. What I didn't know was that it was the annual National service for members of the Judiciary, and it started at eleven thirty, to give people time to arrive from far afield.

There was a grand and slow procession of dark robed bewigged figures and other civic dignitaries before the choir and clergy entered. Former Archbishop Barry was in the clergy procession, in memory of his late wife Hilary who served in the Crown Prosecution Service for Wales. Dean Richard Peers led the service and in a warm and relaxed way, and preached a fine sermon, expounding the value of Law in the Hebrew Scriptures, with particular reference to Psalm 119, and the many metaphors it employs to celebrate the gift of the Torah.

He highlighted the persistent multiple use of three words as metaphors for Torah - Way, Truth and Life, connecting them to Jesus' saying in St John's Gospel "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." It was so good to hear Fr Richard honour members of the judiciary for the service to society, at a time when casual disregard and contempt for established law and order quickly morphs into social injustice. I felt refreshed and uplifted on the walk home in warm sunshine.

I had a siesta after lunch, then went for a walk to see if I could spot the leucistic crow again. I was lucky and got several sharp photos of the bird on the ground a few in the air which are not so sharp or close up, but do show the white feathers on the edge of the wings. 

It's really hard to get good handheld shots with a long lens and heavy camera which doesn't have image stabilisation. The Sony Alpha SLT design dates back more than thirteen years, before image stabilisation was a common feature of consumer cameras. Maybe I'd have better luck next time with my Olympus long lens camera. It's of similar age, but was one of the first to feature image stabilisation.

After supper, we watched 'Antiques Road Show', an edition made in Cardiff City Centre's Alexandra Park, behind the National Museum of Wales. Then I finished watching 'The Bank Hacker', with the last episode full of surprising twists and turns, right down to a last scene, which does more than hint at a second series. It's like watching the end game in a chess match. You never know when its over until it's over. During the story several scenes depict the gang's money laundering plans are meant to work, but in this episode there was an easy to understand explanation of how it happens internationally, exploiting disparities in financial regulations for reporting large money transfers between different countries. Quite educational in a way.

And now, time for bed.