Another overcast start to the day with occasional light showers and a strong wind which didn't drive away the clouds until early evening. I posted my Morning Prayer YouTube link to WhatsApp three quarters of an hour later than usual, as I woke up early, switched on the news and then dozed off again. Not that it matters that much to anyone but me, trying to retain a semblance of punctuality in my everyday routine.
After breakfast, I helped Clare decant photos of her clavichord from her phone to her laptop, so she could use one to apply for a registration certificate for an instrument with ivory keys. It seems that if you wish to sell or donate any artefact containing real ivory you are legally obliged under the CITES convention on endangered species to register a formal declaration to this effect. There are special categories for ancient artefacts, another for the period for the post-war period up until 1974, and another for the period since the trade in ivory was banned. Each is covered by a different type of license. The one Clare is required to keep on file permits for up to 20% ivory content for anything produced in the period up to 1974. In reality true ivory keys will be a fraction of a percent of the weight of the instrument, so it's of little concern. Still it has to be done. Ivory keys have been replaced post-1974 by synthetic materials of similar quality.
Then I did the weekly big grocery visit to the Co-op. Although no rain was forecast, a sudden brief shower left me very damp, but by the time I was walking home again, my top coat had almost dried out in the wind at 18C. The shopping trolley was unusually laden with heavy items on the return trip with all that I purchased. In addition, when emptying it, I discovered a sweet potato and two avocados which I hadn't bought beneath the base of the bag. Somehow they slipped into hiding on Clare's shopping visit to Beanfreaks earlier in the week.
For lunch I cooked a veggie favourite dish with butter beans. Although I slept quite well, I slept for more than an hour after we'd eaten, and then went out for a walk to Thompson's Park. From the photos I took of the moorhen family, I see a clear difference between the tree chicks. The larger pair, when not out foraging for themselves, stand on one leg by the nest on the edge of the pond accompanied by the larger adult male. Google tells me wading birds do this to conserve body heat when inactive, tucking the other one into their downy feathers. The length of waders' legs makes them a source of significant body heat loss apparently.
The third chick is smaller than the other and spends more time swimming, following the female around and taking titbits of food from her beak. I wonder if at a certain stage of development segregation of the sexes occurs so that differently gendered offspring can learn different behaviours from their parents? The past few weeks of regularly observing this family have been been interesting. After a few laps of the park, I walked over to Llandaff Fields to complete my daily step quota before going home for tea and cake.
After supper, time to file away many months backlog of mailed as opposed to digital financial statements, and collect documents into one physical folder ready for doing my annual tax return. A tiresome and tiring job. So much small print and serial numbers to read. It took me an hour to deal with. The only document in print I didn't have was my CofE pension P60 statement. A quick check of my emails revealed a recent notification of the posting of this to my on-line pension account, set up some years ago when the system was introduced. From logging in to to downloading the relevant pdf file took a few minutes. The website is clear, simple and easy to navigate presuming you're digitally literate. But that's enough paperwork for tonight. So I end the day reading in Spanish for an hour and a half before bed.
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