Famous last words yesterday

Under a clear sky the air temperature went down to minus one last night, but it was good to wake up late to sunny day. After breakfast I revised my sermon and then went to print it, only to discover that the fancy desktop interface wouldn't communicate with the printer despite my confidence that it would 'just work' yesterday. Too confident. I didn't print a test page, though it was late in the day. In times past the Linux HP software package has worked when persuading the printer to work with previous Linux devices, so I added this to my computer's app repository, the correct printer driver installed itself and then it worked. A few anxious and annoyed moments on the way there, but all should be well in future.

Good to hear that the exchange of hostages in Gaza and release Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons has proceeded smoothly this morning. Civilian female hostages were meant to have been released before any members of the military, and Netanyahu is complaining about this. From the Hamas perspective releasing military personnel early eases pressure on their captors. Soldiers are trained to observe and remember. In a changing situation, the may take in additional useful information to feed back to Israeli intelligence still focused on eliminating Hamas. A complex information game within a war. Gaza Palestinians are allowed to return to their homes at the moment, but no journalists are allowed into the Strip to tell stories about the victims of this conflict. The more Netanyahu's government attempts to control the narrative, the less their version will be deemed trustworthy. Do they not realise this? Or is it that they don't care because 'might is right' in their eyes.

Clare went out for a walk while I was troubleshooting the printer, so I cooked lunch, including pressure cooking a couple of gammon steaks in apple juice with cloves, while Clare had another portion of fish pie. This method of cooking worked well, and gave me two meals worth of succulent cooked meat.

After lunch I went out for a walk, while Clare was having a siesta. Then we caught up with each other in Llandaff Fields and walked a circuit together. I then went up to the top of Thompson's Park as the sun was setting and took a few photos.

I spent the evening reading the last third of 'Las luces de Septiembre'. It's quite a good supernatural story, with a teenage adventure romance developing throughout which doesn't come to a conclusion as part of the story, but promises to in an epilogue dated ten years after. The book is one of a series of novels Zafón wrote for teenagers which launched his career because grown-ups read them too. I don't think it's his best in this series. Scary and horrific sequences are too long. It's not just a matter of an Hispanic storytelling style being rather verbose. That's fine when it's entertaining, but if it adds nothing to build up of tension in the narrative when you find yourself saying - for heaven's sake get on with it man - it would benefit from an editor being cruel to be kind.  My next Spanish read is something different. A crime novel. Kath's Christmas present, but that's for another day. It's bed time already.