A Typical Thursday in Rhiwbina, Cardiff

Written by a 66 year old retired female living in the centre of Rhiwbina in north Cardiff.

DIARY Thursday 12th August 2010

6.45a.m. Woke to the reassuring voice of Sarah Kennedy on BBC Radio 2 encouraging us to face another day. Gazed once more in wonder at the view of Caerphilly mountain from our attic window; crystal blue sky, and sun lighting up the trees and fields – nature at its most stunning, a day to be grateful for. Snap the radio off sharp at 7.00a.m.

8.30a.m. Checked emails and pleased to read one from an errant grandchild reassuring us that everything is okay, but that life is so busy! Did the top layer of ironing whilst listening with dismay to a discussion with John Humphreys on Radio 4 about the decrease in book sales as more and more turn to reading online; can’t imagine a time when there could be no more books to hold, or crisp pages to be turned.

10.15a.m. Cloudy now, but made my way down the busy road to Rhiwbina Library where the weekly village walk starts, and where anyone can walk with companionship, for an hour, through the green parts of Rhiwbina. Today there were 30 of us and after a brisk walk we all went as usual for coffee to the Margaret Whittaker Lounge, a community resource provided by Beulah United Reformed Church; another half an hour of chat and then home to prepare lunch.

2.30p.m. Rang a lonely friend in France, finished the ironing whilst listening to a short story on Radio 4, then dealt with a couple of Civic Society emails. The sun came out, so we had a cup of tea in the garden whilst the blackbirds hovered around looking for currents on the bird table. The old apple tree is heavily laden with rosy bramleys so I collected enough windfalls to puree for the freezer.

6.30p.m. Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese, followed by plum crumble, for tea. It is a sunny evening with a fresh breeze, time to relax, for reading the paper and doing sudoku in an effort to preserve the brain cells.

9.00p.m. There is an interesting programme celebrating the Princess Royal’s life on television late tonight; but for us it will mean viewing it tomorrow on BBC iplayer as bedtime comes earlier these days.

10.00p.m. Up to bed to read for half an hour at the end of a typical day; Andrea Levy’s book Small Island is a fascinating glimpse into society’s prejudices after the last world war.