Oldest house in Cardiff

I had a rare poor night's sleep due to even rarer digestive discomfort. No time for recovery however as I had to shop for food bank  groceries before going to St John's to celebrate the Eucharist. There were only three of us today. We had coffee together afterwards. The Post Office scandal was the inevitable subject of conversation, including the secondary scandal of ex CEO Paula Vennells being a non-stipendiary cleric. How could she not know what was going on? 

Simple. She was lied to, going with the flow of the corporate culture she presided over. All too humanly she failed to discern this, failed to be curious about the unusually high number of fraud prosecutions over a period of years. Not even the most capable CEO in the world can be totally perfect. Did the company's data analysis team notice the anomaly? Were they regarded as low status geeks not taken seriously enough by top managers? I hope the enquiry will come up with answers about this. In the world of corporate big business all sorts of things go wrong which only come to light it there's a catastrophe impacting on many, causing a company to collapse.

Clare went to the School of Optometry to be a subject of a research project studying field of vision testing, so I cooked lunch when I returned from church, just in time for her return. A letter arrived from UHW confirming my operation appointment, giving preparatory fasting instructions. It mentions that patients need to be sure they have a stock of pain killers at home, as these are no longer issued. After previous ops I was sent home with a box of cocodamol tablets, none of which I used, and learned to decline them as I'd never needed to take anything that strong. I think that's a good move as this medication is addictive, to be reserved for use in extremis, in my opinion.

I slept for an hour after lunch, then did the weekly mail-out of the link to Sway, before walking until the sun set. After supper, we watched the latest episode of 'Digging for Britain' which featured a report on the archaeological excavations of an area of Parc Trelai in Caerau two miles away from here. The foundations of a Bronze Age round house have been uncovered, and also a feature quite unexpected. Underneath the floor level is the floor of an even older round house of the same dimensions. 

It was suggested the earlier house had been destroyed and rebuilt, possibly after the original occupying family had died out, and been replaced by another. It reminded me of the old gypsy custom of burning the caravan belonging to the head of the clan after their death, seen as a mark of respect. But who knows? The original round house could have been destroyed in a raid, or by an accidental fire too. No mention was made of finding charred timber on the site. An interesting puzzle surrounding the remains of the oldest house ever to be discovered in Cardiff.

 

UN goes to Kremlin

I woke up to news that the UN General Secretary Antonio Gutierrez is in Moscow to see Putin and Lavrov. He's come in for some criticism for not visiting Ukraine first to see for himself the impact of the war, but he goes in full knowledge of the situation and the fact that Russia's action is condemned by the majority of member nations. His official role is to inform Putin that Russian actions in Ukraine violate  the UN Charter. It is proper to convey this formally in person and keep channels of communication open. At the moment, Putin's attitude is that Russia stands fast against a hostile world. And that's a very dangerous position when Russia has armaments that could destroy it completely.

The Russians are upping the rhetoric stating that NATO is conducting a proxy war in Ukraine, supplying weapons to strengthen resistance against aggression. Germany is sending fifty tanks to  the Ukrainian army, aircraft and missiles are also on the way. Some Ukrainian railway stations have been attacked by missiles, as if to show that importing war supplies will not go unopposed. Destroying rail infrastructure is not in the Russians military's best interests when gaining control would be more beneficial to them. Amazingly, the onslaught on the Donbas region isn't yet gathering full momentum. It seems that some of Ukraine's best forces are already embedded in defending the region.

America is also upping the rhetoric by stating the aim should be to degrade Russia's ability to act aggressively against any country. It's been said that the conflict so far has been more damaging to the Russian war machine than Putin anticipated, which could prolong the war beyond the target date of May 9th, associated with the Russian victory over the Nazis, and celebrated annually as such. Not being able to call his Ukraine exploit a swift success will be embarrassing as political and economic pressure starts to affect people more widely. But what impact will this have on the hold his regime has? 

After breakfast this morning, I stripped the bed linen for washing and re-made the bed. It's not such an easy task as the bed and mattress are very heavy, and in an awkward position. Joint pains in my hands make this an unpleasant exercise unfortunately.  Then I went out to do the weekly grocery shopping at the Co-op, and cooked lunch when I returned. Clare's back pain is easing slightly, and this afternoon she had an acupuncture treatment which seemed to help.

On my walk alongside the river Taff, I heard a warbler and a chaffinch, as well as the usual robins, tits, wrens and blackbirds. I saw a dipper speeding across from one river bank to another, with its distinctive flight pattern. It's the first one I've seen in the stretch between Western Avenue and Blackweir.

Another fascinating couple of programmes this evening on Sky Arts. The first was a documentary about the 16th century painter Raphael. The second was about the trafficking of archaeological artefacts looted from ancient Roman sites in Italy. 

A 60cm high group figure of three seated gods in marble was reported discovered in a clandestine excavation and taken illegally to Switzerland. The gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva were the principal deities of Rome, depicted in a huge temple on the Capitol Hill, little of which remains today. Smaller scale versions of the original figures were thought to have existed and given pride of place in the homes of rich Roman citizens, but none had ever been found. 

The person reporting the discovery made an 'identikit' drawing of the figure, which gave the Carabinieri detectives some idea of what they were looking for, but nobody had ever seen it or anything like it. By a stroke of misfortune for the thieves, an arm from the figure broke off and was lost during excavation. The finder returned to the site secretly and discovered the missing piece among the rubble, and was then caught by the police who were monitoring his activity. The arm, lost and found, was physical evidence confirming the report of the find. A high risk press conference gave global publicity to the theft, making it impossible for art traffickers to sell the figure to any museum. This resulted in its clandestine recovery from the gang of traffickers, for whom the figure had become worthless. None were arrested, but the figure eventually found its home in the town museum at Montecelio, close to where it was discovered. 

Several times during the programme, mention was made of the true value of an artefact being not just in its original beauty, but the story it was part of. It reminded me of why programmes such as 'The Repair Shop' and 'Antiques Road Show' are so popular, because of the stories connected to objects shown.

Then, with nothing better to do, I watched the second episode of 'Life after Life', a faultless depiction of life in middle class Britain in the 1920s, and the story of a young girl's suffering as she grows up and gets married. This too is good story telling.

Winds of change

This week the midweek Mass attended by a class of children from Tredegarville School moves to Tuesday from Wednesday. so I was out of the house by nine thirty to drive across town to St German's. After the service, four of us drank coffee and chatted in the church hall. In today's email was a copy of the Bishop's decree on the formation of the mew Ministry Areas. Like many faits accomplis, it's short on detail and not thought through in detail, and is not being well received. As a top-down edict its consequence is to reduce the number of lay people involved in decision making, while increasing the responsibilities of the few. The impact of changes imposed on churchgoing membership overall remains to be seen. If it doesn't work, an edict reversing the changes can just as easily be imposed.

When I got back later than usual, I cooked lunch, then went for a circuit of Bute Park. The sun had just set as I crossed Pontcanna Fields on the way back/ The sky was beautiful, mostly clear but decorated with colourful clouds. The temperature dropped in the waning light, and thick mist rolled over the grass. An enchanting scene.

More outrageous revelations in the news about Downing Street government support staff and cabinet members flouting covid regulations last spring's lockdown. Will this be enough to put an end to Boris Johnson's premiership? Several times he has denied law breaking by his office staff, and now a formal investigation is under way which may show that he knowingly lied. He has lied before, notably about  the promise of brexit, and got away with it, but now it seems loyal electors are losing patience with him. After all you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

In the evening we watched an interesting programme in the BBC2 series 'Digging for Britain'. It's best described as a news magazine programme on archaeological finds, reviewing work on digs going on in various parts of Britain. One of the five reports was on finding clear evidence of manor grange farm of the mediaecal Order of Knights Hospitallers in the Leicester countryside, on a previously unexcavated site whose surface contours led people to presume previously that it had once been an iron age fort. In a an Anglo Saxon cemetery in the city of Cambridge were found grave goods and ornamental clasps that had traces of mineralised fibre from the cloaks they belonged to, from fifth century Britain. The weave pattern in each trace was quite different, indicating local and continental weaving methods being used in the same era. 

Then there was a report on a palaeontological discovery in the mud of Rutland Water at low level, that has turned out to be the fossilised skeleton of a ten metre long icthysaurus, the largest of its kind ever found in Britain. TV news reporting at its most riveting - scientists on the job, enthusing! After this treat I remembered that I was two thirds of the way through 'When the dust settles' on More Four, about a murderous Danish terror attack, eight people whose lives are changed by it, as well as tracking down perpetrators. Well observed slow going, ten episodes long, but I watched one episode before turning in for the night.

Census impending and lockdown easing notified

I woke up early and uploaded today's reflection before 'Thought for the Day' on the radio, then dozed off again for another hour. A beautiful, if chilly sunny day, perfect for walking, so after our Saturday lie-in and pancakes, we crossed over to Bute Park via Blackweir Bridge, and returned via the Millennium Bridge, enjoying the woodland area for the first time in a year, hearing a woodpecker, seeing an elusive wren and hearing several of them, in addition to robins and tits. I walked the long way round the length of Bute Park half a dozen times in the past year of bridge closure, but avoided the woodland trail because of the mud. After a few days without rain, well trodden paths are firm underfoot, no longer treacherously slippery, a pleasure to walk on again. 

It's good to hear that infection rates continue to decrease, apart from in a few hot spots. The sixth person to be infected with the Brazilian variant of coronavirus has been traced after five days of post-test tracing, made necessary because an incomplete track 'n trace form was accepted. Mercifully the person in question was conscientiously self-isolating and their contacts were identifiable, so nightmare scenario avoided. 

Our First Minister, Mark Drakeford is back in self-quarantine for ten days because he'd been in contact with an infected WAG official - apparently there's been a cluster of people with covid in their workplace, which says something about the fitness for purpose of government offices they inhabit.  Can they / do they really open the windows I wonder? Anyway Mark, who I believe has had the job, is setting a good example by sojourning in his garden shed again.

Our National Census letter arrived in today's post. It's an invitation to take the census questionnaire on-line, with an unique, house specific access code provided. You can request a paper version by 'phone, but are urged to save the government money by going digital. Refusal to fill one in carries a thousand pound fine. A measures to ensure that homeless people are included in the census are based around the range of social service centres and (presumably) mobile outreach teams which provide for them. It's important that the Office of National Statistics has as full and detailed picture as possible of people with no place to call their own.  

We've been wondering if an Easter family gathering will be possible, for an outdoor picnic if nothing else, somewhere between Cardiff and Kenilworth. Monmouth or Ross possibly, if we're allowed to travel that far by then. My birthday is on Low Sunday this year. We'll just have to see if the progress made in curbing infections is sustained. It's impossible to know, however much today's statistics may encourage, we have no idea what tomorrow's or next month's figures will be like.

We watched an interesting archaeology programme this evening about uncovering traces of Lenton Priory in Nottingham, which was destroyed after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530 - its monks were executed for treason, and its lands redistributed. The Priory area has long been covered by houses, so the excavations took place in residents' gardens. The modern ground level is two metres above the fragments of the buildings which were identified from an assortment of pottery, bones, a fragment of lead from a stained glass window, cobblestones from a pavement which ran along an external Priory wall. The site of a Lady Chapel extending beyond the sanctuary, also the site of cloister were also identified. On the basis of seemingly slender evidence, an educated guess can be made of what the place looked like, based on knowledge of 12th century Cluniac Benedictine monastic architecture. 

This was followed by an hour of classic laugh out loud comedy from Irish comedian Dave Allen, fondly remembered from fifty years ago. He often poked fun at Christianity, describing himself as a practicing atheist, and there was often a grain of truth in his irreverent mockery. This reminded me of our dear friend David Barker, Owain's godfather, who died thirty five years ago. He'd tell Dave Allen jokes, and would imitate Ronnie Corbett superbly. He was a lovely guy. We still miss him.

On tonight's news feed, intimations that if progress in suppressing covid contagion continues, hairdressers and some non-essential shops will re-open on March 15th. That's great news. I so much need a haircut!

Ash Wednesday

After an unusually good night's sleep, only having to get up twice in the night instead of four tines I had breakfast, then read Morning Prayer, Litany and Eucharist. Clare met Emma returning from her walk and was given a special Ash Wednesday prayer card with cross drawn in ashes on it. A nice gesture on the part of the clergy team. 

I received a delivery of fish for freezing from Ashtons while Clare was out. The bones filleted out of the salmon get turned into a fabulous soup. The house smells of fish soup during into the evening. And there's a treat of laver bread with bacon for supper. Not exactly abstinence, but certainly something to give extra thanks for. The must be extra room for praise and gratitude in a season of penitence.

Clare asked me to pay for the order using our secure on-line banking set up. It's not something I do often and in between times forget exactly how it works. The action buttons menu is clear enough when you know where it is and what you're looking for. I didn't, and tapped something that ende up in an endless maze of information pages with no route back. I had to log out and start again, which rather uoset me. My suspicion that inconsistent web behaviour, is a result of accidentally running into a malicious intervention runs very high, even on a site with high security entrance protocols. A glitch in data flow is usually the cause of anomalies, or else poorly designed pages using esoteric terms, but these also happen with malicious sites. It all feels to me like hostile territory nowadays. Perhaps I know too much about web security issues to trust and rely on cyber things.

I spent the morning trying to get Linux to work on an old Netbook having reinstalled it and then found the hard drive wasn't recognised. A hardware fault? Or an Installation error due to the hateful early UEFI firmware being improperly configured? I had to physically remove the drive and check it on another device using a hard drive caddy. No hardware errors, found. I downloaded the latest version of Linux Mint and used it mounted on a USB card to do a fresh netbook install. This time it was bootable despite throwing a system boot error first. Something to do with UEFI.

The system functioned but couldn't be updated. It wouldn't accept root password I'd assigned to it. It's so frustrating, I'll have to reinstall and reset, if I can figure out where I've gone wrong. Something to do when I'm not busy.

Light rain came at the end of the morning and persisted non-stop into the evening. It was quite mild and there was no wind, but walking over to and then around Victoria Park, then crossing over to Llandaff Fields was a miserable wearing experience, as if I was carrying a heavy load. I was tired when I got back, and hadn't walked as far as I thought, but my rainwear was sodden. I went out again after supper when the rain had reduced to a drizzle, to complete my daily distance in the dark.

Later, we watched another interesting archaeological programme on More Four. In suburban Newcastle upon Tyne there once stood a Roman fort. The sight was partly excavated before the houses were built, and the site of its gatehouse was left exposed. An investigative team came to the area with a theoretical maps of the fort and the civilian settlement adjacent to it, with a view to digging exploratory trenches in people's back gardens to search for evidence to confirm the mapping. Local residents were happy to give permission and took a great interest in the findings. 

It brought to light the history of how in the couple of centuries after it was built and established as a garrison gateway in Hadrian's wall, the civilian settlement grew up and over time grew closer to the fort itself. The findings suggested a prosperous cosmopolitan community had flourished there until the Romans retreated from Britain in the third century. I wonder what will be left to show of our settlements in two thousand years from now, given the threats to existence from pandemics and global warming we now face?

Funerals present and long past

This morning, I attended the Eucharist at St Catherine's, then returned home and changed, ready to be collected for a funeral service at Pidgeon's Chapel, then the crem. It was well attended, as the deceased had been a member of Canton Liberal Club for over forty years, and worked locally as a painter and decorator. It was an unusual occasion, as immediate family members made comments to me and each other during the service, in quite a participatory way, as they might if they were in the audience at a club stand up comedy event. There was no disrespect intended and it wasn't disruptive, it was just inhibited good humoured participation, as it does naturally in pentecostal churches as well as comedy clubs. It was a refreshing change from the stony passivity of congregations at most conventional funeral services. I think it encouraged me to be more relaxed and spontaneous, in my usual quite formal exercise of ministry among strangers.

When I got home, I started thinking about the router access problem, which has been bugging me for days. There was one thing I hadn't done, which I've had to do several times when attempting to log into wi-fi when first arriving at chaplaincy assignments in Spain and that's take a photo and magnify it to see if I misread anything. Sure enough there was. The ambiguous password letter wasn't zero or big O but Q with a tail printed so tiny it looked like a blemish on the label. Instant success revealing nothing out of order, normal functioning, confirming lousy connectivity. Thank heavens for this much at least.

Yesterday evening and tonight, Channel 5 has treated us to a feast of archaeological discoveries, excavation projects as they are happening this year. It's hosted by actor Tony Robinson who hosted the archaeology programme 'Time Team' for 25 years. He's an enthusiast for what he's presenting, and you're naturally drawn in by his fascination. The photography reveals stunning landscapes in gold green and blue colours, enough to get me pondering about a trip to Egypt. Tony talks straight to camera, and is followed into the most awkward of physical locations. There must be a strong bond of trust and mutual respect between him and his

Tonight's episode was filmed mostly at the Necropolis on the hill above the Nile at Aswan. Previous digs over the past century have uncovered many sites which indicate the grandeur and status of this city of the dead, but so much more is buried under drifting sand after twenty centuries. The site dates back 4,500 years and may contain thousands of tombs, some with grand processional entrances yet to be uncovered. I wonder what sort of ritual and ceremonies were carried out on the day a tomb received its occupant? What's so amazing are burial chamber walls covered with frescoes that have not seen the light of day for three to four thousand years and yet appear fresh and bright as they did on the day the tomb was sealed after burial, if not when it was robbed. I wonder if there'll be any more programmes to follow up, after this outstanding two-parter?

Jobs done and a story of a lost city

This morning I wrote my Sunday sermon, then at lunchtime I was collected and taken to St Luke's for the sculptor's funeral. There was a congregation of well over a hundred. I found a reading from Exodus to use, praising people gifted as artists and craftsmen. His son gave an affectionate tribute and told a funny story that combined his Dad's artistic prowess with his ingenuity as a practical joker. This involved him doing a lifelike lightning sketch of his brother on the plaster of a wall, and concealing it behind loose wallpaper about to be stripped for redecorating, then letting his brother discover it, as if by magic, and teasing him about the ominous nature of the appearance of the image from nowhere. After the interment at Thornhill, I was taken home. Then, after a cup of tea and the rest of my lunch I went to the office for the rest of the afternoon to tidy up financial records and catch up with Julie and Ashley. 

In the evening Clare and I watched a TV documentary on Channel Five, which I'd not seen before, about the recent discovery of a 3000 year old lost city of Pharoah Rameses II, called Pi-Ramesses. It had once been a major military base on the banks of a Nile tributary. Once the tributary silted up, a replacement city was rebuilt on a river bank thirty miles away. Stones and monuments from the first city were moved, possibly via irrigation canals, to use at the new site. Sand and soil eventually covered the original site and its previous history forgotten. It's been used for over two millennia for farming, but modern ground penetrating radar has revealed the extensive layout of the original built environment. Select trial excavations have confirmed the marine and military industrial character of the city, and provided work for archaeologists to explore in depth for years to come. Such a fascinating scientific detective story to learn about. 

Removal of the rear of house chimney stack has progressed well this past few days, partly due to the crumbling mortar between the bricks making it easy to remove, without needing much hammering to separate them. All the debris has been manhandled to the ground, as there wasn't enough space to erect a chute. The back lane is barely wide enough to remove debris by wheelbarrow as well, so it's not been an easy job, but by tea-time today tiles covered the space vacated by the chimney and the new piece of gable end wall has been rendered with cement. We have more work to be done on our side next week, with the replacement of ancient iron guttering.