The return of blue sky and sunshine this morning after what felt to me like a cold night of broken sleep. It left me tired and muddle headed, struggling to collect information from bank statements to use on my tax return. Clare cooked salmon and veg for lunch. Afterwards I went to the Kings Road pharmacy to order my next prescription medications in good time, and collected Clare's, which was handed to me confirming her name without needing to be asked. The assistant probably saw us together in the pharmacy before and remembered our names! That's nice.
I set out from there to visit the city centre and managed to miss two 61 buses in succession by walking and standing in between two different bus service stops, aiming to catch the first that arrived. I wasn't at all alert this morning. I went to Santander Bank to ask for a copy of my certificate of taxed interest earned, and was told about a new credit card issue which has no account fee and offers cashback. I'm not a fan of credit cards and would rather do without the one we have, except that using it for on-line purchases does offer a degree of extra security. I'm less of a fan of digital commerce than I was as an early adopter of new technology at the turn of the century. It's the impact mild visual impairment has had on me, that I now find the intense concentration required to deal with numbers on-screen leaves me distrustful of my perception. Despite years of habitual use I feel like I'm in foreign territory. So I do as little as possible unless I can get someone to check what I do.
It's strange that this doesn't apply in the same way to writing text. I never learned proper touch typing and make typos thanks to my poor level of accuracy. It's always worse when I'm tired and stressed. But writing doesn't make me feel unsure of myself. Maybe correction of typos and spelling errors calls on an area of memory which remains relatively fast, exhaustion permitting,
The experience of shopping in town is the same. I know where I am and have no problem recognising and remembering places, navigating my way to them but it doesn't change the feeling that I'm in an unfamiliar place. I worked for eight years in the city centre and know the area very well. Memories of experiences of the place return somewhat slowly, but the feeling of being there as if for the first time still prevails. It's an experience I associate with becoming familiar with the streets of a new city when I'm on holiday or living there on locum duty.
I returned home on a 61 bus in time for tea and a slice of lemon cheesecake. Despite necessary care over consuming dairy products, just in case they upset my digestion, I've found that I can enjoy this without consequences. Clare went out to choir practice, and I went out for a walk in Llandaff Fields enjoying the evening sunshine, while listening to 'I'm sorry I haven't a clue' and 'The Archers' on my phone.
Israel's recent strikes on Lebanon in its war on Hezbollah resulted in Iran firing ballistic missiles at Israel undermining cease fire-talks and threatening further and wider escalation of the conflict. Iran's attacks on Israel have ceased but will resume if Israel continues striking Lebanon. Iran's allies are able to halt traffic in Bab al Mandeb the gateway between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, and the Straight of Hormuz.
Trump called on both sides to stop firing at each other, and return to negotiations, but is anyone listening to him? He was backed by Netanyahu when he started waging war with Iran, and it hasn't worked the way they presumed it would. Trump is openly angry that Netanyahu is waging war in Lebanon without regard for the conflict escalating, or for jeopardizing peace talks between America and Iran. It seems that Pakistan's diplomatic efforts at mediation have made progress. All this could be lost in the volatile and sensitive situation surrounding marine traffic through the Straight of Hormuz. America and Israel have the military power to enforce but not the wisdom and foresight to master a situation in which their adversaries hold essential territory and waterways which cannot be taken from them without making things worse for everyone.
Both Trump and Netanyahu are unpopular because of the impact of the war on their countries they cannot bring to an end, politically or diplomatically at the moment. Iran has survived regime change and is united in determined resistance to Western powers, likewise Hezbollah in Lebanon, both sustained by Shi'a Islamic spirituality. It seems to me that despite Iran's cruel and tyrannical regime, the people's strength and resilience has been underestimated by the West from the start.
Time now for early bed. I wish this would result in a better quality of sleep. I have suffered brain fatigue for most of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment