FRIDAY MUSIC: Silly Wizard, by JD

Silly Wizard were a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones, and Bob Thomas. In January 1972, Jones and Thomas formed a trio with their flatmate Bill Watkins and performed under various band names in Edinburgh folk clubs.

In the spring of 1972, Watkins returned to Birmingham and, in June 1972, Chris Pritchard (vocals) came in as his replacement. In July 1972, this newly formed trio were offered their first paid booking at the Burns Monument Hotel, Brig O’ Doon, Scotland, and needed a band name in a hurry. The name “Silly Wizard” was chosen and the continuing stream of bookings ensured that the name became permanent. In September 1972, the trio recruited Johnny Cunningham (1957–2003) (fiddle, viola, mandola, vocals)[1] and Silly Wizard started to take off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_Wizard

Silly Wizard: Lover’s Heart

Silly Wizard Live - Donald McGillavry

The Ramblin’ Rover, Andy M. Stewart & Silly Wizard

Bridget O’Malley

Silly Wizard Live - Land O’ The Leal
“Scotland is one of the few places left that cigarettes and fried breakfasts are still good for you” - Andy M Stewart

This song was written by Lady Carolina Nairne of Perthshire, Scotland (1766-1845) in about 1798. The air that she set her words to is a very old Scottish tune. In “The Scottish Review,” Vol. 27, Pg. 115, published 1896, the air is called “Hey Now The Day Dawes.” Subsequently an “anonymous versifier” set lyrics to the tune, which became known as “Hey Tuttie Taitie” or “Hey Tuttie Tattie.” Robert Burns then set “Scots Wha Hae” to the tune, saying “I have met the tradition universally over Scotland, and particularly about Stirling, in the neighbourhood of the scene, that this air was Robert the Bruce’s March at the battle of Bannockburn, which was fought in 1314.”

Thereafter, Lady Nairne set “Land O’ The Leal” to the same tune. This information can be found in “The Scotish* Musical Museum, Consisting of Upwards of Six Hundred Songs, Vol. II,” published 1839, pages 162-168, which contains the musical notation for the original tune, “Hey Now The Day Dawes.” Please note that the lyrics to “Land O’ The Leal” are introduced with the statement: “The ingenious author still unknown to the editor.” The lyrics were later often attributed to Burns, until after Lady Nairne’s death, when her sister published, in 1846, her collected works in a book titled “Lays from Strathearn.”

Silly Wizard members in this clip:

Andy M. Stewart: lead vocals, tenor banjo, whistle
Phil Cunningham: accordion, piano, synthesizers, whistle, cittern, vocals
John Cunningham: fiddle, vocals
Gordon Jones: guitar, bodhran, vocals
Martin Hadden: bass guitar, keyboards, guitar, vocals.

Satanism is not a new moral panic

The internet is fizzing with demonisation of senior US political figures as the Epstein files are leaked. There are fantastic allegations of perversion and even cannibalism. Here in the UK it is possible to believe that our Prime Minister actually works to harm our country in several ways.

Can all this be simply the hysteria of ninnies?

Yet forty years ago Michael Bentine published a novel whose foreword reads in part:

I have been pondering for many years on my own encounters with the forces of evil during war and peace… newspaper headlines about drug smuggling, satanism and corruption in high places show daily that the kind of events described here are all too probable.

Bentine was a firm believer in the paranormal and yet was nobody’s fool. He was at the liberation of Belsen in 1945 and saw Hell there; like William Blake he believed heaven and hell are states of the human soul, but not merely that. Here he is in discussion with Bishop Richard Holloway (BBC1, 19 August 1988):

Either the spiritual cross-currents now flowing so vigorously are baloney or they’re not; if not, they scare me. There are reports of increased church attendance and conversions (ex-Muslim then atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali adopted Christianity in November 2023.)

Evil may be a real force and if so blasé sophistication may not be enough to counter it.

Hannah Spencer - plumb lucky?

Jealous eyes are cast on the new MP for Gorton and Denton. The Daily Mail digs away at how this relatively young (34) plumber has come to co-own property “worth over £1m.” Apparently her mother helped her buy her first house ten years ago so that got her on the ladder early by today’s standards; and it also helped to have a (now ex-) partner who must earn well as a professional biochemist.

But Hannah’s acceptance speech touching on the poor rewards of hard work was not hypocritical. Many of those who voted for her will be putting in long hours in their small businesses and wondering when they will break through to the good times.

Part of her success may be down to “working as a specialist in heat pumps” where the profit margin is big. Google’s AI says an installed heat pump costs “an average of around £12,500 for a standard 3-bedroom home” ChatPT says an air source inverter costs US$1,200-2,500 to manufacture - say under UK£2,000 at the top end.

If supplying and fitting costs a further £3,000 (would it be as much as that?) the Government’s £7,500 subsidy would appear to be “pure gravy” as PG Wodehouse would say. Plenty there to share with a skilled employee, assuming Spencer was not running her own show and taking the lot. This is another case of the State being happy to burn taxpayers’ money to ride a hobby horse.

But fair play to Hannah for having the wit to exploit it. She was less likely to become a demi-millionaire just from unblocking toilets.

Vote for War

A repost from 2021:

Outside St Mary’s Church in Totnes stands a rough stone war memorial. At the foot of the cross are named over 100 men killed in the Great War, including three men from one family and two from another, in a town of fewer than 6,000 souls.

Who voted for the slaughter to begin? Nobody. The electorate comprised 5.2 million men (some 60% of all adult males, and no women at all), but they were not consulted. Instead, the order was given by King George V at a Privy Council meeting in Buckingham Palace attended by only two court officials and Lord Beauchamp. As historian AJP Taylor explained https://global.oup.com/academic/product/english-history-1914-1945-9780192801401?cc=gb&lang=en& , this reflected ‘a general view that war was an act of state, if not of prerogative, with which ordinary citizens had little to do.’

By 1918, after nearly a million British servicemen had died (with another c. two million permanently disabled) https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1914-1945/war/ , it was thought that the people might be entitled to more of a voice.

The Home Secretary introduced the Representation of the People Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representation_of_the_People_Act_1918#Background saying that the war

‘has made it, I think, impossible that ever again, at all events in the lifetime of the present generation, there should be a revival of the old class feeling which was responsible for so much, and, among other things, for the exclusion for a period, of so many of our population from the class of electors.’

Nevertheless, while the Act extended the vote to all men only some women qualified - about 40% of them. The rest had to wait until 1928 to be included. Universal adult suffrage in Britain has yet to celebrate its centenary.

Even modernised democracy didn’t stop the repeat use of the royal war-making prerogative in 1939; and it remains to this day the constitutional position for the United Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_parliamentary_approval_for_military_action .

While we complain about minor infringements of our personal freedom, the government reserves the right to kill us (and the people of other nations) wholesale, so long as some pretext can be found that circumvents Nuremberg principles. ‘Gandalf’ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9569815/You-looked-like-Gandalf-Tony-Blair-admits-lockdown-mullet-mistake.html bounced us into war with Iraq, and ‘Dodgy Dave’ https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/on-this-day-dennis-skinner-thrown-out-of-the-commons-after-calling-cameron-dodgy-dave-263883/ only desisted from bombing Syria because he chose to ‘respect’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23892783 a Commons majority opposing it.

The US Constitution attempted to restrain the Executive with a specification that it should be Congress that declares a war. Despite the country being almost continuously involved in armed foreign conflicts since its foundation, that declaration has been made only eleven times, the last in 1942 https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/War-Powers/ . The use of the notion of ‘authorisation’ has allowed this power, like so many others, to drift towards the Chief Executive, and in any case the next Big One may happen so suddenly that there will be no need for a call-up before a general incineration begins.

The US President’s nuclear football is ever at hand; Britain is now stocking up with more atomic weapons https://www.economist.com/britain/2021/03/18/britain-is-adding-nukes-for-the-first-time-since-the-cold-war ; the winds blow around the old granite cross. And we have the vote.

FRIDAY MUSIC: Bosko Baker, by JD

“Street Swing. Bozo Blues. Often times with my fiddle playin’ pal Birdie & our band the Do Makers. You can also catch me in New Orleans with the Hobo Gadget Junk Band at certain spectacular moments of the year.”

“Bosko Baker is a roots musician blending American music — country blues, ragtime, folk, swing — into what he calls “street swing” or “bozo blues.” Drawing inspiration from legends like Doc Watson, Merle Travis, Big Bill Broonzy, Blind Blake, Jimmie Rodgers, and Mississippi John Hurt, his music combines raw energy with timeless tradition.

“With a spontaneous stage presence honed from years of busking, Bosko’s shows are where his music truly comes to life — an infectious mix of blues, swing, and folk that speaks to the heart of American roots music. From festival stages to intimate venues, his dynamic blend of storytelling, finger-picking guitar, and a deep respect for tradition makes every show a unique & foot stomping experience that has gained him a loyal following.”

https://www.boskobaker.com/

Bosko Baker - Be Here Now (With Me)

With Friends Like These (Live)

Bosko Baker // Business for the Business Man (Live in New Orleans)

Lookin’ For Trouble - Bosko Baker’s Do Makers

Dinah

Bosko Baker’s Do Makers // Puddle of Joy // NPR Tiny Desk Contest 2026

Fresh Garbage: PMQs / Chagos 25th February 2026

The PM gave us the usual stuff today.

Edward Argar (Con): Would Starmer scrap impending business rate changes?

PM [effectively]: …

Mrs Badenoch, LOTO (repeatedly): Would he cut interest rates on student loans?

PM [effectively]: …

Fleur Anderson (Lab): Would Starmer remain committed to the Equality Act?

PM: Natch. And [irrelevantly again] would Nigel Farage apologise for what one of his Party said (“she should be shot”) about Bolsover’s Natalie Fleet (Lab)? [The Speaker has recently told off Sir Keir for asking the Opposition a question, but hey, who cares?]

Farage: What about the right of Chagossians to live on their land?

PM: “So the hon. Gentleman has neither the decency nor the backbone to condemn a death threat against a Member of this House.” Reform’s Gorton and Denton candidate denies non-whites can be English and “has been endorsed by Tommy Robinson.” Vote Labour tomorrow. [As for Chagos, his reply was: …]

I have just bought a copy of “Punch & Judy Politics: An Insider’s Guide to Prime Minister’s Questions.” Sir Keir regularly turns the baby of a serious question into sausages and his nasal twang is already halfway to being a swazzle. How we long for the day when we can have politics for grown-ups.

More interesting was the next session, Farage’s “Urgent Question” about Diego Garcia / Chagos.

The relevant Minister should have been the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper but she was returning from the USA; in her stead was Hamish Falconer, PUSS for foreign affairs and more specifically the Middle East. In rugby terms he had been given a “hospital pass,” (says my wife.) James Cartlidge (Con) noted Falconer’s deflections and said ”Surely we should have a Minister in front of us who can answer our fundamental legal questions on the treaty.”

Falconer betrayed the pressure he felt under by twice addressing Farage directly (“you”) which of course should be the (Madam Deputy in this case) Speaker, who picked him up on it.

For pressure there was. Four different MPs asked him about Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which says in part:

a State may… declare in writing that it does not accept any one or more of the procedures… with respect to one or more of the following categories of disputes: […]

(b) disputes concerning military activities, including military activities by government vessels and aircraft engaged in non-commercial service…

Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh noted the “apparent” discrepancy between answers given on 22 May 2025, when it was said that without a quick resolution on Diego Garcia HMG would run into problems with international law, and written answers given on 4 and 12 February 2026 that acknowledged this opt-out. He gave notice that he would table an Urgent Question on this discrepancy for Monday.

The earlier role of Jonathan Powell was also an issue - he may have been given confidential information on the “deal” before his appointment as special envoy to the British Indian Ocean Territories. Ben Obese-Jecty (Con) had previously asked about it re Chagos and a reply was due 12 February but not received as of even date. “One can assume that a response will be forthcoming very quickly,” said a stern Madam Deputy Speaker.

Nor was it just the Conservatives who turned up the heat. Labour’s Graham Stringer quoted the Labour manifesto on protecting the British Overseas Territories and “defending their sovereignty and right to self-determination” - but noted that the Chagossians had not been consulted. The Lib Dem spokesperson Dr Al Pinkerton also supported Chagossian rights.

There was a further complication, said Farage, in that the Maldives might be about to launch a counterclaim on Chagos via the ICJ .

However much Falconer harped on eleven previous rounds of discussion on Diego Garcia and Farage’s stunt trip to the Chagos Islands, it was clear that the matter remains far from settled.

Thank goodness Parliament is still capable of holding Government to account. What was the point of capturing the Crown in 1689 if all it achieved was to allow the Prime Minister carte blanche? We need another John Dunning, he who said in 1780 “The influence of the Crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished”; but this time to address the shogunate that has taken over from the monarch.

FRIDAY MUSIC: Renaissance, by JD

Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit “Northern Lights” and progressive rock classics like “Carpet of the Sun”, “Mother Russia”, and “Ashes Are Burning”.

They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam’s wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements, vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser, and versatile drum work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_(band)
https://repertoirerecords.com/artists/renaissance/

Renaissance - Northern Lights [totp2]

Ocean Gypsy

Renaissance - Forever Changing

Renaissance - Carpet of the Sun

RENAISSANCE - Can You Understand? [LIVE IN STUDIO] 1974 RARE