Bright sunshine today with occasional showers and passing cloud, but a chill wind. More like April than July. My body seems to have fought off whatever mystery bug has laid me low and made me cough this last two weeks, but the final act of whatever it was hit me hard with a morning of diahorrea, which was exhausting as well as draining.
Clare and Jas went off to visit the food festival down the Bay. I stayed behind to recover. Eventually I had a walk in the park followed by a light light lunch, and fell asleep in the arm chair for an hour. A phone call from Clare woke me from slumber, telling me they'd been unable to rely on buses as there was disruption in the city centre due to an event which turned out to be a fan zone for the England v Switzerland football match in the Castle grounds. Clare was walking back, Jas had taken a number 1 circular bus out to a big Sainsbury's on Colchester Avenue, in search of an Argos outlet where she could but a particular make of Polaroid camera she was interested in taking with her on the next leg of her European holiday trip. Could I drive over and collect her, as there were very few buses and no useful information?
I agreed, headed out of Canton toward the other side of town and into a traffic queue caused by a road closure from Canton Bridge to the other side of the city centre. No road closure or traffic diversion notices in evidence where most needed to allow drivers to anticipate the change. I had to drive around the streets of lower Canton to get back to where I could anticipate the route change, and had only gone a quarter of a mile when Clare called to say Jas messaged her to say she'd caught a different bus back to the city centre and intended walking home. I returned and parked the car then sent Jas a message to find her whereabouts. She was just entering Bute Park at the far end, so we agreed to meet at Blackweir Bridge and walk back together. This we did, and returned talking cameras all the way. I'm amazed at how confident she is at 17 and happily independent about getting around in the strange city.
After supper Clare and Jas played together for the last time on this trip and I listened from the other room. Two learners working together. Her sax playing is a little tentative as this instrument's fingering system isn't the same as the one she plays back home. Clare's playing is tentative as she's still learning to play by heart, something that comes naturally to Jas, it seems. She's happy to play by ear. Like her mother, like her grandfather.
Then I watched another episode of 'The Sommerdahl Murders', and learned from IMDB that many other viewers are as unimpressed as I am by a glossy production set in seaside suburbia. By way of contrast, 'Hierro' which I recently finished watching has received top ratings all round for story, location, dialogue acting and movie craftsmanship. Like many other, I too am sorry there won't be third season.
Jas and Clare went to bed early. Another early start for a coach trip to Bristol Airport for an early flight. Jas is going to meet her boyfriend Louis in Bordeaux. They're visiting his grandparents in Bergerac before flying back to Arizona. What amazes me is that Jas can afford to do something like this partly because she's earning from the after-school job she has in a Matcha tea shop in addition to support from her Dad. I didn't have such confidence or work experience at her age. The best I could manage was a few sessions cleaning buses.
Keir Starma has convened his first cabinet meeting today, and still has junior ministerial appointments to make. His sense of purpose and direction and his candour about the crisis his government faces marks him out as a leader worthy of respect. Nothing will change rapidly, except perhaps the national morale, as a bitter disillusioned public recognise someone is telling them the truth and working hard to unite the nation in tackling the problems, working together with integrity for the common good. Oh how we need this, after all the years of sugar coated lies.
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