A jackdaw swirled and turned in front of me this morning as I cycled to my yoga class. He was exuberant. I was sad. I feel helpless in the face of terrible wars in the world. I cycled on and attended my class. It was beautiful and the yoga nidra took me to a special place of peace, deep and distant and away from the darkness. I’m home now making soup with a Guatemalan squash I grew for the first time this year. I still feel sad, but somehow it is nearer to the surface, with me all the time. I think that is good. It is important not to forget to be sad, even as I sample the new soup or remember the jackdaw. They have a beady eye, jackdaws, and they protect us with their call. It might be imagined that they are calling to each other, but in fact they are putting up a force field, a shield to protect us all. Good friends, the jackdaws.

I’ve been out to get a picture for this blog, spoke to one or two people, found a jackdaw on a chimney stack in Gloucester Road, a little furtive but somehow twinkly, a reminder that this is a very good place to live and I am lucky to be here.