Objection lodged

I woke up at seven thirty and posted my YouTube Morning Prayer link to WhatsApp, then lay in bed until eight fifteen listening to the news, but unusually for me didn't go back to sleep. Not that the news was that interesting. It was a mild and sunny day, so I made an effort to get out of the house and walk in Llandaff Fields. It was interesting to observe the different composition of morning walkers, mostly couples, many of whom said Good Morning when passing each other. There were fewer mothers with children and the children's playground was almost empty. Each group has its own social rhythm I think. I spotted a Jay foraging in open grass and in a grass heap the other side of the wall from the playground, and got some pictures I'm pleased with. It's the first time I've seen a Jay in this place. In effect, it adds to the Jay habitat territories I can keep on my watch list.

Clare cooked prawns with stewed veggies with rice for an early lunch. Then I drove her to UHW's School of Dentistry for a mouth examination. He has developed a strange sensation of her tongue being burnt, for no reason she can think of. When I got home, I started drafting a letter of objection to the imposition of parking permits in our neighbourhood. Despite an increased number of cars in the area in the years we've been here the frequency of occasions when I've been unable to park nearby hasn't grown excessively, and then it's almost always overnight. More cars yes, but some residents are away a lot, visiting or working away. Only occasionally is the street full around the clock, if an event keeps people in the city. For the most part there is sufficient turnover in cars needing a parking space. Reserving some spaces with a permit scheme changes the balance of supply and demand, forcing competition between residents un-necessarily. It's not as if civil parking enforcement officers can keep up with offenders. Those who park in yellow line zones get ticketed randomly, not regularly. Maintaining permit checks seems like a waste of resources, when there are many offenders not being fined for parking illegally where road safety is compromised.

At four, I interrupted work and went to Thompson's Park to photograph the sun setting in close proximity to the Wenvoe telecoms mast. It reaches the south side of the mast just a fraction above the horizon, and in a couple of minutes appears to move to the north side of the mast as it disappears from sight. It's a trick of perspective which occurs when the autumnal and winter sun moves east to west low in the sky. It almost seems to roll along the distant horizon. By four twenty two, the sun was gone for the day.

Clare walked back from UHW after what she described as a thorough examination lasting half an hour. More tests are required and another appointment in a few weeks time. After supper I completed my letter of objection, sent it off and received an automated acknowledgement. I wonder how many others have written? It'll be many weeks before a decision is taken, no doubt.

I was trying to remember how the last episode of 'Inspector Montalbano' actually ended, so I looked for it on BBC iPlayer. It's the only one of the thirty seven episodes available there now. BBC viewing rights for the rest have now expired I think. The last one appeared some time after the rest. If I remember correctly, it was only after author Antonio Camilleri died that the final last story could be published and made into a movie. I didn't watch to the end, as I didn't want to get to bed too early.

Beware the speedy green man

A cooler cloudy day to wake up to. News of the increasing death toll in Israel and Palestine and more and more victims' bodies from the weekend slaughter are found, and more become victims due to the bombing of Gaza city by Israel. Twelve hundred Israelis are known to have died. Over three thousand Gazans including the Hamas fighters killed early on The denial of electricity and fuel to Gaza will lead to hospitals no longer able to function within this day. More will die untreated from injuries sustained during the prolonged bombing which is destroying whole blocks of city high rise buildings. Both sides acting without mercy. How can good come out of this?

There were just six of us for the Eucharist at St Catherine's, the situation was the focus of our prayer and our conversation over coffee afterwards. Roger, who has friends living in the north of Israel spoke about the messages he's received from his friends, living far from the sources of present danger, but sharing the grief and distress of the whole nation. 

Anger is being expressed by some at the concessions Benjamin Netanyahu has made to far right political parties in order to retain his hold on power, leading to increased injustice and oppression of Palestinians. There is no consensus supporting this. At the moment, Netanyahu is negotiating to unite all political interest in a government of national unity, but how much will it be possible for its members to agree on? All agree on the need for national security and stability, but opinion could be divided about how to achieve this, both in the short and long term. The world outside watches, concerned about escalation of the conflict beyond the Holy Land.

After coffee, I collected this week's veggie bag from Chapter. Clare was half way through cooking lunch already, with a delicious gammon steak for me. Later in the afternoon, I did the week's grocery shopping at the Co-op, and then went for a walk in the park. Finally, after four and a half months, temporary traffic lights at the pedestrian crossing on Penhill Road have been removed and the new set of lights installed a few months ago are finally working. 

The only problem is that the green man flashes to tell pedestrians when they can cross only allows ten seconds to cross the road. In effect, if you can't walk at one meter per second, you're at risk from traffic. People pushing buggies or wheelchairs and people with walking sticks are not always able to walk that fast. A twenty second interval would be preferable for safety's sake. When I got home I tweeted about this an appeal which I hope the Council will pick up. If nothing happens, I'll have to contact a local council about it.

Clare went out after an early supper to her Plygain singing group. I recorded and edited my reflection and Thursday Morning Prayer for next week and then watched the second episode of the money laundering mystery drama 'Payback' on ITV. An intriguing plot is developing. Then the news, reporting on the Israeli troop buildup around the Gaza Strip. Regrettably, whatever the Israeli government says about the urgent necessity of utterly destroying Hamas, the death of so many civilians in the razing of sections of Gaza city, and the deprivation of energy, food and water supplies, looks like the collective punishment of the entire civilian population. There are indications tonight however, of negotiations with Egypt to open the Rafa crossing into Gaza, one Israel doesn't control, for emergency aid food and fuel to be delivered. And now to bed.

Big new yellow box appears

Another mild sunny day. I slept for nearly eight hours, and woke up with a stiff neck that took a long time to ease. I prepared the liturgical texts for next Sunday, and sent them out, and did a preliminary edit of the next Sway edition - my eighth. Then some housework, before cooking a chickpea and veggie stew for our lunch. After we'd eaten I relaxed for a while, then went for a walk.

When I got to the junction of Llanfair Road with Penhill Road, I was pleased to see a fresh painted yellow hatched box on the road, and some additional lane direction arrows up at the junction with Llandaff. When I went out for a walk yesterday afternoon, a man who wasn't in work clothes was positioning 'no parking' traffic cones around the junction corners. They had been replaced by double yellow lines earlier today. 

It's strange that the bus lane markings were done on September 1st, and the rest of the road markings have been added after five weeks. When driving in or out of Llanfair Road over that period, the lack of a full set of road markings has made me nervously extra vigilant, not being sure of when the bus lane (although not yet operative) turns into a shared traffic lane, and whether the inside lane is both for turning left and going straight on. Correct road markings remove the ambiguity which no driver needs on a busy road. Didn't anyone think of that when deciding to make this a two stage job? Even if there have been no accidents as a consequence, the risk has been higher. I realised this afternoon what a relief it is for the road to look the way it needs to, for safety's sake.

On my circuit of the Fields I came across eight dumped drinks containers, glass and plastic bottles and cans and some plastic food wrappers which I escorted to the bin. There aren't enough bins in the parks and some of them are rarely filled. The number of drink containers dumped within fifty feet of a bin made me wonder if they're invisible to people. Then it occurred to me that bins are all decorated in green Council livery, would it be better if they weren't dark green against a green grass background? Pale blue, grey or red would stand out better, and maybe lead to increased usage.

After supper, I watched a couple of episodes of 'The Fall' on BBC iPlayer, featuring Gillian Anderson as a senior detective in a multiple murder investigation in Belfast. I last saw her playing a Russian aristocrat in a costume drama a few years ago. Now she's back playing an investigator again 30 years after she starred in the ridiculous long running 'X Files' series, still looking great and filling a more senior role now with credibility in a dark and sinister crime drama.

In Israel/Palestine the death toll continues to mount with a thousand air strikes today and the threat of land invasion of Gaza to come. Vengeance heaped upon vengeance, one side as cruel and ruthless as the other. Three millennia of history keeps on repeating itself, without lessons being learned. That's how long there has been tension and conflict between Jews and Arabs over the land of Canaan. How can that be changed? Outbreaks of anti-Semitic reaction are occurring around the world, stirred up by fools who think this is going to help secure freedom and land rights for Arabs in Palestine. There are only losers in the absence of a deep change of heart on all sides.