Value for money

Another glorious warm sunny day to enjoy after a good night's sleep. Clare's study group members arrived and before going into town to bank the fee cheque received yesterday, I renewed our TV license on-line. It's now £169, and nowadays the only age concession is for those on pension credit, whatever that is, I've never needed to find out thankfully. We'll lose the Winter Fuel allowance this year for the same reason, but that's fair enough when public finances are so grievously stretched. 

The TV license is one subscription I don't begrudge paying for, given the phenomenal amount of content delivered and consumed by us in the course of a year. Less and less on the telly itself, more and more on phone and laptop. The one constant is radio. Listening to a reliable source of daily news, informative and entertaining programmes is the sound track to our lives. Well worth paying for. in its own right, and all we had when I was a kid. Channels supported by advertising offer ad free subscription services, with speedier media consumption as a result. Ad repetition is boring often annoying, but programme breaks are a cue for exercise, a trip to the kitchen or toilet. What's not to like about that?

I walked to Cowbridge Road and picked up a late running 61 bus which arrived just after me. I saw two outbound 61 buses following each other as I walked, a common sight early morning and mid afternoon when schools are in session, but symptomatic of scheduling dysfunction at other times and not uncommon with drivers off sick or arriving late, and the occasional bus breakdown. On the return trip, after banking the cheque, I saw another pair of 61 buses in tandem heading for the new bus station. The bus information display at the Westgate Street stop wasn't working, and the one o'clock bus was nearly ten minutes late. The city has invested a huge amount in new electric buses and upgraded some of its legacy diesel powered fleet, but it seems to be harder than building and running a team of drivers to maintain a reliable schedule. Fortunately, I reached home just as Clare was putting lunch on the table.

After lunch I recorded and edited next Thursday's Morning Prayer, then went out for a walk in Llandaff Fields, then down to Tesco's for a couple of grocery items not on the regular shopping list. After supper another short walk around the park, taking a few photos of groups on the grass enjoying the evening sun. With nothing new worth watching, I returned to watching a couple of episodes of 'Bones'. Whilst there's variety in cases investigated, the general formula is much the same, incorporating a liberal dose of sexual politics. Like NCIS with its conservative patriotic flavouring, both series feel dated, no matter how much excitement they try to generate.   

Spotlight on Estepona's lighthouse

Another humid day with mist on sea and sierras until the middle of the day. I worked on next Sunday's sermon, and on preparing the texts for next week's audio. I had a phone call from someone promoting a new health care facility launch locally, and understood what it was all about, but when I tried to respond to the caller, I couldn't be heard, and can't figure out whether I inadvertently muted the call or not, as there's no recognisable symbol on the handset. As for instruction manual in any language, you're joking!

I laughed when I received a TV licensing email thanking me for renewing the license. This time my email address wasn't entirely written incorrectly in upper case. It was still incorrect, but with an upper case first and last letter. What on earth is the matter with their system?

To go with a portion of the lentils with aubergine dish cooked yesterday, I stewed two chicken thighs with garlic, and risotto rice, An interesting lunch time combination of mild flavour and texture. Then I worked next week's biblical reflection, dozed for a while, then in a fit of zeal took the stuff for recycling down the hill, before setting out on my walk along the shore to the port and the lighthouse. El Faro de Punta Doncella, to give its full name. I found the history board about the lighthouse and understood the Spanish text well enough not to bother with the English alongside it. This gives me a good feeling.

Apparently the light is twinned with one of equal power in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in Morocco, 62km away as the crow flies, across the other side of the Straights of Gibraltar. It dates from 1863, but was rebuilt in 1922 to raise the height of the light from 18m to 28m above sea level. A century later on, and it's undergoing restoration to re-use ancillary buildings which once accommodated the lighthouse keeper's family as a museum.

As I was walking back, families were making their way back from the beach to their accommodation. One reluctant little boy complained at having to quit the beach early. "Ya m'aburrido" I heard him say to his mother (I'm bored already!). I'm amazed at how late young children stay out and play, on or near the beach, but maybe this compensates for not being able to stay out when the heat of the day is fiercest. It's good that the place feels safe enough for this to happen, anxiety free.

I found a couple of letters in the mailbox when I returned. Bills to pass on to the treasurer. It's the first mail that's been delivered in the three weeks I've been here.

When we talked this evening, Clare reminded me about the return flight tickets, which I haven't looked at since I booked them two and a half months ago. A quick search retried the flight confirmation email to forward to her. It seems that I booked us both hold baggage on this flight, and for Clare outbound. I didn't bother on the way out as I was keen to travel light and not risk a long baggage queues. It's been so hot that I could have brought even less clothing with me, since regular hand washing of everything is vital, and it dries so quickly. At the moment the weather forecast indicates that it will stay between 29-31C by day for the rest of August, and little rain if any, except in the sierras on a cloudy day, but definitely not mainly on the plain in this part of Spain.

Digital suspicion

A cool breeze from the north west at the start of the day, still cloudy, but the clouds don't cover the Sierra Bermeja as they have over the weekend. After breakfast, I made a shopping list, ready for tomorrow, to be ready for a Mercadona visit, after the coffee morning at Sabinillas. Then I worked again on producing the liturgy texts for use at the altar which match the different booklets in use in the two churches - a question of cross checking the fine details. Version control - always a nightmare. 

Next Sunday we revert to using a hymn book and liturgy leaflet at San Pedro, and this is different again from what we've been using on the projector screen. Fortunately, it's the standard text of Common Worship rite A which I know by heart, more or less. More things to check out if worship is to run smoothly on a Sunday when the habitual way of doing things changes.

I had a strange email from the TV licensing authority while I was working, confirming a change in email contact address, the change being that the address I normally use was printed in upper case not lower, so I was immediately suspicious. especially when I had trouble logging in to my TV License account. 

Then it occurred to me to ask Clare if she'd found a paper license renewal in my snail mail, and then entered the account in order to pay it. And that turned out to be the reason I got an email. Now Gmail will receive any email addressed to me in upper case as well as lower, and even if the dot in the address is missing it will send it through. The system isn't perfect. I have a namesake who managed to register a Gmail address with no dot between forename and surname in the UK, despite the fact that I'd registered mine in Switzerland fifteen years ago. Occasionally, I still get my namesake's emails, without the dot in the middle.

Eventually I was able to log into the TV license account and re-affirm that the lower case version of my address is the correct one, but the confirmation of change email was still issued in upper case format. I was feeling frustrated by this - who's to know that one's account isn't being abused when a change you didn't authorise yourself takes place? 

It took me a half hour to succeed in registering a formal complaint to the Licensing Authority describing this, and reporting that unwittingly it arouses suspicion that makes the License account insecure. I'm promised a reply within a week. Let's see what they come up with to kick the complaint into the long grass, as that's what I expect to happen.

I had the pleasure of cooking and eating a swordfish steak with plain boiled veggies for lunch today. It made a change and got me into practise for when Clare comes, as that's one of her favourite dishes, a quick fry with oil, lemon and a smidge of black pepper. Perfecto!

After lunch I made a start on next Sunday's sermon, and when it had cooled down a little, I walked to the Carrefour Market to get some bananas and tomatoes, as I'd run out, and didn't want to wait until tomorrow big grocery shop. At 28C with a breeze it was pleasantly hot late afternoon. I went out again as the sun was setting for a walk along the sender littoral. It's a nice calming evening ritual , which I look forward to performing with Clare in a couple of weeks time.