MOT'd

A pleasantly warm sunny day for driving over to Splott after breakfast to take the car to N G Motors for its MOT test. I walked back to Newport Road, took a bus to Greyfriars Road and walked from there to the bus stop outside Holiday Inn, to catch a 62 to Llandaff Fields, a journey of about fifty minutes. I've agreed to celebrate this Sunday's Parish Eucharist at St Paul's Grangetown, so I now have a sermon to prepare in just a few days. Last Sunday was priest in charge Fr Edward's farewell service before moving to North Cardiff. It's a coincidence that when Fr David their last cleric left I was the first locum priest to minister to the congregation in the vacancy. I wonder if anyone in the congregation will remember?

Clare and Owain went out for a walk to Bute Park for coffee and a snack. I stayed behind, thinking about that sermon, intending to join them, but I didn't get around to it, and ate on my own. After they returned Owain and I set off town, walking and by bus. We parted company outside John Lewis, where Owain went to buy a new keyboard and mouse to go with his new work laptop, which wouldn't work with the bluetooth Apple Mac keyboard he used with the previous laptop. Hopefully, work will pay for this.

I went around to the John Lewis entrance on the other side of the building where there's a Newport Road bus stop. A 49 bus arrived, I joined the passengers and go on. Then we were told the (new electric) bus couldn't start as the brake pedal spring had broken, so it couldn't be safely driven. We all got off to wait, and fortunately within a few minutes another Newport Road bus arrived which took me to the nearest stop for the walking round across Adamsdown, over the railway bridge and into Splott. I arrived at the garage just as the garage was about to close. The car needed a replacement tyre, though its companion was hardly worn, suggesting I must have hit something to throw the wheel tracking out of alignment some time ago. 

Our annual mileage is now only 3,000 so rarely do we make long journeys. It's a useful convenience given the price of fuel. It costs about £1300 a year to run. We don't have to take depreciation of value into account. In a few years time we'll be obliged to scrap it anyway and by then I may no longer want to drive. So is it worthwhile? Probably yes if you take into account the cost of the taxis when needed, long distance train and bus journeys maybe car hire. The alternatives require cost time and effort to arrange and book. 

I was back home by half past four. My parking space outside the house had not been taken by someone else, which was a relief. Clare cooked supper. Roast veggies, fish for her chicken for me, apple crumble to follow. I spent time before and after supper reading Zafon's 'Marina'. As I was so preoccupied by my phone screen breakage, I forgot to mention on Monday that two more of his novels arrived in the post, ordered by Kath as belated Christmas and birthday presents. Some good things are worth waiting for.

A new Swedish thriller started on Walter Presents in the prime time slot, called 'Hostage'. It's about a sophisticated electronic hijacking of a transatlantic flight. A bit slow, with lots of flashbacks, but quite an interesting theme. Then bed.