Lessons from nature

Clare had an appointment at the University Optometrist clinic in Cathays. I drove her there after breakfast and booked an appointment for myself a month from now when I should be ready for new prescription lenses. 

Meanwhile King Charles was being visited by outgoing and incoming Prime Minister, their words being under intense scrutiny by the political commentariat, as were appointments to ministerial office in the new government. Rishi Sunak's broad spectrum of choices express his intention to unite people across the Tory party in facing up to the multidimensional crisis the government now faces. Together they have two years to make a difference they hope will keep the Tories in contention at the next election. The Labour Party has to show in the same period of time that its policies are capable of delivering something better for the benefit of all the electorate. For either side it's a difficult challenge.

After her appointment, Clare went shopping in town while I drove home and cooked lunch. After a siesta, a walk in Llandaff Fields until sunset. The weather is still mild, there have been no cold shocks or strong wind to strip the trees so far. Autumn leaf colours are noticeably different this year, with oranges, browns, reds and yellows as well as greens on some trees rather than one colour predominating. I have taken only a few photos since my cataract op, preferring to give my eyes a rest for a few days, but I must make the effort to capture this year's unusual spectacle - a product not only of summer heat and drought producing a 'false autumn', but also the mild weather and recent rain.

Clare insisted it was time to dispose of a decade of till receipts, kept 'just in case' never needing to be checked. She made a start with the shredder, and I continued the job until it stopped working, with three quarters of them not yet disposed of. I burned about half of them in a bucket in the garden which was slow and messy, and gave up when it got dark and it was time for supper. Later I checked it over and found it still worked. It must have a cut out switch for when it overheats. So I completed the task, and put out two sackfulls of shredded tens of thouands, after so many years.

After supper BBC Two's 'Autumn Watch' programme series began once more. Four hour long weeknight live broadcast programmes from nature reserves around the UK, looking in depth at a wide range of wild life in their changing habitats, observing the impact of climate change on plants and animals, producing amazing footage from special cameras night and day, plus beautiful photos and amazing film footage of creatures in the wild occurring as the weeks go by. 

I was particularly struck by images of a pair of ring ousels, which lay their eggs in a nest in vegetation just above the shoreline. An area of land close to the nest site was hit by a wildfire. The mother bird was shown sitting on her four eggs until heat and smoke drove her away. Later in the same day she returned to sit on the eggs. Three of them hatched, and two of the chicks survived and flourished, we were told. 

In another programme on afterwards, film footage was shown of a pod of orcas hunting down a penguin in the sea away from the safety of ice flow. It managed to stay just ahead of them, and when it saw one of the inflatable boats made several attempts to leap on board. On its third attempt, with aid from a passenger it succeeded then stood out of harm's way in the middle of the boat for ten minutes, surrounded by astonished people. Meanwhile, the orca pod stalked the boat until they lost interest. Once the coast was clear, the penguin leapt off the boat and continued uneaten for the time being. Examples of the survival instinct at work. The animal kingdom has so much to teach us in our reckless ways. This is live telly at its very best. It should be compulsory viewing for all cabinet members

A fruitful day in several ways

Clare went off to the gym before I got up. My first task after breakfast this morning was to process and edit yesterday's videos, upload them to my Google Drive and send a link to Anna. Then, I found a link to my Sarajevo photos and sent it to Daniel when I arranged to meet him, Thursday this week. I started cooking lunch early and it was nearly ready by the time Clare returned. Afterwards I did the week's main grocery shopping, then we went out for a walk together.

Taking my usual route, I showed Clare where I'd collected the crab apples for making two lots of jelly. The higher fruit on the two trees still hasn't fallen. I found a long stick and with it we were able to hook and bring down some higher branches heavily laden and pick their fruit. We returned home with another load of nearly three pounds weight to clean and cook. We hadn't intended do this when we went out. Somehow we just spurred each other into action. The cooked fruit mash is hung in a straining bag overnight. I think the crab apples picked have produced about a litre of juice. Jelly making tomorrow.

An interesting new detective series started on BBC Two this evening, called 'Vienna Blood'. It's set in 1906, the era when Sigmund Freud was teaching in Vienna and publishing his work. A young medical student does a placement with a detective working on a murder case, and using what he has learned from Dr Freud's lectures starts to develop profiles on both the victim and the murderer. This is the birth of forensic psychiatry. Is this really how it happened, I wonder? It well portrays the open anti-semitism of the city in that era, and the frightful way in which mentally sick people were dealt with, including  ECT therapy trending in those days. A three parter, based on novel I understand.

A peep at Mexico city

There were just two of us and a tranquil golden retriever for the Wednesday BCP Communion this morning. Former choirmaster Jeff generally comes on a Wednesday when he's here. We took the opportunity to look at Psalmody for Sunday next, and later to choose hymns over the phone, so that all is prepared for present choirmaster Peter when he returns this Sunday.

Afterwards, I decided it was time to check out the car, which I haven't needed to use since the brake fading episode descending from Villars the Sunday before last. As I've never lifted the bonnet on a Subaru car before I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make head or tail of it. Thankfully, everything is helpfully labelled and the engine was clean. There was no sign of fluid leakage, and the reservoir level was what it was meant to be. I started it and did some quick stops to satisfy myself it could be relied on. I had intended to go out for a drive later on but became absorbed in other tasks and ended up walking into Montreux along the lake to buy some fruit instead.

I took my HX300 camera with me and photographed a few birds. Few of the shots were satisfactory however, but I also took pictures of the complete succession of lakeside contemporary sculptures in the section adjacent to the covered Marketplace. A very mixed bunch indeed, not entirely to my liking, but of interest nevertheless.

In the evening I watched an interesting documentary in the Megacities series on BBC2, on Mexico City, population 22 million and still evolving. Key items were domestic housing, public transport, water supplies and sewage disposal, one of the largest systems in the world is under construction.

The city has expanded over decades with self-build housing, much of it unregulated and illegal. Former shanty town dwellings have consolidated into proper houses and grown their own services to some extent. Fresh water is one of the most expensive household items costing as much as twenty percent of income, a nightmare for poor people. The place isn't short of rain, but until lately rain water collection hasn't been organised. Now, a scheme helps householders make reservoirs under their houses, collecting and filtering rainwater to use, transforming lives and budgets.

The city covers nearly 1,500 sqkm, so many have to travel long distances to work. As it expanded, low cost minibus transport los peseros grew up spontaneously and organised itself into routes without regulation. There's even a smartphone app for information. There are larger buses, taxis, a metro and a cable car, all contributing to keeping people and the economy moving. It's a remarkable testimony to third world individual and public enterprise, coping with rapid growth imaginatively.