Mailchimp frustrations

Awake after a very cold night, just early enough to post today's YouTube link to WhatsApp for Morning Prayer, before BBC Thought for the Day. I snoozed until half past eight then got up for breakfast. I went to the St Andrew's Day Eucharist at St John's and was embarrassed that my phone went off after we'd started, as I forgot to mute the sound before entering the church. It was Father Stewart responding to my email about Basma last night. I couldn't answer the call, but caught up with him after the service. He's happy with my plan to support her asylum application, and will back it with a letter of his own. 

I didn't do my food bank shopping before the service, so I went to the nearby Tesco's afterwards. There's been a special appeal for fruit juices, long life milk and washing up liquid, so I returned to church with a bulky shopping bag weighing about seven kilos. I was able to get a lot for my regular spend, as none of the individual items are bulky. The range of things the food bank needs to stock about and beyond food is extensive, and just as necessary for people coping with having little money coming in.

Time to prepare this week's Mailchimp distribution, with Sway ready for issue, editing the picture on the covering email to something more seasonal. It wasn't as hard as I feared, but I am still having trouble trying to find out how to send a sign up message to a recipient returning as a user whose previous data in Mailchimp has been deleted. I followed the help page instructions Owain sent me but something seems to be missing among the options I could find, and the 'change your subscription' link on the same later doesn't work either. No idea how to fix this. It's frustrating and time wasting just tinkering. 

A also had to complete the video for next week's Morning Prayer, once I realised that I started it and failed to complete it a new days ago. As a result it was gone half past one by the time I started cooking lunch, but Clare had gone Christmas shopping and returned late, as it was almost ready to serve. I finished all my work tasks for the day, researched a new smartphone for my sister which she can order from Tesco's and have delivered to the door pronto, since she already has an on line Tesco grocery account she uses. It was four by the time I'd went out for to walk until dark. 

After supper, Clare wanted to make Bara Brith for the Christmas Fayre, but found she was lacking the dried fruit she needed, so I went out again to get some for her from the Co-op. Then I settled down and watched two more episodes of Swiss crimmie 'Hors Saison' to relax at the end of what was quite a demanding day, one way or another. Just when I thought it was going to be wrapped up in four episodes, there was another surprising plot development linking the main story with a secondary story line, seemingly unrelated, another turn in the tale, sharp as a Swiss mountain hairpin bend in the road.

Unique operatic celebration at RWCMD

I woke late having slept well on another cold night, thanks to having worn a long sleeved thermal vest in bed for the first time. It makes enough of a difference to persuade me to do this again. More positive news from Gaza with a further extension of the temporary truce being mooted by Hamas. If both sides take more time to take stock during the lengthening pause maybe it will awaken a realisation of the terrible things both side have done, how it's nowhere near working out a practical long term solution to the historic problem of sharing the land between two peoples with a deep rooted sense of belonging in the Holy Land.

As an experiment, I added chorizo to my regular breakfast diet. I eat enough to see me through until lunch time but often feel light headed an hour and a half before lunch, without feeling hungry. I wanted to see if it would make any difference to eat some meaty protein. I rarely have a full English breakfast, as it's too much hassle to prepare at the start of a day. A chunk of chorizo the length of my thumb worked well, carrying me through comfortably to a lunch of grilled mackerel. Another thing worth repeating. I like our vegetarian/vegan diet but my digestive system evidently works better with a little extra meat or fish.

More info arrived for posting on Sway, and I did this before heading to St Catherine's to celebrate Mass with seven others, standing in again for Fr Dyfrig. After coffee and a chat, I collected this week's veggie bag from Chapter on my way home for lunch. After eating I exchanged messages with my sister whose landline has stopped working. There's something wrong outside her flat, at the distribution box at street level, where work was being carried out by OpenReach recently. Some careless engineer left the cabinet door open, and her line hasn't been right since. She's now in need of a crash course in using WhatsApp on both mobile phone and tablet. 

I went out and did my weekly Co-op grocery shopping, then Clare did her shopping at Beanfreaks. Basma emailed to say she was happy with my account of her story, and that enabled me to use this in a witness statement to inform her solicitor, and add to the documents to be presented for the hearing of her case at an immigration tribunal, if this turns out to be useful asset. Then I emailed a copy of this to Fr Stewart, for information when he comes to write his own statement of support, and endorsing mine. The judges need to know that church leaders and members are agreed about her commitment. 

In the late evening a message arrived from Basma rejoicing that her daughter has now received her UK travel document which will enable her to travel and visit her grandparents who are, I believe in Jordan. I hope she is able to continue to obtain full UK citizenship in whatever time this takes especially as she has no intention of ever returning to her native Iraq.

We needed to have an early supper before walking to the Royal Welsh College for this year's Opera Gala performance, in which the entire college takes part - some 17 singers performing a wide ranging programme of solos, and ensemble pieces for two three four, even six singers on stage, and a chorus of forty up in the gallery, not only singing but doing so with choreographed arm waving for added effect. They were accompanied by the WNO orchestra on stage, conducted energetically by James Southall, who was a delight to watch, as he participated in some of the scenes by his body language and gestures, adding to the humour of the piece.

In several items performed, there was no pause between one and another, continuity maintained by one of the singers remaining on stage, and switching role when joined by a new group of performers. This was effortlessly smooth in execution, like a well edited mix-tape programme. I've never heard or seen anything like this live on an opera stage before. An utterly brilliant production. After the final applause we drifted out on cloud nine with delight, and walked all the way home in the chilly night air. It was just too cold to stand and wait for the bus. I've walked 14km today, the longest distance covered since I was in Ibiza, just after lockdown started in 2020. I'll sleep well tonight.

Endings and a beginning

I woke up late, to bright sunshine but becoming cloudy later in the day. In the morning news, a fifth day of hostage exchange truce in Gaza is going on as proposed, along with more aid trucks. Egypt says 200 trucks carrying fuel food and medical supplies would pass during the four days, but news reports on the total number are varied and piecemeal. Over 13,500 have died so far 6,500 of them children Gaza's health ministry reports, but with more still buried in the rubble of their homes or shelters.

The World Health organization warns that even more could die from disease unless aid is stepped up to allow the restoration of water supplies and sewage treatment plants. One small glimmer of hope is the resumption of Al-Shifa hospital's kidney dialysis unit. Resumption of hostilities is dreaded, as the Israeli military presses on relentlessly in pursuit of an ever elusive goal. 

There's speculation about the idea of a UN peacekeeping force to help restore law and order to Gaza, as it is faced with losing Hamas control when the Israeli military gets as far as it can with its war aims. Given the failure of UN peacekeeper to stop the massacre of Palestinian and Shia refugees by Falangist militia in Beiruit's Sabra and Chatila camps, after Israel's invasion of Lebanon back in 1982, the credibility of this is bound to be in doubt. 

Palestinian leaders insist they can govern themselves, but are divided and still lack genuine democracy and freedom in the West Bank as well as Gaza. I believe proper governance cannot be established until both sides have exhausted their desire for retribution and renounced violence. Around the world concern about this conflict has divided public opinion and support for the suffering people of Israel and Palestine, but there's been a less well publicised group of Jewish and Arab people in the region and internationally lamenting together the destruction and loss of life, pleading for an end to hostilities and calling for reconciliation and peace with justice for all. They champion the cause for which the United Nations was founded. Why do news makers seem less interested in what they have to say than in the men of violence?

After a quiet morning, washing my thinning hair, pondering, avoiding work, I cooked an experimental dish of lentils with parsnips, mushrooms and miso for lunch, a nice mild combination of sweet, savory and earthy flavours. Worth repeating another time, I think. 

Then some editing work on Sway graphics, before going out for a walk later than I'd planned, so it was dark then I returned. Clare had gone out to her meditation group so I had an early supper, did more editing on Sway content, and then settled down to watch the last episode of the current series of Rocco Schiavone, which looked like it would be the end of the long story which has been running throughout all four series so far, but with a surprise twist revealed that there's more to tell, in a fifth series. I love this series and the characters it portrays, as well as the picture it paints the underbelly of modern Italian society.

Then, I watched the final episode of the French Canadian series 'The Sketch Artist', except that the ending wasn't conclusive in terms of the characters and their stories, so maybe a series two in the pipeline? It was quite challenging to listen to as Canadian urban French in incorporates many English words, some oddly pronounced, is spoken fast, with words truncated, so it requires concentration. But a good story with some remarkable characters gifted specialist crime investigators in their different ways.

Another new series was proposed as the credits rolled, catching my eye, called 'Hors Saison', A Franco Suisse production set in border zone alpine skiing region of the Portes du Soleil so familiar to us from our time living in Geneva, and visits to Haute Savoie and the Canton de Vaud. After Montreal French it was so lovely to enjoy the clarity and turns of phrases of the regional accent heard both sides of the border. Little need to concentrate hard to understand. This was the place and time in my life when I belatedly gained a measure of confidence in speaking French, forty years after getting my French 'O' level in school. It will be a pleasure to follow this particular crimmie. And so to bed. 

Two more days of respite

Another cold cloudy damp day. Housework after breakfast, and work on next Sunday's Sway, adding in a photo of Fr Andrew, and Bishop Mary's announcement of his appointment, before cooking lunch. Then a walk in the park, in which I only needed my brolly for one five minute shower. Cold wind and rain have stripped bare the largest most mature trees. Younger ones for the most part are still covered with brown or golden leaves. Such a contrast to how it was the week before last.

The fourth day of hostage exchanges in Gaza is going according to plan and hundreds of aid lorries are entering during this temporary cease-fire. As the day went on the likelihood increased of a two day cease-fire extension with hostage exchanges. Some of the Israeli hostages are not held by Hamas but by another Palestinian militant group called Islamic Jihad. Hamas admits that criminal gangs also took advantage of the breach in the Israeli border defences, not only to plunder but take their own hostages. How they will be persuaded to hand them over to Hamas when the time comes is anybody's guess. What it does show is the lack of unity among Palestinians fervently opposed to Israel and bent on exterminating them.

When the ceasefire ends, full hostilities will resume, and that means aid lorries will either cease or reduce to a trickle. The need will far outweigh the supply in this desperate situation. Yesterday and again this afternoon the weekly BBC 'Food Programme' looked at the impact on food supplies of the siege in Gaza, but also told about Gaza's cuisine. The region is richly fertile, and doesn't need to import all its food. Some of its cuisine is celebrated for its creativity. It seems there's a tradition of using all kinds of weeds and thistles in making tasty veggie dishes, with its origins in the diet of poor people, similar to many Spanish and Italian dishes. As Jeremy Bowen BBC's chief Middle Eastern reporter said, even when burdened by need, suffering and conflict, victims find comfort in being reminded of food they love and are proud of. 

This evening I drafted a letter in support of Basma's asylum petition, relating the story of her entry into the life of St German's since the summer for the benefit of her asylum lawyer. I also watched another episode  of Rocco Schiavone, before finishing the day.

Happy announcements

A cold moonlit night, but not quite below freezing. Low cloud returned to cover the sky by the time I got up to start the day, making it feel colder than yesterday when is was minus 3C. I went to St Catherine's to celebrate the Parish Eucharist, I think for the first time this year. We began with Iona, Ministry Area lay co-chair reading the Bishop's announcement about the appointment of Fr Andrew Sully as Ministry Area leader, to be licensed on 25th March next. 

He's currently acting Director of Christian Aid in Wales, and is the Bishop's husband. Both of them started ministry at the same time in Monmouth diocese 30 years ago. I was at the Vigil for Gaza in the Cathedral, which he organised six weeks ago, and formed a favourable impression of him. We're fortunate to have someone of his calibre with lengthy experience of the Church in Wales.

An email was waiting for me when I got home from Fr Stewart with the announcement of the new Parish Priest for St German's, Canon Jarel Robinson Brown, coming from St Botolph's in the city of London, but with links to Wales, about which I know nothing, but he's an honorary Canon of Bangor Cathedral. That's the second piece of great news in one memorable day. Next Friday an appointment should be made for the priest to be in charge of St Peter's and St Luke's. By next March, I will have worked myself out of both locum roles I have occupied for the past couple of years.

I didn't sleep too well last night, and after lunch, went to be for an hour, then walked for three quarters of an hour under my brolly, as the cloud was so low across the city that there was, shall we say, a persistently thick misty drizzle, cold and unpleasant, like walking on a mountain top enveloped in cloud, something I haven't done since we took Rhiannon by train to the summit of Rochers de Naye in Switzerland in 2018.

Fortunately it clearest somewhat by the time I went out to St John's for the switch-on of the Christmas tree and illuminations around St John's Crescent, and lantern processions with Sunday School kids at the start. There must have been 150 people present, if not more. Outside the church there was a stall serving pizzas freshly baked in a small wood burning oven. Indoors, a stall served crepes, there was free mulled wine and mince pies as well, and a local band playing Christmas music. A very merry event.

As I was chatting near the door, Fr Andrew arrived. We recognised each other and greeted me warmly. It was such a pleasure to be the first to welcome him into the church. He walked down from Llandaff rather than cycle in the rain. Bishop Mary came by car and arrived in time for the five thirty ceremony. It seems he was aware of my publicity efforts on Sway, and complemented me. I said I was looking forward to training my successor, once he's persuaded someone to take on the job! Later, he introduced me to Bishop Mary, and I was pleased to learn of her world church experience, and connection with USPG. Wonderful that he was able to join us on the day his appointment was made public and appear publicly with his wife.

I returned home in time for supper and the Archers, then spent the rest of the evening binge watching three episodes of Rocco Schiavone, all linked into one lengthy story. Time to relax after a busy week.

It seems the third day of hostage exchange is proceeding as intended, after the return of the second batch was delayed until late evening yesterday. On both days, mention has been made of the return of Thai hostages, of whom little mention has been made in our news media until now. It seems there are 23 Thais among those captured. A large number of Thais have been working in the agricultural sector in Southern Israel, many of them were killed in the Hamas onslaught. Their release after negotiation has been secured without precondition, an indication that they're of no value to their captors. 

Hostage deal on hold

The temperature dropped to minus three during the night. I woke up late to a clear sky and sunshine, Clare got up an hour before me and cooked pancakes for breakfast plus mushrooms for me to make one savoury as well. A labour of love! 

In the morning news, yesterday's hostage exchange occurred as planned for a group of thirteen Israelis and eleven Thai citizens held captive. It's a relief this went ahead without a hitch as negotiations involving the Qatari mediators, Hamas, Israel, Egypt, the UN and Red Cross / Crescent are complex. Apparently three Palestinian prisoners are to be released in exchange for each Israeli citizen. A drop in the ocean when there are thousands of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, and hundreds detained without charge or trial 'in the interest of security.'

I had more new material to edit and add to Sway after we'd eaten. It was midday before I was ready to go out for a walk to Bute Park and a snack lunch at a busy Secret Garden cafe. The food served there is very good, so it's no wonder there's often a queue. The staff team work well and hard, dealing with people and keeping everything in order for new customers. It's a pleasure to eat there on a sunny day, even when the temperature is only just above zero.

A large area of the park near the Castle is fenced off enclosing this year's Winter Light Trail Son et Lumière attraction with fancy coloured lights adorning the trees and loud ambient music. It's very disruptive of evening commuter pedestrian and cycle traffic through the Park in the evening, as footpaths are closed at three in readiness for paying visitors in the dark. Last night, crossing the park to get to the Royal Welsh College, the footpath diversion wasn't properly marked or lit. We lost it in the dark and had to navigate our way across the open grass in approximately the right direction without tripping.

Anyway, the way was still open for us to walk into town through the park as the path was still open, so we went to John Lewis, for Clare to collect an order she'd placed, and have tea. The city centre was as very crowded, as Black Friday bargain hunters flocked into town. It was as busy as I recall it being before the pandemic despite economic hard times. I checked out smartphone prices for my sister. Very few bargains on phones at John Lewis' tech' department. Samsung, Google and Apple phones dominate, with entry level prices over £350.  The Vodafone store had entry level phones for under a hundred, mostly Chinese.

It caught the bus into Canton and walked home from there. Good to be back an hour before sunset, quite a rarity for me these days. It takes me ages to adjust my daily routine around daylight hours. We had baby monkfish for supper, a small fish with an ugly head, which produced a lot of liquid when it was cooked. It was bony and almost tasteless. Very odd. Afterwards, I discovered a new series of episodes of the Italian crimmie 'Rocco Schiavone' and watched a double episode, set in and around the Aosta to Chamonix cable car, with the most spectacular alpine views. Interesting story about cross-border cross border policing issues when a drug trafficking related murder occurs on a frontier. Some of the dialogue was in a mix of Italian and French with an Italian accent. The scenery took my way back to our time in Switzerland during the nineties.

Today's hostage swop was halted for several hours by Hamas military commanders, disputing details of the arrangements made by the negotiators, accusing the Israelis of not sticking to the terms of the aid agreement. Hamas is going to control the process for whatever advantage they can gain, even in the face of overwhelming force. It's a no win situation for both sides unless there is persistent effort to engage in dialogue. Meanwhile, another group of negotiators in Qatar discusses extending the temporary truce to nine days. Such optimism in the face of such uncertainty!

The last thing to do before going to bed - printing tomorrow's sermon and the Bishop's announcement about the new Ministry Area Leader appointment.

Klezmer discovered

I woke up to a cold dry day with early cloud dispersing, to give us a day of sunshine at 3C. I spent all the morning after breakfast working on Sway. It's occupying a lot of my time at the moment to produce the extra edition that covers the whole of December. I hope it will be worth the effort to digital consumers. It was a pleasure to receive from Andrew, one of St John's lay leaders, a poster advertising an Advent study course to be conducted as a Zoom discussion group. A marvellous initiative, as we await the coming of a new Ministry Area Leader. The go-ahead has now been given officially to deliver a message from the Bishop to all the congregations of the Ministry Area this Sunday.

Clare bought a salmon yesterday, had it filleted and made the remnants of the bones into a soup that could be stewed with vegetables and butter beans, to make a subtly flavoured dish for lunch. After eating, I set about preparing texts for the first Advent Thursday Morning Prayer the week after next. Then Clare went out shopping so I recorded the Office and Reflection while I had the house to myself, and found images for video slideshow making, ready to finish the job when I have a spare moment. I need to get as much material prepared well in advance, as I can since there are always unexpected distractions in this busy season of the year.

I worked on this until it was time for an early supper. We had tickets for a concert at the Royal Welsh College by Kroke, an unusual trio of virtuoso Polish musicians who have worked together for 21 years, playing a classic combination of instruments used in Jewish Klezmer instrumental music: viola, double bass and accordion. 'Kroke' is Yiddish for Cracow, the name of their home town. Their music initially sounds like traditional klezmer, associated mainly with Eastern European Sephardi Judaism, which had its ancient origins in Andalusia, where its music evolved, influenced by North African culture. After the  fifteenth century reconquest of Spain Muslims and Jews were driven out of Spain. By various migration routes Sephardi Judaism found its way into various parts of Europe and Asia. Influences on melody, rhythms and harmony from all around the southern Mediterranean and Western Asia can be detected. It's a tribute to the international concert touring of this group over the years and their dialogue with indigenous musicians.

It starts from there, but draws inspiration from the music of India, Greece, North Africa and Andalusia, breathing vital energy, making remarkably creative live use of digital technology: echo, reverb, loop pedal, beat boxing, and a device that makes a viola's lower notes sound like a 'cello. Careful amplification brings out wonderful living breathing sounds and rhythms from the accordion too. Both viola and accordion were also used as drums duetting with the bass. The viola player also played tin whistle and sang in a very high full throated voice, reminiscent of Indian and Flamenco vocalists. 

All in all this music imparted a profoundly emotional experience, full of yearning, wonder and delight. We came home much moved by listening to live music, new to us both, brimming with spiritual vitality and hope for humanity. "The world will be saved by beauty." wrote Russian novelist Dostoyevsky back in 1867. I believe that only becomes possible once humanity tires of ugliness and cruelty and all things that divide us.

I finished the day with half hour walking in the darkness of the park, with the temperature below zero. I needed to stretch my legs and immerse myself in darkness, after going through the city centre in an environment invaded by bright headlights and flashing  multi-coloured Christmas illuminations.

Waiting for hostages to be released

I woke up to a cold dry day, on time to post the YouTube link to Thursday's Morning Prayer on WhatsApp, just before BBC's Thought for the Day.  

In the news, delays to the Gaza hostage exchange due to attention to detail - provision of lists of names of people to be exchanged, and a firm agreement about suspension of Israeli surveillance drone flights to enable hostages to be taken secretly to a site where the International Red Cross/Crescent will implement the exchange at the Rafah border crossing, acting in its traditional neutrality role. It seems they will be taken first into Egypt for initial medical checks and then flown to Tel-Aviv. 

Hamas doesn't want anyone to see exactly where or how hostages arrive at the exchange location, as this information can later be used to target Hamas tunnel network access points. There's still a risk that satellite surveillance will deliver similar data with today's high resolution spy satellite cameras. If that's been discussed, it's not been disclosed!

Clare went to the School of Optometry after breakfast and I went to Tesco's for groceries for our Foodbank donation and took them to St John's in time for the Eucharist, celebrated by Fr Colin. After coffee I went back home to finish work on this week's Sway, and getting it checked by Iona, who's good at spotting any errors I miss. I cooked a dish of spicy butter beans and mushrooms with veggies for lunch in time for Clare's return. After we'd eaten, rather later than usual, I did this week's Sway link mailshot, then went for a walk until it got dark.

After supper more material arrived for the Ministry Area 'Countdown to Christmas' SWAY supplement, and as there wasn't much of interest to watch on telly so I dealt with that instead until it was time for the news. Not that anything much has changed during the day. The world waits with bated breath to see if the temporary ceasefire and hostage exchange starts as promised in eight hours time.

Celebrating Cecilia

Good to learn from the early news that the Israeli war cabinet has accepted the agreed hostage exchange and humanitarian pause arrangements. In the late night news it was announced that the exchange will start on Friday morning. In the meanwhile the assault on Gaza continues. Hamas medical authorities now report 14,000 deaths. An Israeli military spokesman claims that around 400 entrances to the underground network of 200 miles of tunnels hidden in houses schools medical centres and other public buildings all over Gaza have been destroyed, and that the proportion of civilian to military casualties is not high as it has been in other conflicts. As if that could justify taking any vulnerable civilian lives at all. 

One of the West Bank Palestinian leaders, Mustapha Bargouti has stated in his second interview in two days that 14,000 children have died. I don't think this is anything to do with his command of English, but rather a deliberate misleading allegation. Truth is the first casualty in war. Nothing said by either side can be relied upon as fact, though I think the assertion that two thirds of the Gaza victims are women and children, whatever the actual death toll is.

After breakfast, I went to St Catherine's to celebrate the Eucharist with eight others, celebrating St Cecilia, which meant I needed to do some homework on her story before going to church. I learned that she's the patron saint of musicians, as she sang with the musicians playing at her wedding ceremony. She was of Roman nobility in a marriage arranged with Valerian, a pagan. He promised to honour her desire to remain a virgin dedicated to Christ, and kept his word. Under her inspiration he was baptized by Pope Urban and murdered soon after, likewise Cecilia. It's unlike stories of other virgin martyrs who simply refused to get married and died as a result. Echoes of St Paul mentioning that in a marriage between a Christian and a pagan, a loving marriage can lead to the conversion of a pagan spouse.

After coffee, I collected this week's veggie bag on my way home. Clare was already cooking a chick pea curry when I got back for lunch. I did the week's grocery shopping at the Co-op straight after, and noticed that 'Jalo and Stitch' the small tailoring repair shop opposite the Co-op was open. I went in and enquired about getting the sleeves on my jacket mended. Half an hour later, I returned with the jacket, and now look forward to wearing it again in a couple of weeks time. I walked until it got dark, then worked on a sermon for Sunday next. Clare went out to Diana's book launch, and then to her Plygain session, leaving me to my own devices. I spent the evening relaxing, watching episodes of 'The Sketch Artist' and then this week's new 'Shetland' episode.

Co-pilot ejected

A cold dry cloudy day with next week's Morning Prayer and Reflection to prepare and record while I had the house to myself, while Clare was at her Tuesday study group. 

Microsoft has updated Windows 11 on my laptop with its Co-pilot AI tool added to the taskbar. It's meant to be 'helpful' with creative ideas and suggestions on whatever you're working on - like the 'clippy' in an ancient version of MS Office, which appended hints and tips, getting in the way with its animated antics when you were trying to think straight. It was a nuisance and getting it to go away and stay away was an unwanted hassle. 

I just want a device I can use without distraction. Nothing more. I couldn't remove Co-pilot from the taskbar by deleting the icon or right clinking to find the uninstall option, but googling the problem directed me to the Settings menu, and the Personalisation sub-menu to hide it. You cannot uninstall it, but could stop it running by tinkering with the Registry. I also discovered today that if you use Microsoft's Outlook email client, it will email you commercial ads, which you can only get rid of by paying a monthly subscription. Unfortunately there are a few apps which I rely on which are irreplaceable. I wish I could use Linux for everything. Chromebook runs on Linux, but its user interface isn't as good as it needs to be to supplant Windows. Such a pity. 

I cooked lunch in time for Clare's return. After we'd eaten I went for a long walk in the park. As I went along the east side of the Taff, I was outpaced by an empty canoe, carried downriver and over the weir at Blackweir Bridge without turning turtle. Where did it come from? It was open and without evidence of waterproof cover suggest it had unseated its occupant, so possibly it was blown off its waterside storage rack somewhere upstream. 

The Reflection I started before lunch needed completing and recording. I did this, made the video slide show for a week Thursday and uploaded it to YouTube when I got back. New material for Sway arrived by email, plus notification that the announcement about the new Ministry Area leader will go out this Sunday. Glad I'll be presiding and preaching at St Catherine's to welcome the announcement at the start of the Eucharist.

I had more work to do after supper, but stopped at nine to enjoy watching Michael Portillo's programme on his visit to beautiful Cordoba, a place that made a great impression on me through both my visits there. There was a wonderful palace I missed, however. Will I get an opportunity to return there I wonder. I had a message from Rachel to tell me the sound quality on the video I posted earlier was poor. I then realised I'd forgotten to amplify the sound track, and had to revisit the component parts edit and re-post. Serves me right, though this has been a busy day work wise.

A relief to hear that hostage negotiation between Israel and Hamas is almost finalised and announcement of a pause in the fighting to permit exchange of hostages is imminent. About time too, after nearly seven weeks.

Control mystery

I woke up in the night to the sound of rain, but by the time I got up for breakfast, sun was shining through the clouds and the ground was drying out. After eating, Monday housework, then editing this week's Sway sending out next Sunday's readings and responding to other emails. I learned yesterday evening that the interviews had taken place for the vacant Ministry Area Leader's post, and received confirmation today of success in appointing someone. Hopefully this will be announced soon along with a licensing date, and a successful interview for other team vacancy will take place. Then I'll be free of local duty commitments, and open to whatever else comes next. It's been quite a demanding year, one way and another.

Clare cooked chicken with veg for my lunch while I was working, and at the last minute I added passata, garlic and a few spices for extra taste. It went well with brown rice. I decided to send an email to Emma at Euro-diocesan HQ to tell her that I'd be free of local commitments and available for locum duty abroad early next year. Just in case.

Then I walked in Thompson's Park and Llandaff Fields until sunset, and got several spectacular cloudy red sky photos, using my Panasonic TZ95. It certainly works quicker than my old Sony HX90, and is more more sophisticated. Figuring out how to access all its features is difficult without rehearsing with the camera manual. The Sony control settings menus were hard enough to fathom, but this one is completely different. I tried reading the manual, before and after supper, but am none the wiser as I couldn't relate what it said to the controls on the back of the camera. It has clever functions but I'm not sure why it should need to use them, but I m determined to learn to do more than use it on auto settings all the time. Mre trial and error time needed, I think.

After supper, I watched a couple of episodes of The Sketch Artist, or Portrait Robot as it's called in French. It's good. Several sub plots running at the same time through the series around interesting characters with dfferent histories of brokenness and quite original as a cop drama series.

Are we nearly there yet

I woke up slowly and got up after the eight o'clock news as the 'Sunday Worship' programme started. It was compiled in a studio without a congregation rather than live, commemorating the 60th anniversary of three famous people who died on this day. Christian apologist and author C S Lewis, the philosopher and writer Aldous Huxley, and President John F Kennedy. I vividly recall hearing about his assassination as I was sitting in my Uni hall of residence room writing up the day's notes, when a fellow student knocked on the door and blurted out the terrible news before I could open it. The preacher was Archbishop Rowan. It was good to hear him reflecting on the significant contributions to human thought made by three different great lives.

I drove to St German's to celebrate the Eucharist with a congregation of thirty five. Afterwards I had a good conversation with our Iraqi asylum seeker. He's keen to learn more about Christian teaching, and grow her understanding of what she'd learned from surreptitiously attending Syrian Orthodox church services back home. From what this experience and what Islam says about Jesus, she has many questions. Preparing her for baptism is going to be an interesting cross cultural journey.

It was gone half past one by the time I reached home. Traffic flowed freely getting across the city centre, but when I got to the junction nearest home, traffic was at a standstill. It took four changes of traffic lights before I could turn right and right again. I wonder if there's some problem with programming the sequence of the lights to produce such a random bout of congestion?

Yet again my dinner was being kept warm on the stove. Clare had eaten early as she was due to go to an afternoon study group meeting in Bristol. After lunch I went for a walk in the park. Before going out, I checked my weather app and it said there'd be a light shower in three quarter of an hour. Before I reached the end of the street, rain started and went on for about ten minutes. It was quite windy and not easy to control my umbrella, then stopped and didn't return for the rest of the day. After rain overnight the Taff water level was over the top of the Blackweir fish ladder again. 

I got home before sunset, as I had a lift offered to St Peter's to officiate at Evensong and Benediction. Kate collected Jane and I, and brought us back after the service just in time for 'The Archers' and supper. I made a start on preparing liturgical readings to distribute tomorrow, and more additions to Sway emailed to me. I new serial started on BBC 1 at nine called 'Boat Story', set on the North East coast of England. I suppose it would be described as quirky bleak and 'darkly comic'. It was very 'sweary' and unnecessarily violent with a disjointed story-line, presented in episodes like an early silent movie with commentary on content thrown in. All rather off-putting. I'll be interested to read any reviews of this appearing this week.

Finally the Israeli military has shown video of what is said to be an entrance shaft to underground tunnels beneath Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, in the middle of the remains of a building razed to the ground by bombing, also a CCTV video clip of a couple of hostages being taken in haste along allegedly hospital corridors. It's been a long time coming. Premature babies have now been evacuated and are receiving emergency treatment on their way to Egypt. Hostage release negotiations brokered by the Qataris are said to be nearing completion. But are we nearly there yet? As our kids used to say on long journeys.

Maybe when this has happened, water and power supplies will be restored, and more aid convoys allowed through, largely thanks to international pressure. It's hard to see how Palestinians will recover and rebuild after such colossal damage to their recognised territory and population. And hard to see how Israel will overcome damage to its reputation after reacting with such inhumane brutality that it's open accused of collective punishment, and other war crimes, by workers in UN agencies. Sadly collective memory around such crises fades fast, once international attention is distracted elsewhere, as is evident in other war devastated countries,

Plus ça change

Warmer today but still overcast, but no rain, although it must have rained in the night. I woke up early and didn't fall asleep again listening to the radio as I often do. I got up at eight and we had breakfast early with toasted leftover waffles and pancakes from the freezer, which re-heat nicely in the toast if required. Then I spent time writing a sermon for tomorrow. The first two readings spoke about sudden catastrophe striking people unaware and unready. It made me think of what happened in Gaza on October 6th. I had trouble in difficulty getting started, so I looked at my archive for a sermon on the same set of readings, to stimulate my thinking. 

I found one from 15 years ago preached at St John's City Parish Church. Apart from allusions to events of the time, it read as if I'd written it earlier this week, with reference to the situation in Palestine. Disturbing to think so little has changed. I made a copy and used it as the starting point for a re-write, conscious my speaking and writing style has changed in those years more than the things I've observed and reflected on. 

We had an early lunch, as Clare cooked a fish pie, not realising she'd started work on it an hour early. As a result, this gave us an extra hour of afternoon before sunset. I worked for a while on a poster for St John's Church annual Christmas tree and neighbourhood illumination switch-on celebration, attended by Bishop Mary this year. I used Libre Office Impress, equivalent to Powerpoint for this. It was difficult to figure out how to do this at the start, but once I'd learned to control it, producing what I needed turned out to be a lot simpler than doing the same in Libre Office Documents. An attractive slide produced and made into a jpeg with ease. 

Then I added some new publicity material to the trial edition of a whole Ministry Area Sway which I started yesterday, and showed it to a couple of recipients for feedback. Hopefully I can launch this when the Canton Sway is issued next Thursday.

We walked over to the Secret Garden Cafe in Bute Park for a cup of tea. The Taff water level was up to the top of the fish ladder again, indicating much heaver rain inland than on the coast. I continued working on Sway after we returned until it was time for supper. There was one programme we both wanted to watch in the evening, and that was a documentary about the history behind the established story of the murder of young Princes Edward and Richard in the Tower of London. 

An investigation has produced verified documentary evidence that neither prince died at the alleged time, but were secretly spirited away to safe places and then to protection by powerful aunt Margaret of York in her Flanders fortress. Edward raised funds to launch a couple of failed armed expeditions to lay claim to the English throne, and probably died at the battle of Stoke, the last in the Wars of the Roses, a decade later. Richard subsequently launched his own campaign to seize the throne, but also failed. He lived on  in the Tower of London after capture, where he was eventually executed after an escape attempt. The story of an uprising against the first Tudor Henry VII, led by a youthful pretender to the throne called Perkin Warbeck is now thought to have been fabricated by Henry to cover up the real Royal actors in the story of the House of York's failed attempts at a coup d'etat. A fascinating tale nearly two hours long.

And so to bed..

Walking Backwards

Cold, damp, cloudy and dull, but none of the heavy rain threatened. I was up early to drive Rhiannon to the station for a quarter to nine train. Expecting commuter traffic, I left at eight, and got her there half an hour early. The roads were clearer than anticipated. Clare cooked a gammon steak for me last night which I didn't eat, so I had part of it for breakfast and the rest for lunch, as it was too big for me to enjoy eating in one sitting. A real sign of me getting old!

I worked all morning editing input for Sway, arriving in anticipation of Christmas Events. I now have the problem of too much information to deal with to retain visual interest. I'm thinking of trialling a special Sway edition of Advent to Christmas services posters, covering the whole Ministry Area, and linking this into the usual weekly cycle of material, for easier reading. It's a bit more complex, and I don't want to do anything that's going to mess up the routine output, so I'll to use a second Microsoft OneDrive account to make the supplement and link the two. Fairly risk free, hopefully.

I cooked lunch, couldn't snooze in the chair afterwards, despite insufficient sleep last night, and went out for a walk in the park. On the way back I met Clare with her friend Ruth, who was walking backwards when I saw them at first, experimenting to see if she could do so. I was singing Spike Milligan's classic Goon song 'I'm walking backwards for Christmas' for much of the way home after that!

In the evening news about Gaza, criticism grows internationally of the siege that is depriving suffering Palestinians of vital fuel supplies to maintain communications equipment and power water desalination  well pumps and sewage plants. The work of the UN refugee agency has had to stop completely for lack of transport fuel, and hospitals unable to function. The Israeli army has conceded to pressure and is going to allow in a third of the minimum amount of fuel needed. Netanyahu insists that Hamas has fuel and food stocks in its underground tunnel network and is depriving Gazans of supplies and refusing to take responsibility for the chaos, suffering and death his own military policy is creating. The Gaza death toll is now heading towards 12,000, and set to increase due to disease and starvation. In the West Bank, deadly violence againt Palestiniand by Israeli settlers is increasing, in danger of spiralling out of control. The daily horror is unremitting. It's heart breaking.

Back to work on the material I spent most of the morning on, before and after supper. Quite tiring really. Stopped at nine to watch last in series one of Norwegian crimmie 'For Life' on Walter Presents, and then another of 'The Sketch Artist' before bed.

Enhancing liturgical bilingualism

I woke up at the usual time to post my Morning Prayer YouTube link to WhatsApp, and the listened to Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg speak movingly about his Palestinian and Israeli friends bereaved by the war in Gaza, and how they all share and must learn to build on awareness of their common humanity. Then I fell asleep again, and it was a quarter to nine when I finally surfaced. Over eight and a half hours sleep! 

After breakfast I went and shopped for this week's food bank offering to take with me to St John's for the Eucharist, Fr Dyfrig celebrated. It was lovely to hear him use Welsh in the liturgy, unhurried and clear, as he's a first language Welsh speaker. We chatted after the service about bi-lingualism in worship, and the challenge of promoting the use of familiar set texts - Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, said or sung in Welsh. In the Cathedral for instance, we hear more sung in Latin than Welsh, unless it happens to be a service when a bi-lingual hymn is included in the service sheet. We have a beautiful language, and should use it more.

I didn't stop to socialise on this occasion, as I had a rendezvous at noon to take Communion to Sandra in Danescourt. We spent quite a while reminiscing together before praying, so it was gone one by the time I reached home. Rhiannon and Clare had gone to the museum, and then shopping in town and didn't return until tea time. I made myself lunch, then did the weekly mailshot of the Sway link,  then made the video slideshow for next week's Morning Prayer before going for a walk. This time I used my desktop PC to make the slideshow, to be sure I am able to switch between one device and another. I may not need to do so that often, but it's useful to know that I can. Another productive day.

After supper Clare and Rhiannon went to the cinema in Chapter. I had some writing to catch up on, and then found a new series to watch on More Four's Walter Presents channel, called 'The Sketch Artist. It's about a police team of investigators that looks for missing persons and cold cases with a skilled artist who's brilliant at extracting repressed information from victims to help them build a photo fit picture of a perpetrator. Clever stuff. Best of all it's set in Quebec and the dialogue is in modern Canadian French, for value added interest. Diverting viewing at the end of a busy day.

A return to pizza making

Relief from rain today, but it's been colder. I went to St Catherine's and celebrated the Eucharist with ten others and a two week old babe in arms with his dad. What a delight! It's been quite a while since I last blessed such a young baby at the altar. After coffee, I collected this week's veggie bag from Chapter, and then went to the station to collect Rhiannon from the train, she's come to stay for a couple of days, much to our pleasure. 

We haven't seen her since the summer. Since then she's had an acting job in Warwick Castle, and finishing on Hallowee'n with a thirteen hour costume role play session in front of visitors in search of spooky thrills. A good experience for her with half a dozen character scripts to learn by heart. It was great to hear about this, and about a holiday visit  which took her the length of Italy, from Naples to Como, Bologna and Milan by rail with a girl friend. It's not her first excursion abroad without her parents with. Such confidence at nineteen!

I cooked pasta for our lunch, then went for a walk while Clare and Rhiannon went to Beanfreaks for part one of our weekly grocery shopping. When they returned, it was my turn to take the shopping trolley and go to the Co-op for the rest of our provisions. Job done, it was time to start a batch of fresh bread. While it was leavening, I made another batch of pasta sauce to make pizzas with a third of the bread dough. I was pleased with the outcome. It tasted fine, the pizza base was light and spongy in texture, but a bit too thick. I used too much dough. It's many years since I last made a pizza. I'm out of practice at rolling it really thin.

After supper we chatted with Rhiannon and watched the latest episode of 'Shetland'. Then the girls went bed. I watched the news, and learned about the Israeli army entering Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, in search of evidence of a Hamas military operations centre, said to be the justification for bringing the last remaining medical functions to a halt. A small cache of weapons and armour hidden behind a scanner and a couple of laptops containing information about some of the hostages are all that's been found up to now. 

As for hospital access to the tunnel network, nothing so far. None of the staff or patients questioned know of a place where there might be a hidden entrance. It makes more sense to me that such entrances would be at some distance from the hospital, as it wouldn't be in anyone's interest for medical services to be compromised or disrupted by military comings and goings on-site. Maybe bombing nearby has already destroyed entrances and they're now hidden under ruined buildings. 

The main activity being hunted for is a military operations centre whose function is communication with fighting groups. This could be achieved with an easily movable network of laptops and a few satellite phones, whether above or below ground, possible to anticipate once it was clear the hospital's sanctity would be violated by the Israeli army. 

Concealment, mobility and a multitude of fighters with little or no concern for self preservation are assets for Hamas fighters, reminiscent of how the Viet Cong  made waging the war in Vietnam unwinnable for the Americans back in the 1970s, despite their immensely destructive firepower. Another David and Goliath story. Lessons of history unlearned again. I'm following this aspect of the story with interest, but insufficient concentration to prevent me falling asleep in the chair at the end of the news and waking up over an hour later. A busy day, and a tiring one.

Scandal of the unburied

Sunshine and clouds returned for most of the day. Clare's study group arrived for a session after breakfast, and confined myself to the front room and spent the morning preparing Thursday Morning Prayer and a Biblical Reflection for next week. By the time I finished, Clare had already started lunch, but I joined in, preparing the carrots and Brussels sprouts for steaming. 

A phone call came in from Fr Dyfrig asking if I'd cover for him at St Catherine's tomorrow as he can't make it. His own cover for the service at Dewi Sant is unable to make it due to sickness. Being free and with no other plan than to be in the congregation for the service which I make a habit of attending, I was happy to agree.

After we'd eaten I dozed off in the chair listening to a documentary on the Radio. It seems like a waste of time but it happens when I've nothing urgent to get on with apart from regular exercise. Then I walked in the park for nearly two hours getting back just before sunset. Clare had an early supper before going to her meditation group. When I'd eaten, I recorded next week's Morning Prayer and edited it into an audio file, ready for assembly into a video slideshow, which can wait until tomorrow.

Clare returned from meditation group with a copy of Diana's new book just printed, called 'Names and Addresses'.  It's a thank-you to both of us for reading and commenting on it. The publicity launch is in a week's time.

In the day's news, Suella Braverman has launched a viciously critical attack on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a letter to him issued in acknowledgement of her dismissal.  Hell hath no fury like a woman sacked. I don't see how that's going to win votes for the Tories in the next election.  Tomorrow the Law Lords' judgement will be issued on the legality of the government's policy of sending illegal migrants to Rwanda. This letter tries to shift the blame away from herself on to Sunak, before the announcement is made. I find it amazing that she has any supporters left after such foolish behaviour recently.

The situation in Gaza worsens each day with no relief from the fighting for the thousands trapped in the hospital grounds and buildings. Nothing other than first aid is possible with dwindling resources, without power several premature babies have died. The same will soon happen for intensive care patients. There are so many dead bodies which cannot be taken away from at Shifa hospital that a mass grave needs to be dug in the grounds to reduce the growing public health risk. It's outrageous.

The Israeli military say they are willing for patients to go to another hospital, but it's too dangerous for patients to be moved anywhere with continuing firefights going on all around, and stray bullets injuring sheltering people. Other hospitals have also been damaged and are not equipped to cope with patients they have. 

All this tragedy is visible to the wider world as it happens thanks to modern communications technologies. The Vietnam war was said to the the first to be televised, but the internet makes it all more immediate. The backup power supply (presumably) for mobile phone masts will run out of fuel in the next day or so. Then there will be a news blackout, and heaven knows what will go unreported from both sides.

Troubleshooting Photos Legacy

Rain all night and rain for much of the day with the occasional respite. The latest big storm the sweep the UK is now reaching South East Wales. A good night's sleep nevertheless. As I got up at eight thirty, a government cabinet re-shuffle began with the sacking of Sue Braverman, as I predicted, following her succession of outrageous remarks recently. David Cameron has returned to politics as Foreign Secretary, having accepted a place in the House of Lords, the first time for this to happen in fifty years, and there are many other personnel changes as well due to resignations rather than sackings.

After breakfast I did my share of the routine housework then emailed recipients of readings for next Sunday, prepared yesterday and made a few minor edits to the next issue of Sway. Next, I made this week's Morning Prayer slideshow video and uploaded it to YouTube. I decided to check if I could also do the job with MS Photos Legacy on my desktop workstation, as there are still a few discrepancies between the apps installed on each device. It seems that I never installed Photos Legacy on my workstation. Once I did, I couldn't get it to work as it should. I keep getting Clipchamp instead, which doesn't do the same task with photos as it will with videos. Ridiculous.

Clare cooked monkfish fillets for lunch and I prepared sprouts and leeks to go with them. The fish was disappointing, very bony and not much of it. I suspect these were the tail end of the fish. Not the best part. To my surprise, I fell asleep in the chair after lunch. On waking, I decided to investigate what alternatives I could find for exactly the same job as Photos Legacy, and discovered a Cloud based app called 'Canva', which worked using my Chromebook. 

Although the layout was different, after a short session of trial and error finding my way around I was able to upload pictures and audio to create the same kind of slideshow with 'Canva' as I can with Photos Legacy. I means I have an alternative to fall back on if a Windows 11 update decides to delete, or change Photos Legacy in a way that makes it no longer fit for purpose. There are dozens of complaints about Microsoft updates rendering existing software useless. These big tech' giants love to tell us what we want or how we should be working.

Then Owain rang, pleased with the acquisition of a Google Pixel 7 on a monthly contract, and a new solid oak second hand chest of drawers for his flat. I look forward to seeing both in due course. It was half past four by the time I left the house for a walk, the rain had stopped and promised not to return for another hour. It was dusk by the time the wind and rain picked up again. Despite having my umbrella with me, my feet and legs were soaked through by the time I reached home at six.

Clare made a delicious cream of celeriac soup for supper, enhanced with a spoonful of miso which was well past its use by date and dried up, but with effort, it dissolved into the soup to give give it added flavour. A nice wintry evening dish.

I spent the evening troubleshooting. In order to Photos Legacy installed on my workstation to run, I had to find out how to make it the default app instead of Clipchamp. It wasn't as straightforward as it should be. It was also necessary to copy to the Cloud the special collection of downloaded photos I've compiled for use in making video slideshows. Now, it all works fine, enabling me to work in the same way on both devices.

Then I realised that the image found and adapted yesterday for the banner headline of this week's Sway, honouring Saint Cecilia I had incorrectly dated, and had to re-edit this from scratch. A very fiddly job. Then, an invoice document to correct for Iona to send to the diocesan finance office to remunerate me for the work on Sway. This too is part of the cost of running two vacancies, like locum fees for services, given that clergy have hitherto made publicity and information sharing part of their regular work. I don't think the work of a full time parish priest is ever valued and rewarded as that of a secular professional. But when a priest or lay person is appointed to an expert role in a diocese, their salaries are higher. No wonder morale is low when there are fewer clergy and more expert specialists on the payroll.

Hospitals in Gaza are getting to the stake where they can no longer treat patients as they are in areas under attack. The Israeli military claim to have instigated humanitarian pauses in the fighting, and safe passage corridors for evacuation of patients and others sheltering in hospital precincts, but fear of being shot or bombed in such conditions means that few are willing to take the risk of leaving, even though staying where they are is equally unsafe. The more fighting drags on, the more I suspect the Israelis will be unsure of when it will be safe to stop the assault. It's having repercussions for Jewish people all over the world, subjected to antisemitic attacks, even though Natanyahu's government is not their fault and there's nothing they can do to influence his action. It couldn't be worse.

Good news for St German's

Rain overnight, on and off for much of the day, again. I woke up at eight to listen to the news, and after this I was surprised to find that Sunday Worship was being broadcast from Roath, presented by members of 'Urban Crofters', a local community based evangelical missionary initiative which took over St Anne's Church at the invitation of the previous bishop of Llandaff five or six years ago. It emphasises creativity and offers pastoral care and support to young families in the neighbourhood. I don't know any more about the group's background, or relationship to the wider church. 

It's a curious anomaly that 'Urban Crofters' is part of the Central Cardiff Ministry Area, as is the 'Citizen Church', mission initiative that took over St Teilo's Parish Church, obliging its congregation to merge with St Michael's. Roath and Cathays Parish churches belong in one Ministry Area, but, these two initiatives don't relate to their Anglican parish neighbours, but exist as 'empires within an empire' as the saying goes. 

I still don't understand the reasoning behind this or how it's supposed to be beneficial. I'm not against 'fresh expressions of church' or new missionary initiatives. Anglican ministry and mission has long had foundations in being present and serving in distinct localities. Alongside this, there's always been an element of congregations gathering across parochial borders too, but a good relationship between eclectic and localised congregations is also necessary. Both initiatives have easy to access, informative and polished websites, but don't really say enough about their history and identity, as if Anglican roots and relationship aren't part of the story they want to tell, apart from displaying the Church in Wales logo. 

I find there's an element of disconnection between these new initiatives and traditional parishes that's disturbing. There's a presumption that any church plant starts from scratch and re-invents everything from the ground upwards. The worship broadcast I listened to this morning was themed on Remembrance Sunday, with a range of music, readings and speakers, but it was evangelical protestant in ethos with little suggest it had Anglican origins. I don't get it.

After breakfast, I drove to St German's to celebrate Mass with three dozen others, starting with reading the names of local parishioners who died on active service in the two world wars. Including a priest and a nun. The life and the history of the church's neighbourhood is prayed for and cherished by members, as it has been for the past century and a half. There was a real frisson of excitement, as a new round of interviews for a the appointment of parish priest took place on Friday. A candidate was offered and accepted the job. I am so delighted to think they'll have a local pastor of their own within the Ministry Area once more, even though it means my services will seldom be needed in future. It will be the third time I have worked myself out of a regular locum duty job there over the past ten years. 

We'll soon have interviews for West Cardiff Ministry Area, and if successful I'll have worked my way out of a job on the home front as well. I can't say this bothers me. I've done a lot of locum duty here due to vacancies and sickness since I retired. Age is taking its toll. It's slowly become more of a pressure, and I look forward to some relief, stepping back and doing other things I care about and have little time for.

Traffic was slow returning home, and my journey was half as long again, but my lunch was kept warm for me in the oven, but it was two o'clock by the time I'd eaten. I worked then on next week's Sway for an hour and a half before going out for a walk. Heavy rain had stopped, but there were still a few showers. After yesterday's cross country athletics meeting in Llandaff Fields, all the equipment had left, apart from a few dozen crush barriers. All that remained was the muddy trampled areas of grass marking the courses used for the races. It will taken the turf a good while to recover in some places where drainage is poor.

I got home before sunset and listened on catch-up to Friday's episode of Norwegian crimmie 'For life' before supper, and Wednesday's episode of 'Shetland', both missed because I was out. Then the news, with some signs that the Israeli government is now allowing humanitarian pauses in Gaza after weeks of pressure from international agencies and the Americans. Calls for a cease-fire proper will fall on deaf ears until the Israelis have got back the hostages and eliminated as much of the Hamas threat as they can. It's also starting to be admitted that Hamas cannot be totally eliminated whatever is achieved. And then, with whom exactly can the details of a cease-fire be negotiated and by whom implemented? 

It's all far more complex than it seems because the terrible destruction and displacement of people, has just about wiped out civil society and the means of self government. Israel doesn't want long term military occupation of Gaza. Long term aims weren't thought through at the outset. Two million Palestinians will be left needy and helpless, in full view of the community of nations. In the bloodiest and cruellest way possible Hamas' object will have been achieved; to draw attention to half a century of unfinished business in relation to creating a free and independent Palestinian state. The only long term solution to existing problems. It didn't have to be this way. When will we ever learn?

Cautionary tale

I slept amazingly well after last night's banquet and woke up refreshed and rather late, given that I had an extra Morning Prayer upload link to post of WhatsApp, standing in for Pearlin. Ten minutes later she sent a message from South India thanking me. Such a small world the digital world. I was treated by Clare to a sweet and savoury pancake breakfast. She was up a long time before me.

After breakfast, I recorded and edited next week's Morning Prayer and Reflection and then we walked to the Royal Welsh College for lunch, but only sandwiches and cakes were available as the kitchen is shut on a Saturday. I wasn't yet ready to eat and just had a coffee. Clare settled for a sandwich and a de-caf latte, and then we walked home, and had an early meal. 

I was pleased to hear that the 300,000 strong protest march about the Gaza war was re-branded by those involved as an appeal for an Armistice on Armistice Day. The only violence was by far right activists who attempted to breach the security cordon around Whitehall to 'defend the Cenotaph', and cross Westminster Bridge to attack protest marchers, as if the police couldn't. Ridiculous attention seeking behaviour. Over a hundred of this mob of hooligans were arrested. The Met police read the situation correctly and achieved their stated aim, and successfully countered the outrageously distrustful irresponsible remarks during the week of Home Secretary Suella Braverman. She's discredited herself, but will she now resign, or will the Prime Minister sack her first? We'll see. Another Tory comic soap opera.

Ruth agreed to give us a lift to Llantwit Major at a quarter to five, to hear a presentation on painting icons of the Theotokos by Fran with suitable music from Mark on the viola. It took place in the Galilee Chapel of St Illtud's Church, a perfect setting for an audience of about 20. 

Fortunately driving conditions were good for driving both ways in the dark, as we had a rain free day, cold but with mainly blue skies. We were home just before nine, in time to watch a French movie about an air crash investigator whose expertise lay in detailed analysing of sound tracks. A plane, thought to have been hijacked turned out of have been brought down by an security hacker whose secret on-board exploit of the flight safety system to demonstrate a hidden fault goes catastrophically wrong and kills 316 people. Then a conspiracy to cover-up nearly succeed, but the sound track expert dies, having found the evidence and sending it to his wife before his car system is remotely hacked causing it go out of control and crash. 

It's a nightmare story of what could be possible in our over dependent digital world. We've had automatic flight safety and auto control systems causing crashes in real life already. I don't want any car which relies on internet connected electronics. Our present 15 year old car has central locking and electric windows and these give us problems as the wiring has an untraceable fault, which alters the locking priority and stops windows operating. This seems dependent on temperature and humidity variation. So why should I ever trust any all-electronic system. If it can be hacked, someone will.

Armistice Eve banquet

Last night I went to bed early and slept late, after switching on the radio for 'Thought for the Day', then falling asleep again, so I benefited from a good long night's sleep. Again, rain at night, dry with the odd shower all day. I spent the morning re-writing a sermon for Remembrance Sunday around the readings for the day. based on ideas first expressed six years ago on Remembrance Sunday in Mojacar, but in need of adapting to quite a different setting and time. 

Sometimes it's easier to start a sermon from scratch, but these are dark times. Back then it was possible to reflect in a more positive way on how the impact of war on society has changed during my lifetime. Still terrible numbers of casualties, but a tenth of the number lost in the great World Wars in the years since the UN was founded. 

Yes, it's not good enough, but the key to preventing wars is in just and equal treatment for all people. If there's mutual prosperity, resentments don't breed in the same way and lead to violence. It's a simple lesson, which prophetic scripture points towards. But the lessons still haven't been learned or accepted universally. The more we invest in tackling the rich-poor divide, aiming at equality, the more peacemaking will bear fruit. Conflict in the Holy Land is an example of the rejection of this understanding. Undoing the physical, moral and spiritual damage of this war is going to take a very long time.

Clare went out to the Optometrists for a vision checkup this morning and didn't return until early afternoon so I made myself a lightweight pasta with veggie sauce for lunch, to prepared for the evening's banquet. I went for an hour's walk before taking time to get into my formal evening dress kit in order to leave on time for the United Services Mess dinner at the Angel Hotel in town. 

The scheduled bus at ten past six didn't come, so I walked to Cowbridge Road and caught a 17 from then. In the queue in front of us as we left the stop, was the next 61 bus, arriving at Cowbridge Road East at much the same time. The printed timetable on the stop bears no resemblance to reality, and can't be relied on, especially in the evenings.

I was about ten minutes late arriving for the pre supper reception, and met Cardiff's Lady Mayor, and a number of familiar faces from previous dinners, before we were ushered in to the banqueting hall to the customary ritual hand-clapping. Our guest of Honour  and after dinner speaker was Air Vice-Marshal Ian Townsend with general oversight of Britain's military establishments and training programme. He was raised on a Bristol housing estate and flew fast jets on active service for most of his career, being raised through the ranks meanwhile for his leadership ability and thinking. A remarkable story of one entrusted with key roles in the continuing evolution of Britain's defence capability. Interesting to learn at the reception that in his down-time he's a sports referee.

His speech was impressive in painting a big picture of the armed forces in which all participants are to be equally valued. Mutual interdependence in the duty of serving the country is at the core of military strength.  True also in the life of the church, though this often seems to be forgotten. He observed that from the defence perspective there's more than meets the eye to be concerned about in the condition of civil society than wars in Ukraine and Palestine. I think he was talking about terrorism, but he didn't elaborate. The food  and wine (Chilean) was good and plentiful, the food for thought even more so.

Saying the Grace I composed earlier in the day, for 150 diners raised a loud Amen. It occurred to me that it's one of the biggest congregations I've ever prayed with! For the first time in twenty years I think, I spoke the venerable memorial stanza from the hymn 'O valiant hearts' in the dark from memory with confidence without fluffing my lines. Quite a personal achievement for me. 

I didn't stay on for a nightcap at the Mess, but walked along the route of the 61 bus and picked one up that got me home before eleven, after an enjoyable evening, performing the traditional Mess Chaplain's role in the company of a fine bunch of men and (these days) women. An honour and a privilege.

Bill shock

More rain overnight but it had stopped by daybreak. I awoke at seven fifteen and posted today's Morning Prayer YouTube link to WhatsApp, then fell asleep again with the radio on after 'Thought for the Day' for another three quarters of an hour. I certainly needed the sleep. The after effects of the vaccine seem to have worn off now thankfully. Unusually, Clare woke up after me. I had breakfast on the table by the time she appeared. It's usually the other way round.

I walked to Tesco's for the weekly food-bank donation and then St John's for the Eucharist along with five others and Fr Colin. With Puddled roads and pavements, with drains blocked by uncleared leaves making it so much longer for the rain to empty away, it's hard to avoid getting wet feet from pavement puddles and wet trouser legs from cars passing faster than they should. Keeping the streets clean and safe seems to be no longer a concern for Cardiff Council.

A bank statement arrived just before I returned from church with a TalkTalk debit double the usual size, just a month after I reduced the bill by dispensing with unused paid extras, no longer strictly necessary with wi-fi calling and WhatsApp to reduce the monthly outlay of over fifty quid for phone and broadband. We now have to pay for outgoing landline calls, and whatever the tariff, it ends up expensive, as we've become so used to talking for up to an hour without thinking about what it cost since a fixed subscription covers all calls. A couple of years hence, our copper landline will be phased out anyway, so might as well get used to using the wi-fi calling set up now. I admit I forgot a few times initially, but most of the landline calls Clare made, as she'd not properly understood that she could use this with her mobile at home, instead of using the 4G network. My fault, I should have explained more clearly.

Clare cooked lunch, and while I reviewed yesterday's performance of 'Branwen:Dadeni' on my blog after identifying the cause for the phone bill price hike. After lunch an email arrived from Fr Colin with info about an Advent quiet day in Llangasty Retreat House to publicise. I converted the text into jpeg format in Open Office to include in Sway. After lunch, I finished my twelfth Mailchimp Sway link distribution and got it right first time. Pleased that I'd got the job done hassle free for a change.

It was pouring down by the time I was ready to go out for a walk. I had to put on my heavy rain gear to go out, and by the time I opened the door about four thirty, the rain had stopped, and didn't return until I was near home, an hour and a half later. The cloud was so low, it was semi-dark an hour before sunset. I went to Aldi's, and bought Clare a bottle of brandy, and a couple of bargain bottles of wine for myself to last me a week. The water level in the Taff is still up to the top of the fish ladder, but no higher, about meter below the top of the river bank each time I've passed by this week. We've not yet seen the volume of rainfall that caused the river to overflow on to the footpath, in January this year, back on 16th February 2020, when Pontcanna fields were flooded and much worse things happened higher upriver in Ponty and Taffs Well. 

Remedial river bank clearance work followed later in the spring. I wonder if additional work has been done on clearing riverbed stones this year, as water flowing over the weir doesn't shoot up into a foamy wave now impeding downriver flow as it used to. I spend the equivalent of half a day each week out in the park, and take an interest in any environmental changes that might overwhelm flood defences in times of a catastrophic weather event, even though we live nearly a mile away from the river. One thing I have noticed this year is that the pool just below the weir is frequented more often by Cormorants fishing for the elvers that hatch there. Some as yet unobserved change has improved breeding conditions. 

I wrote for an hour before supper after my shopping trip in the dark, and wrote more in the evening as well. Before turning in for the night, I watched the sixth and final episode of 'Payback' on ITVX catch-up in which the evil perpetrators got their comeuppance, and the surviving victim and her kids got to start a new life in a new place where they couldn't be found. A complex tale of crime and money laundering and the extraordinary lengths to which criminal financial experts will go to hide conversion of ill-gotten gains and invest in legitimate businesses and property, somewhat hard to follow on times, but worth watching.

Welsh musical First Night

More rain overnight, so the pavements and rains were flooded when I walked to St Catherine's to celebrate the Eucharist. There were a dozen of us today. As it was the 'All Saints of Wales' feast day, I had the idea beforehand of making a list of Welsh Saints whose names I could recall from memory from place names around the Principality, then read them out in place of a sermon and explained why. There was one local to us, St Elvan, to whom a church in Aberdare is dedicated. Stephen, who taught in the town's Church secondary comprehensive school, reminded me of this over coffee afterwards. Apart from this omission, I managed to remember twenty four names.

I then went to Chapter to collect this week's veggie bag and cooked some chicken for myself and a sugo to accompany this, and the veggie equivalent of meatballs. Later, I did the week's grocery shopping at the Co-op, and made a few edits on Sway. Then it was time for an early supper so that we could drive to the Millennium Centre for the first sell-out performance of 'Branwen:Dadeni', a Welsh language music theatre show.  Here's a peek at the rehearsals

The story is a creative adaptation of a tale from the Mabinogion about a royal family in decline, war weary, corrupt, looking to restore its fortunes through the ability of a charismatic 'People's Princess' to unite the kingdom to build a new society together. All that happens in the story is history repeating itself. It's a matter of plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - same old, same old yet again. 

The auditorium was packed with younger than average opera goers, predominantly Welsh speaking. An unusual experience! A band of six musicians played from an open gallery above the stage - keyboard bass, drums, to fiddles and harp. The music was too loud for me, but appropriate to the character of the show, even if on times the dialogue was repeated in song a dance routine 

The spoken dialogue was interspersed with song and dance routines delivered by six principal performers plus eight singers performing either in the gallery or on stage. Translated into English on two of the three surtitle screens (one at stage level in the corner), it was often funny but for my taste, overly crude adding nothing to the story, if anything a substitute for real emotional depth. 

Much of the dialogue was poetic philosophical, reflecting on the nature of power and status. I'd love to see a full operatic treatment of this libretto by a top composer like Carl Jenkins, as a completely sung version would bring out its full emotional power and colour. 

It was gone eleven when we reached home. I had to hunt the neighbourhood for a place to park the car, as our street was full. That's why I hate going out in car at night. Returning the usual hassle spoils the pleasure, and it won't be easy to get to sleep.

Portillo in Granada

I woke up this morning with a stiff neck, having slept deeply but in an awkward position. It's impossible to say how much of the muscle pain was due to physical stress, and how much due to reaction from the covid jab. After breakfast I tried to edit the biblical reflection I started yesterday, but found it hard to concentrate with the aches and pains. Clare gave me a head massage which made my neck less stiff, but the headache continued for the rest of the day. Definitely a reaction to the jab then.

Clare had a homeopathic consultation mid-morning, so I drove her there. I was going to walk in the park nearby but the ground was badly waterlogged. Instead, I walked to the big Sainsbury's supermarket ten minutes away down the road, trying to remember the regular content of our weekly grocery shopping list, and was able to recall about half of what we needed. Opposite Saintsburys is Thornhill Church, which was started by a group of evangelical Christians in 1980 moving into newly built houses in the rapidly developing suburb of the same name. They worshipped in the local primary school to start with, then raised funds for their own building in 1997. It now has a congregation of a hundred and fifty. I remember visiting there for a meeting when I was Vicar of St John's, and haven't come this way since then. There's now a community cafe and the building is open for different social and pastoral activities every day. It's an impressive suburban missionary initiative.

After a curry Clare cooked for, lunch I went into town to collect my jacket which Slater's workshop cannot repair, and then went to meet the Iraqui refugee who's been attending worship at St German's in recent months. She brought her daughter to meet me, a lively 21 year old who insisted on buying me a coffee. She's recently been granted settled status, and is thinking about how she can promote her mother's cause to stay. Their story is quite disturbing, not least the immigration officers' disbelief in the truth of her statements, backed by original documents. If she were sent back to Iraq she would be imprisoned for leaving without her ex-husband's permission, and at risk of revenge killing. There is an illusion in government back offices that Iraq is now secure and stable. If so, how come the US Secretary of State visiting Baghdad was portrayed wearing a kevlar stab vest?

It was dark by the time I took the bus home. I watched a programme about Andalusia by Michael Portillo on Channel Five. Well actually, it was all about Granada and how his late father Luis Gabriel Portillo was a poet and republican intellectual. He met the poet Frederico Garcia Lorca just before the Civil War broke out, and was with him not long before Lorca was murdered.  Luis had gone to Madrid and survived until he was able to flee to France and then England after the republican defeat. Portillo Junior reflected on the last long conversation he had with his father in the gardens of the Alhambra Palace just before he died in 1993. The last travelogue he made traced his father's journey of escape from Spain, with Michael taking the same route to freedom. His travelogues are always picturesque and entertaining, but don't dig into the historical backdrop or the ideas espoused by his father and Lorca. Could do better, in my opinion.

Before bed I watched the news.The violence in Gaza is relentlessly cruel, and coming in for criticism from the international community of being disproportionate amounting to punishment of innocent civilians, but the Israelis show no sign of being deterred. There seems to be no idea of how this will end and what will happen when shooting and bombing stops. The same seems to be true for Russia whose battlefield losses amount to 307,000 soldiers in Ukraine. It's painful to think about. Such a waste of precious lives. truly a vile blasphemy against humanity made in God's image.

Jab number seven

A cold but sunny day for the most part. After breakfast, as usual Monday housework, then work on Sway, emailing next Sunday's readings, and preparing Morning Prayer text for a week Thursday, before cooking lunch. I slept quite well last night, but was tired enough to sleep for an hour after lunch. 

Before going for a walk I drafted a reflection on next Thursday's Gospel passage in which Jesus proposes an alternative to retaliation. It's so radically different from how militant Israelis and Arabs behave, time and time again in their shared history, and their voices are far louder than those on both sides who realise the fatal futility of retaliation. Over ten thousand Palestinians dead now, four thousand of them children, and fourteen hundred Israelis. Eglantine Jebb, founder of 'Save the Children' once said: "All wars, whether just or unjust, disastrous or victorious, are waged against the child." How heart-breakingly true this.

I left the house at four later than I planned. I had time for one circuit of the park before heading up to the Mass Vaccination Centre in Rookwood Hospital for my covid jab appointment at five twenty. It began to rain when got to Llandaff village and it was dark by the time I arrived at five. I didn't have to queue, I was seen straight away and on my way out by ten past. The nurse reminded me that this is covid jab number seven. Amazing! 

Fortunately the rain had stopped by the time I left, and my wet trousers dried out as I returned to the park for another circuit to reach my daily target.

After supper I watch the last of the newest series of 'Usedom Krimen', then the last chapter of Beevor's 'The Battle for Spain'. A long read, but well worth while, full of insight into the cruel fratricidal conflict between nationalists and republicans.  Reflecting on this, Beevor writes: 'Violence is often the product of a distorted expression of fear. And the more that fear is supressed out of a need to show bravery, the more explosive the result.'  Ninety years on from the Spanish Civil War, the same insight applies to the both sides in the Gaza conflict. And they have been fearful and resentful of each other for millennia.

Old Talk

An early start on a cold bright Sunday morning, driving to St Peter's for the nine thirty Eucharist. We were three dozen, and the chill extended to church as the heating control had broken in the week and won't be replaced until tomorrow. Afterwards over coffee, I chatted with Fr Huw and his wife, a contemporary of mine, with a varied ministry in parishes of Llandaff Archdeaconry, during which he never learned to drive, but walked everywhere and saw the benefit of this in terms of pastoral  relationship. When necessary his wife was his chauffeur. 

He's providing locum cover in Fairwater where they live now during the vacancy. He recalled how in his first year of retirement Fr Colin the Vicar broke his foot, so he was on locum duty for three months. That reminded me of covering for Fr Mark when he was off sick waiting for and then recovering from hernia surgery for a long period. Well, you do what you have to do for as long as you can. Once a priest, always a priest, as they say.

It was nice to get home by eleven fifteen and potter around until Clare came home from church. Lunch was already planned and prepared so there was nothing to do, except open a bottle of Chianti Classico, a rare bargain purchase yesterday to let it breathe before the meal. After we'd eaten I went to bed for an hour. I sleep less on Saturday nights, although not badly, and try to make up for it if I can. For reasons I cannot understand, the fitbit sleep tracker records these hour long siestas some on occasions not others, regardless of whether I'm sitting in an armchair or lying in bed. Not impressed as the impoverished data set is reflected in averages given, and the annoying advice the device conveys. It's so patronising.

I had a good long walk as far as Llandaff weir, on the East bank of the Taff, and got back just as the sun was setting. I had a message from the Iraqui refugee who attends St German's, accepting my offer of support for her as she waits for her application to be processed. She has a very strong case, and her daughter's asylum request has already been granted, but it's taking a long time, for reasons that are unclear, and it's worrying her. I also wrote to Diana with comments and reflections on her book, while Clare went to Salem for their evening service in Welsh. While she was out it started to rain. I felt sorry for those attending the Parish bonfire in St Catherine's grounds. I hope it was burning too strongly to be extinguished by the rain.

Another refugee camp in Gaza has been bombed with loss of life. The Rafah border crossing was closed yesterday to foreign nationals with exit permits but not to incoming aid traffic it seems. Calls for a ceasefire or humanitarian pauses continue but to no effect, as the bombardment of Gaza City and incursion of the Israeli army continues and the death toll goes up to 9,400, maybe more, with misery for two million Gazans. What good can come of this?

New series night

More rain overnight again, but the sun shone among the clouds when I woke up, then a morning in which periodic intense cloudbursts turned dropped kerbs on street corners into ponds as water couldn't soak away quickly enough. A tribute to poor design. We had waffles for breakfast, then I printed tomorrow's sermon, and sat reading more of Diana's novel until the rain stopped, allowing us to go out for a walk for an hour and a half. On the way back we called in the Co-op to buy provisions for drinks after church tomorrow, as it's Clare's turn to serve. We also called at the deli for a takeaway vegan lunch and the Hot Pantry bakery to buy a sausage roll and a Chelsea bun. They do very good Chelsea buns, a reminder of childhood.

I read some more of Diana's novel after lunch, and then walked over to Aldi's for a bottle of brandy for Clare's Swedish Bitters decoction and a few other things that they do well and at a better price than other stores. The water in the Taff at Blackweir had nearly reached the top of the fish ladder when I crossed the bridge on my way there. When I returned, the water level had risen a few inches in the half an hour since I crossed over and took a video of the river. The short clips I took, I used in making a one minute composite video when I returned, the best way of finding out how to place transitions and fades between clips. It works in a slightly different way to Windows Movie Maker which I learned to use a long while back.

On the evening news, representatives of Jordan and Egypt called for a ceasefire in Gaza in the presence of Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, who was non-committal about this. Israel called a three hour halt to the assault this afternoon to allow civilians to leave and go to the south of Gaza, but it's not clear how many refugees took advantage, fearful of being shot at either mistakenly by Israelis or Hamas fighters trying to prevent people from fleeing, as they are hiding behind civilians when not on the attack. It is alleged by the Israeli military that an ambulance shelled yesterday contained Hamas fighters not injured people. Will this be verified by evidence produced eventually? We'll see. 

After supper, I finished reading Diana's novel, then watched the first in a new series of 'Shetland' followed by the first in a new series of 'Usedom Krimi' before finishing the day. It's been a while since I've watched anything in German. It makes a change. 

Opera showcased at RWCMD

More rain overnight, but a dry day with blue skies and sunshine most of the time, but colder now after so much rain this week. I spent an hour on the phone to my sister June after breakfast. So pleased to hear that the latest medication she's been prescribed seem to be working and at last she's sleeping better. Then I got to work on my Sunday sermon. We had lunch early so we could walk to RWCMD for a two o'clock show in which opera students show cased their term's work, by performing different scenes from a wide range of operas all presented in the same stage setting with no scene changes, just some changes of costume by the singers, and a continuous flow from one scene to another. Cleverly done

It took place in the Richard Burton Theatre, and it's the first time I've been in there, let alone to a show. It's a smallish auditorium with stalls and two encircling galleries and the stage framed by a proscenium arch. At first the show was a little confusing, as the form of presentation was unexpected, and there was no time to read the programme beforehand. 

There were eleven scenes, from composers of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries plus a contemporary work by an unheard of composer. A quintet, quartets, trios, duets of singers performed and the eleven members of the complete company rendered a beautiful Handel Chorus I'd never heard before. An amazing variety packed into a ninety minute programme, performed with charm, gusto, good humour with superb acting and singing by everyone. 

I was glad the sun was shining brightly when we walked back through Bute Park. We called at the Secret Garden cafe for a drink. It was rather cold sitting outdoors and it was necessary to walk briskly the rest of the way. The river at Blackweir Bridge wasn't quite as high as yesterday but still pretty full. When we got back I completed my sermon before cooking a lentil porridge with broccoli spears in it for supper. There was only one thing I wanted to watch at nine, plus the evening news, so after we'd eaten with time to spare I prepared liturgical material for next week, then read another chapter of Diana's novel before Norwegian crimmie 'For Life' came on.

More foreign nationals are being let out of Gaza, including a group of Brits today, but still the killing of civilians continues. Hassan Nazrallah the head of heavily armed Hezbollah islamist militants in Lebanon has spoken publicly today about the situations in Gaza, warning of regional escalation but not committing Hezbollah to do more than it already is, with distractive surprise attacks along the the Israeli border. He stated that Hamas in Gaza had acted unilaterally without any of its allies knowing its plans, in some sense disowning his group of any responsibility but not criticising the outrage. Hezbollah's army is much more powerful and larger than that of Hamas, but for the moment, not interested in joining this fight. Netanyahu shows no sign of agreeing to a humanitarian pause, and cease-fire is not an option, regardless of the scale of non-combatant losses. It's just as insane as the mass murder of Israelis which precipitated this war. And the world seems helpless in the face of such ruthlessness. 

Lord have mercy upon us.