A Passiontide work in progress

A bright morning, but with the sky covered by a thin layer of cloud. It was gone eight thirty by the time I posted the link to today's Morning Prayer, as again I didn't wake up in time for Thought for the Day. After breakfast, I walked to St John's to celebrate the Eucharist with just four others this week. After coffee and a chat, I returned home and cooked lunch as Clare was out shopping in town

Surprising news from Ukraine about the sinking of a Russian warship capable of carrying troops and tanks to shore, as it did eight years ago when Crimea was annexed. The navy probably has others, but this will not be easy for Putin to explain, any more than the loss of six generals and many more ranking officers and over fifteen thousand soldiers in this offensive. Apparently the GRU Russia's military intelligence agency has someone senior leaking information abroad about disquiet in its ranks over Putin's campaign. If this isn't fake news, it could mean that his leadership is finally coming under internal scrutiny. Churches as well as governments around the world make continuing efforts to sustain communication and appeal for and end to fighting. There's little sign of change but nobody knows completely what is happening under the surface.

Clare wanted to visit a closing down sale of a store on Newport Road that sells outdoor leisure clothes, so I drove her there after lunch, but there was nothing she was interested in buying. After we got back, I walked over to Victoria Park to take photos as it has some spectacular blossoming trees. The wonderful pink flowers on the magnolia tree overlooking the pond in Thompson's Park have dropped most of their petals already. The leaf buds are still tight dark green spikes yet to unfold. The magnolia in next door's garden is slightly different, as it still has much of its blossom, and its leaves are already bursting out of the buds. Does this reflect adaptation to a different environment, or it is a different variety, I wonder?

Not much of interest on telly tonight, so I spent a couple of hours working on the script for the service on Good Friday that I propose issuing as a podcast while it happens live. An experiment and a challenge for which I hope I don't lose my nerve.

Digital reaching out

Last night, although tired, curiosity got the better of me and I looked into the possibility of an app for my Chromebook which would enable me to record audio. I found a simple plug-in extension that does the job nicely and saves MP3 files for podcasting. I couldn't have asked for better. So, straight away, a made a recording of my sermon and emailed it to Dave for uploading. I now have to think about what I can do, here on my own, to record the Communion service we should have been celebrating in St Rafel tomorrow.

I took quite an effort of concentration to record first the Ministry of the Word and then the Ministry of the Sacrament. I wrote a special 'Intercessions during a Pandemic' prayers to include in the latter. Then it was a matter of uploading the MP3 sound files to the Chaplaincy Website. Thankfully Dave was able to read them, but uploading was prohibited because both files were just over the prescribed limit of 25mb. They needed editing, so I installed Audacity on the Chaplaincy PC. It worked a treat, I was able not only to improve the files with unobtrusive minor trims, but also compress them to 30-40% of the size of the original produced. These were uploadable, and can be found on the Ibiza Chaplaincy website.

I was pleased with my efforts, but really needed exercise afterwards. The sun was getting low in the sky when I went out, but I did my daily mileage quota, ending the walk in darkness. After supper I chatted on WhatsApp video with the family gathered around the dining table in Kenilworth for Rhiannon's birthday, and at the same time with Rachel in her kitchen in Tempe AZ. It's the first time I have had a three way conversation in this way, and was surprised at how well the house broadband coped with it. We must do this again when the international timing fits. Meanwhile I am wondering how I'll cope with physical isolation and living with the 'expert' knowledge that I am at particular risk and vulnerable because I am more than three score years and ten.