Jazz at St Catherine's Hall

Another day of sunshine and occasional showers, after a good night's sleep. I had the house to myself after breakfast as Clare went into town, so I wrote a reflection to go with Morning Prayer the week after next and recorded the audio for the occasion. Then I cooked lunch and afterwards edited the audio and made a start on the video slide show. As the day in question celebrates two reformation pioneers who translated the Bible and Book of Common Prayer into Welsh, William Salesbury and William Morgan, I wanted an image that portrayed them side by side, but couldn't find one, so I found one of each man and made a jpeg of their portraits side by side, using the latest version of the Gimp image editor, which I had to download to use. Gimp is still as complex and not very user friendly for novices as it always was, but step by step learning how to use its immense resources delivers the image you need eventually. There are quicker ways to do the same thing, but when I use Gimp I learn new things every time - and often forget them too!

Having taken the slide show as far as I needed, I went to the shops to buy some sauerkraut. We've started to eat it regularly this past few months as small amounts each day seem to be beneficial for the digestion. Then I walked in Llandaff Fields for an hour before supper. I noticed that all six of the newly completed courts were hosting padel players for the first time.  It looked to me like a session by invitation only to try out the facility and identify and snagging issues before a formal opening ceremony on a date yet to be announced. Landscaping the ground outside and paving the entrance area is still a work in progress.

After a quick snack supper we went to St Catherine's Church hall for an hour's fund raising concert of American popular song by the Gershwin brothers, by local jazz sextet 'Heads Up'. It was a delight which took me back to teenage years, growing up in a musical household where listening to jazz was as common as classical music with brother in law Geoff playing regularly in a dance band.

My sister June had a record player and scoutmaster Penry (who fancied my sister) had a collection of modern jazz records which amazingly he was willing to lend to interested teens like me. Every song played was a reminder for those years that helped shape my musical taste for life. So many half remembered lyrics, but always perfectly recalled melodies and accompaniments. That's what my mind has always excelled at, along with visual imagery, more so than literary texts. Ah the things that shape the life we end up living!

After the concert we returned home. I spent the rest of the evening watching another episode of 'Inspector Gerri', a detective investigation set in Puglia about organised crime involving baby trafficking, intertwined with a tale of romance between two strong and independent loners destined to work together while growing into a relationship and, as ever, facing their past. Full of insight into relationships and several laugh out loud moments despite the tragic depths of the stories told.