A Blue Moon wish

Another glorious blue sky sunny day to wake up to, comfortably warm to start with, but the temperature rising to 25C during the morning, cloudy and a cooling wind in the afternoon. My shoulder is less painful today but I could have done with more sleep after half a dozen awakenings in the night. Despite this, my head was clearer when I got up, clearer than yesterday. I can't figure out what makes the difference between a bad start to the day and a good one.

Clare cooked crispy buckwheat pancakes for breakfast, then went food shopping. I exchanged messages with Sara about recovering from joint and muscle damage, reflecting on how much learning Chi Gung has helped me to maintain strength and balance since the stroke, and prevent my strained shoulder from seizing up - so far so good anyway.

After lunch I walked for nearly two hours in Llandaff and Pontcanna Fields. On my way back I met Owain carrying a bunch of flowers for his Mam, and a big pork sausage bap for me, bless him! He's in good spirits, relaxed thanks to the benefit of his recent short holiday in Lisbon. We agreed on getting a takeaway supper - just salad for me. Eating less in the evening will, I hope, enable me to have a less disturbed night's sleep.

Owain and I went for a sunset walk in Llandaff Fields. The clouds were beautifully lit in orange and pink hues. Sadly it means there's little hope of seeing the rising of the Blue Moon, the second full moon of this month. If only America and Iran, Israel and Lebanon could agree to permanent cease fire terms. That really would be a historic  'once in a blue moon' occasion.

Peace talks between America and Iran are still stalled. While there is some traffic through the Straight of Hormuz, the blockade of Iranian ports continues, and Iran is not yielding to pressure. A key issue is Iran's stocks of enriched uranium which can be used for peaceful energy production or nuclear weapons. America insists these stocks must be destroyed. It's stupid rhetoric. Radio active substances can be diluted and dispersed for secure containment in other countries willing to accept them, but not destroyed.

Neither side trusts the other and Trump is determined to force the issue one way or another. The Americans keep on saying there is progress on cease-fire talks, but nothing seems to be happening. The price of oil stays high and fluctuates every time there is a new pronouncement from Washington or Tehran. Every variation is a money making opportunity for the global energy market. Cynical commentators say it's a new version of 'insider trading'.

Whatever peace talks are going on in Lebanon, Israel continues to treat the whole country as a battlefield in its war against Hezbollah. Over three thousand have been killed and a million displaced. In Gaza over two hundred have been killed since the ceasefire and forcible displacement of the Palestinian population from their land already in ruins from war against Hamas. The Israeli government's violent ethnic cleansing policy and subjugation of Palestinian people is a moral outrage. It will do nothing to secure a peaceful future for the region, apart from adding to the reservoir of violent hatred between Israelis and Arabs. With America doing little to restrain the Israeli government, this could lead to violent revenge attacks in the United States. The belief that 'might is right' is a form of idolatry, the ideology of fools.