TV disposal

A good night's sleep for a change. Overcast with rain showers and gusts of wind with a flood alert for the Taff Vale. After a pancake breakfast Clare was determined to get rid of the redundant telly, and one of the neighbourhood WhatsApp group members was offering to take stuff to the Council tip. Clare went off to a coffee morning at St John's and left me to do the job. Easier said than done, as there was a heavy rain shower when the time came to load it on the shopping trolley frame to wheel it to the rendezvous. The box from the new telly had the same dimensions as the old, but keeping it balanced for the two hundred metre walk, with waterlogged gutters, buffeted by gusts of wind, was tricky. Fortunately there was a break in the rain long enough to complete the task without incident or accident.

We made the same meal for lunch today as yesterday. The usual veg, with Tofu burger for Clare, chicken drumstick for me. Neither of us had the energy to think about variety. I can't shake off the lethargy that's afflicted me recently. I rested after lunch but couldn't doze off, so I walked in Llandaff Fields for a couple of hours and returned before sunset. Rain showers continued but were more sporadic. Strong gusts of wind persisted, lifting the brolly in different directions as if an invisible hand was attempting to snatch it away. 

One of the taller Horse Chestnut trees on the path that leads to Western Avenue has suffered wind damage. Its branches have now been cut back to the trunk. Several older chestnut trees have failed to flourish the past few years, weakened by long dry spells and infestation by fungus or insect and losing branches when there's a high wind. The damaged tree is one of a group along the path which flowers without producing conkers. I daresay the effects of climate change will kill off many of these trees in the coming years 120 years after their planting. Let's hope that the introduction of new tree species that are better able to tolerate extreme changes in weather will be successful in the long term.

I got home at sunset, and chatted with sister-in-law Ann. Coincidentally she's on blood thinning meds as a precaution, prescribed as she suffers from atrial fibrillation. She's troubled by ill effects, light headedness and slow pulse. Not too dissimilar from how I'm affected by meds I'm taking at the moment. I didn't notice this while my body was over-producing adrenalin under stress. I think a discussion about this with a medic is necessary. I have an appointment with a heart specialist in ten days time.

After supper I watched a new French crimmie called 'Les Invisibles' on Walter Presents, about a team of investigators whose role is to identify murder victims who cannot be accounted for from a register of missing persons. With each case the team is starting from scratch and has to develop its inquiry from the context and whatever is found by investigators at the presumed crime scene. The crime victims are in effect invisible to start with. The investigators work behind the scenes to inform the process that leads to the case being made public by the investigating magistrate and public prosecutor. An interesting angle on police procedural drama.