Video Quandry

Although I spent more than eight hours in bed, my sleep was somewhat broken. After uploading Morning prayer with no hassle, I had breakfast, said my prayers and fell asleep again. I must have needed it.

At lunchtime, I drove to Thornhill for today's funeral. Unfortunately with a long eulogy and a couple of tributes, which I had no control over, the service ran on a bit longer than the allotted time. The chapel attendant wasn't unduly worried about this, as the service schedule of the day wasn't completely full, and so there was a gap after the one I was taking. The decline in the numbers of covid related funerals has made a welcome difference. Before the service, I was chatting to the funeral conductor, who told me that in one week at the peak of the crisis eighty percent of the funerals done were covid related.

After a late lunch, I recorded and edited the last two Morning Prayer videos. I'm just about accustomed to the process again. I don't do this often enough for it to be habitual. I may be hampered by using equipment which isn't fully geared up for slick video editing. It makes me wonder if I should upgrade, although for all other purposes, my various computers are adequate to the job. These days 8GB RAM and a Core 15 processor seem to necessary to avoid glitches. Several times I there were moments when the editing suite didn't seem to react to the command given, or didn't display that it was doing what was asked of it. This can be a sign of memory buffers not clearing fast enough I think. Hence the requirement for extra RAM to make the process smoother. The trouble is, if there seems to be no response to a command given, I'll click or press a key again impatiently until I get a response, and that tends to screw things up. 

I look after my computers and although they are relatively old, the don't tend to die on me and need replacing. I could buy a new device and have no reason to use again it for video editing. Setting up a new machine to work with the optimum efficiency and minimum annoyance can take many days of machine minding, something I have less patience for these days. Also I don't need to spend time re-learning a new system, when I have all the digital tools I am ever likely to need already at my disposal. Best use of time is what matters most to me these days.

Just as I was about to go out for walk before supper, Marc called by with a copy of the final edit of the video he and Fran produced about the 'Noli me tangere' icon, and a bottle of wine as a thank you present for helping them get started with the project. It was meant to appear in the weekly Parish 'Holy Ground' slot on Facebook at seven, but there was a glitch, evoking a few puzzled responses. I uploaded to You Tube the copy Marc gave me then posted a link to WhatsApp, just in case but the official version appeared on Facebook an hour or so later.

I walked for an hour before supper. Later in the evening, I did the rest of my day's exercise in the dark. Fortunately it wasn't quite so cold as earlier. The weather is changing again.

Croeso Dewi Sant

Although I slept quite well, I obviously needed more, so after breakfast, when I'd completed Morning Prayer and some Spanish exercises, I found myself nodding off, and slept soundly for over an hour. All I have to do is relax a while and I fall asleep, but if I have things to do, I can stay continuously active and not feel tired at all. I don't understand it. 

For tomorrow's video reflection, I started thinking about bridges with the re-opening of the Blackweir Bridge topical at the moment. Writing a script came easily, and with a surprise. I googled 'bridges in the Bible' and the search result didn't produce the name of any bridge. The fords of the Jordan and its tributary the Jabbok are mentioned, and the standing stones at the Jordan crossing, but no bridge, despite the fact that Greeks and Romans had already engineered lasting stone bridges around the empire centuries before the time of Christ. Yet, the idea of bridging the gulf between separated entities is there in scripture in the concept of reconciliation. The verb 'to bridge' rather than the noun 'bridge' is what you find. Bridge building is a commonly used metaphor. I didn't have time to dig deeper and find a reason, I first had to think of a way to illustrate the sound recording I made.

When I went for a walk in the afternoon, I went down to Blackweir Bridge and video'd a thirty second introduction to the reflection with the bridge in the background. My Google Photos accounts have scores of bridge photos taken on my travels. The Photos app uses shape recognition technology to guess which ones show a bridge. This gave me a huge variety of pictures to work with for a slide show to go with the audio and the video, and I'm pleased to say that with a little patience, it worked, as planned.

Fran and Mark came around to deliver the completed St David icon she's painted. It's hanging on the dining room wall, and looks magnificent. It' like having a special house guest. The four of us went for a walk in Thompson;s Park so we could chat socially distanced. I took my Sony DSLR with the 50mm lens, which I rarely use, preferring big long lens. The 50mm lens has limited scope compared to others I have, but I thought it was about time I learned how to work with and benefit from those limitations, or find out if there are any benefits. This is very much a matter of trial and error on my part!

I finished the task after supper and watched part of a Welsh language song writing competition with Clare on S4C, before watching this week's 'New Amsterdam' episode on More 4 catch-up. The episode highlighted inadequate health care resources in prison and the terrible impact this has on inmates' mental and physical condition. Tough watching.

Dewi Sant portrayed afresh

News of 147 South African covid variant infections identified so far, with suspicion there are many more due to rapid symptomless transmission. It seems that the Oxford AZ vaccine isn't quite as effective in stopping mild infection in the younger age bracket (and therefore contagion) as hoped for, although still highly protective against serious and fatal illness, which should help reduce hospitalizations. It's the result of a small scale study (2000 people) yet to be peer reviewed. It gives an early heads up from the experts to not to stop social distancing and mask wearing, whether you've been vaccinated or not. I do wish this was repeated more frequently every time this comes up as a news item, so that people are reminded it's not just a mere inconsequential statistic. The mews media are great at raising anxiety and not so good at reminding their audience of what is vital and live-saving.

The chill easterly wind continues to blow relentlessly, bringing a scattering of stinging icy particles but no snow. Despite a hat, ski jacket, gloves, normal jacket, two pullovers, shirt and woolen vest, I was still cold during my first invigorating walk of the day. Perhaps because I no longer have as much surplus body fat as I used to. I caught sight of a blue jay feeding on the ground at the edge of Pontcanna Fields and for just the second time in ten years of trying was able to photograph it. I got half a dozen useful pictures, though not quite as good as I'd liked. All in focus but not quite sharp enough, due to poor lighting not giving as fast a shutter speed as necessary to minimise motion blur totally. Pleased nevertheless.

This afternoon our icon painting friend Fran was in touch with Clare, sending photos of her finished icon of St David, which Clare commissioned for Cardiff Steiner School. It's a beautiful, original and unique in its use of iconographic form, symbolism and colour to portray Dewi Sant. She has created a work of art, that owes much to the ethos of both Byzantine and Western medieval sacred painting. It's a tradition which seems come from past religious history, and yet is very much alive today. Eventually, I'll post a photo here, so you can understand what I'm saying. 

The next step is to devise a suitable way of blessing and dedicating this icon, whose home will be in a secular pluralist school environment, reminding pupils, teachers and visitors alike that they live in Wales whose culture is inspired of a humble hospitable holy man, at home in nature, whose life was attentive to the presence of God in Christ, revealed in all things great and small alike  

St David to tea in the garden

I took my prescription renewal request to the surgery this morning. Having been away and obtaining a couple of months worth of medication over in Ibiza, it's taken this long to get down to the last week's supply. The renewal procedure has changed, and the practice website doesn't reflect this. Now that the usual entrance to the surgery is closed, the designated collection box for prescription requests is not in use. You have to post them through the letter box in the door which is in use instead. I just hope it doesn't get blown into an obscure corner when the door is opened to admit patients and visitors!

As I was about to go out for my afternoon walk, I had a call from Mother Frances asking if I could do a funeral in two weeks time, as two came in on the same day. While I was out in the park, starting to pick blackberries I had a phone call from Clare to say that Fran and Mark were coming around for tea in the garden, so I had to curtail my foraging effort and head for home.

It's a happy coincidence that they have got together, as a couple. We've known them both separately for different reasons for almost twenty years. Fran, due to her involvement in the Steiner School, Mark as a musician friend of Rachel's, who put concerts on at St John's when I was Vicar there.

Fran brought with her an icon of St David which she's painting, to show us. Clare sponsored it as a gift to the school, an inspirational reminder of its Welsh roots. She's working on it thoughtfully and slowly in the tradition of Byzantine iconography, while depicting Dewi Sant primarily as a simple Celtic monk. 

Although he was a Bishop, showing him in the status loaded episcopal vestments of the Byzantine or  the Roman churches would not be wholly appropriate. Celtic Bishops were more grassroots people spending their lives travelling around evangelising and supporting church communities, rather than presiding from an urban centre of power. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

We watched the 'War on Plastic' follow-up programme on telly later in the evening. It was an interesting exposure of misrepresentation of information about the recycleability of sandwich boxes and the plastic mesh used in many brands of teabag. Also it highlighted concern about the increased use of plastic packaging for vegetables in supermarket home deliveries during lockdown, and the growing environmental menace from discarded face masks, something I've noticed both in streets and parks. How will the vicious cycle of over consumption of plastic material ever be broken?

Spring chicks and artworks

A lazy Saturday morning, with just a sermon to write, then lunch in the sun in the garden. Clare had heard from artist friend Fran Whiteside that Llanover Hall community arts centre in Romilly Road was hosting an art exhibition featuring work by some of the people who teach classes there. As it opened today, with a little ceremony by ex-First Minister Rhodri Morgan, we thought we go over and take a look. The vernissage party was in full swing by the time we arrived and Rhodri had gone, but we enjoyed looking at what was on display, and chatting to a few people. Fran's contribution to the exhibition was a remarkable work reminding me of the style of William Blake. It's called 'The Divine Wisdom', and here's the photo of it which Fran sent me.

I must be careful to chose the right words here. Use of the word 'iconic' has been debased and misued in recent decades. Moreover, Fran is a practitioner of Byzantine 'icon writing', as it's called in Eastern Orthodox, producing very beautiful traditional sacred images, fit for use in any place of prayer and worship. The above is equally the fruit of study and meditation, and its very title would be familiar to an Eastern Christian, but it's the fruit of a occidental contemplative eye. Marvellous.

Also in the exhibition was a painting of  railway station platform which I immediately recognised, but couldn't identify until I looked at the label - it was Treherbert station, end of the Cwm Rhondda line. I stood in exactly the same place as the artist on a visit there nine years ago, and taken a photo. In the background is a pyramidal shaped tabletop mountain, which according to locals is a global rarity, Phil Watkins the artist told me. Here's my photo, and after it, courtesy of Phil, a photo of his oil painting,

 

I love the misty atmosphere in this painting. It'd be hard to take a photograph which equals this.

 After this we went for a walk around Pontcanna Fields. We bumped into Jan and Peter walking their new dog. I don't think I have seen either of them since Peter retired last year, so it was good to catch up, and share appreciation of the new episcopal appointment. We spotted a Mallard family on the east bank of the river Taff a few hundred metres down from Blackweir Bridge, parents and six tiny chicks, moving so swiftly as they paddled against the flow to keep up with each other, that it wasn't easy to distinguish them, or get decent photos at full lens length with the Sony HX300. This was about the best of the bunch.

I sent this to Peter later, who responded, saying that Jan had been wondering if or when any chicks would be seen on the this year. They walk their dog in the Fields a couple of times each day. Amazing really, this is the first time we've met there, when I also walk along the Taff several times a week. In the evening, I didn't fancy watching the BBC Four scandi-noir offering, preferring to continue with another episode of Inspector Borowski. There are eleven in the series - over half way now.