Too much sophistication

I didn't wake up quite so early this morning as there were high clouds and haze veiling the brightness of the sun, so the temperature was only 20C today After posting today's YouTube link to Morning Prayer on WhatsApp, I dozed for a while, listening to politicians interviewed on the BBC Today programme and got up slowly. 

The Prime Minister was being interviewed and challenged about the record of his promises to parliament and the electorate. He confidently dished out facts out of context aiming to underplay or avoid admitting his failures like a man in a dream. Or else he was having a go at Keir Starmer for his willingness to change his mind on issues in the light of fresh evidence, which is what you would expect from a top lawyer of any integrity. Thankfully we're spared the bluffing and lies of Boris Johnson for the moment.

I went into town on the ten to twelve bus and visited the Church Shop. John and Julia were behind the counter today. As there was no wind, it was assumed there'd be fewer customers, as more would be drawn to the beaches, but the end of the morning turned out to be quite busy. There was even a group of ex-pats visiting from Benalmadena at one point. I stayed for an hour, then went to the shops for bread and milk on my way back to Parada Monica to get the ten to two bus.

Lunch was portion two of what I cooked yesterday with the addition of some lentils and eaten with rice, it made me dozy enough to need a siesta afterwards and that, despite a long sleep last night. Once refreshed, I continued reading Dai Troubadour, making changes as I went, a process I'm enjoying now I have silence and time without distraction to give it my full attention.

After supper, I walked up the mountain track beyond the houses. On the ridge overlooking the eastern edge of Torrox Costa a skylark was singing just ten metres above me and there was another replying some distance away. My Lumix TZ95 camera stubbornly refused to let me focus on it. It kept bleeping as I pressed the trigger, as if a plain point and shoot photo was too hard for it to do. So I missed the shot.

I think this is the hardest camera to use I've ever had. It's incredibly sophisticated in what it can and does do well, if you understand it, and need all that sophistication. I don't get it, and mourn the damage to my Sony HX90 pop up viewfinder, which led me to leave it at home. Though it still works, I don't know for how long it will continue to work. There's no replacement for it on the market that I know of, and they are sadly a second hand rarity.

I had a genuine email from the bank notifying me of a communication posted on my account, stating in heavy type that I may need to take action. I don't take my log-in details with me when I'm out of the country, and don't use the phone banking app, but this put the wind up me. A word with Clare on the phone and I was able to acquire and use the login details securely. Talk about making a drama out of a routine process! The notification was nothing more than my annual account summary, only needed for tax declaration purposes. I will need to take action when I fill in my return, but I don't need that kind of reminder, implying urgency.

Enough excitement for one day. I'm off to bed now, tired as usual by all this daily hill climbing.