A day of sunshine and showers. I had some housework to catch up on after being out yesterday. Clare's study group came for a session after breakfast. As they were quiet, sitting around the middle room table, I recorded and edited next week's Morning Prayer and Reflection. We had an early snack lunch afterwards, then I drove Clare to her UHW eye appointment at one thirty.
Then I visited Tourotech and ask Davey about the anomalous startup time for Owain's Dell Optiplex. He thinks it may be something to do with the CMOS battery getting run down, maybe needing replacement. The BIOS isn't holding the date at the moment, but Windows 11 boots up with the correct time once it attaches to the internet. The BIOS clock can be set correctly on boot-up, then checked for accuracy every few days. I have similar issues with my Windows Visa driven Acer, bought sixteen years ago. It led to new files being dated incorrectly, so checking BIOS date and time could matter.
Then I went to the Coop to buy some chicken and veg. On my way home I noticed some interesting looking paintings on show in Oriel Canfas, and went in to take a look. Anthony Evans, the artist was there, looking after the gallery, and I had in interesting chat with him. The paintings that caught my eye were made on Bardsey Island, during a recent spell as resident artist there. What a delight.
I took the shopping home, then went for a walk in the park. It was quite mild for the time of year at 9C, and I was home well before sunset. Clare walked back from UHW after a wait of over two hours to be examined and coming away with no idea of what change if any there has been in her eye condition. How frustrating! I cooked supper early, and it was ready to serve when she arrived home after dark.
I spent the evening with the Imagination app on my Linux workstation, making next week's Morning Prayer video and uploading it to YouTube. It wasn't hard to learn but more limited than the Windows Photos Legacy app I'm used to working with on Windows. It only exports VOB video files which need to be converted to MP4 format to display on mobile devices, it seems. It accepts MP3 audio for the soundtrack, but when it comes to previewing and working out the right timing for each slide, the playback isn't as easy to control as Photos Legacy. It is however quicker in other respects, because it's not a Cloud app, but based on the computer, and that makes it quick and smooth to operate. It means I could make a slideshow video off-line if my Windows laptop wasn't working, or Microsoft decided to remove Photos Legacy to force user on to the newer Clipchamp, which is far too sophisticated for such a simple straightforward task as making a slideshow.
Jordanian helicopters have started flying aid into Gaza today, and BBC reporter Fergal Keane was the first foreign journalist to be allowed to visit the Strip since the war began. Will any reporters be allowed in across the Israeli border I wonder. Fighting has broken out in the Congo, where a rebel militia backed by neighbouring Rwanda has invaded Goma, the city region which housed a million Rwandan refugees from the genocide there thirty years ago. It seems that control of the rich mineral resources in Eastern Congo is what's a stake. So much for Tory assurances that Rwanda was a suitably safe place to process asylum seekers deported from Britain.
Fireworks in the air this evening, marking the eve of the Ramadan fast. When I went into the big Tesco Extra yesterday on my way back from Bristol, I noticed there was a long aisle of shelves dedicated to Ramadan and Eid al Fitr purchases. I didn't bother to check what was on sale, but I guess it might be treats for the evening's iftar fast breaking meal.
There's been a strange dripping sound in the bathroom today, but it was impossible to work out where it was coming from, as it sounded like it was emanating from the bath plug hole. As Clare was getting ready for bed she noticed the sound of dripping was louder, and there was a patch of water underneath the sink. Then she noticed a long damp path along a beam probably, in the kitchen beneath. Most of the water dripping somewhat slower during the day had leaked behind a fascia covering water and drain pipes, and then on to a bean below. All that could be done was to shut the rising main tap downstairs and drain the pipes above. Slowly the dripping came to a halt. I think a crack has developed in a bend of the pipe leading up to the cold tap. We'll need to call in a plumber tomorrow. Meanwhile I collected about ten litres of water to use tomorrow, and we won't need to get up in the night to empty a bucket.
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