FRIDAY MUSIC: Caroline Lavelle, by JD

Caroline Lavelle is a British cellist, composer, and singer / songwriter. She has released three solo albums, collaborated with numerous international musicians, and is a member of the band Secret Sky.

Her career as a cello player started by chance: as a child, she’d been desperate to play the violin. On the day instruments were distributed, she was at the back of the queue. As luck would have it, when it was her turn, only a trombone and a cello were left. Choosing the latter, she went on to study at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London.

After graduating, she opted out of the orchestral route, preferring to perform her own compositions. “The creativity involved in writing your own music and marrying lyrics and arrangements is my greatest love.”
https://carolinelavelle.com/home

Turning Ground

Alexandria - Αλεξάνδρεια - الاسكندرية - CAROLINE LAVELLE

Farther Than The Sun (Live) - Caroline Lavelle

Caroline Lavelle - Moorlough Shore (Official Music Video)

Fool and the Genius

COLOUR SUPPLEMENT: Fire Mountain, by JD

Fire Mountain - eternally burning natural gas - Yanar Dag, Azerbaijan

Yanar Dagh (Azerbaijani: Yanar Dağ, literally ‘burning mountain’) is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (a country which itself is known as “the Land of Fire”). Flames jet into the air 3 metres (9.8 ft) from a thin, porous sandstone layer. Administratively, Yanar Dagh belongs to Absheron District of Azerbaijan.

Unlike mud volcanoes, the Yanar Dagh flame burns fairly steadily, as it involves a steady seep of gas from the subsurface. It is claimed that the Yanar Dagh flame was only noted when accidentally lit by a shepherd in the 1950s. There is no seepage of mud or liquid, which distinguishes it from the nearby mud volcanoes of Lokbatan or Gobustan.

On the territory of Yanar Dagh, the State Historical-Cultural and Natural Reserve was established by the presidential decree dated 2 May 2007 which operates under the control of State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan. After major overhaul between 2017 and 2019, Yanar dagh Museum and Yanar dagh Cromlech Stone Exhibition were launched in the area of the Reserve.

In the first millennium BCE, the fire played a role in the Zoroastrian religion, as the link between humans and the supernatural spheres.

Alexandre Dumas, during one of his visits to the area, described a similar fire he saw in the region inside one of the Zoroastrian fire temples built around it. Only a handful of fire mountains exist today in the world, and most are located in Azerbaijan. Due to the large concentration of natural gas under the Absheron Peninsula, natural flames burned there throughout antiquity and were reported on by historical writers such as Marco Polo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanar_Dagh

This next video has the Indian guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev with a more poetic description of the flames. He then goes on to explain the cultural significance of the fire and the temple built there. The important thing is nature offers us fire, water, air, earth, everything that is necessary to sustain life. these four elements have been always available.

FRIDAY MUSIC: Dmitri Shostakovich, by JD

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) was a Soviet composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostakovich achieved early fame in the Soviet Union, but had a complex relationship with its government. His 1934 opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was initially a success but later condemned by the Soviet government, putting his career at risk.

Shostakovich’s reputation has continued to grow after his death. Scholarly interest has increased significantly since the late 20th century, including considerable debate about the relationship between his music and his attitudes toward the Soviet government.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dmitri-Shostakovich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich - The Second Waltz

Nicola Benedetti: Shostakovich’s Romance The Gadfly Suite, Live in The Greene Space

Waltz no.6

Dmitri Shostakovich - Piano Concerto No. 2 - II. Andante

Shostakovich: Jazz Suite No. 2 - Riccardo Chailly, Berliner Philharmoniker

Starmer At Bay: PMQs 25th March 2026

Last week’s session was truly awful, the PM completely ignoring Badenoch’s six direct queries and shouting about Nick Timothy and Iran. Even the Speaker was moved to say “I am not responsible for the answers, but this is certainly not Opposition questions.”

We got the same again this time, as the Opposition leader repeatedly tried to get a commitment to fresh drilling in the North Sea. Starmer responded with a mixture of counterattacks and attempts to offload the issue as per legislative protocol onto the Energy Secretary. When Badenoch told him he was PM and could make that decision today Sir Keir put his fingers up to his lowered brows (12:08:15).

If there is one U-turn we need it is on energy policy, the keystone of our economy. The PM blames war and claims “the only way forward is to go further and faster on renewables.” If in a hole, keep digging.

Starmer’s Government refuses to be properly accountable to Parliament and, through our representatives there, at last to us. Barrister and constitutional expert Steven Barrett’s view is that such refusal amounts to contempt of Parliament.

The PM’s bluster was directed at more than Mrs Badenoch. His stalling and aggression when replying to Nigel Farage’s question on “smashing the gangs” triggered a walkout by the Reform squad.

Last week there were three Points of Order in which Conservatives tried to get the Speaker to rule on whether Ministers could be compelled to answer questions. This time the Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh put another one on the same subject and Sir Lindsay again explained that he could not force responses without compromising the independence of the Chair.

Nor is this problem limited to PMQs exchanges. In today’s Points of Order Andrew Snowden (Con) complained of the Cabinet Office’s failure to answer two of his letters within deadline.

Matters, not just fingers, are coming to a head. There is an almost Cromwellian arrogance in Starmer’s approach to the “Mother of Parliaments.” One or the other may ultimately have to say “In the name of God, go!” Roll on, May seventh!

Speaking of which, there may be a Lib Dem straw in the wind. When the PM attempted to bat away responsibility for energy decisions in the direction of Ed Miliband the LD leader supported him, saying that was indeed the legal position. Mrs Badenoch told him “Stop sucking up, Ed.”

Davey didn’t go to Eton but he seems to know about “oiling.” Perhaps he calculates that in the next General Election even more people will turn to his party under the illusion that the Lib Dems are a safely middle of the road outfit (not so crazy as the Greens, at any rate.) So, is he putting down his marker for a Labour-Lib Dem coalition in 2029?

FRIDAY MUSIC: Tom Lehrer, by JD

Tom Lehrer was born on April 9, 1928 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for A Gathering of Eagles (1963), Marty Back Together Again (1974) and The Cure (2011). He died on July 26, 2025 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

He entered Harvard at age 15, having skipped several grades. Everyone applying for admission to Harvard was required to include an example of their written work. Lehrer submitted a long verse, in the style of W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan, which concluded: “I will leave movie thrillers/And watch caterpillars/Get born and pupated and larva’d/And I’ll work like a slave/And always behave/And maybe I’ll get into Harva’d.” The poem in its entirety appeared in “Scholastic Magazine” in 1943. It was Lehrer’s first published work.

“I’ve occasionally heard that I was kicked out [of Harvard] for being a Communist, for dealing drugs, for corrupting minors, or for diverse other infractions of local decorum. Unfortunately, none of these rumours are true. The one I’ve heard more often is that I am dead. That one I encouraged, hoping it would cut down on the junk mail. It didn’t.”
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0499875/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer

Tom Lehrer - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park

Tom Lehrer - New Math (Animated)

Tom Lehrer - The Irish Ballad - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967

Tom Lehrer - So Long, Mom (A Song for World War III)

Tom Lehrer - The Vatican Rag - fabulous version - LIVE FILM From Copenhagen in 1967

That should help lift the gloom from from the weather and the news.

Nailing The Jelly: PMQs 18th March 2026

If you can’t nail a jelly to the ceiling you can catch it in a bowl.

Kemi Badenoch has recently grasped the power of relentless persistence and yesterday used all her six questions to trap Starmer into a blatant display of truth-dodging that has lit up the MSM as well as the internet.

KB (1): … did he personally speak to Peter Mandelson about his relationship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him as our ambassador to Washington?

PM: … mistake … process … Iran …

KB (2): … did he speak to Peter Mandelson about that [Epstein] before the appointment? Yes or no?

PM: … Mandelson was asked questions and gave untruthful replies… Iran…

KB (3): … The Prime Minister told us on the record that he “believed the lies” that Mandelson told him, but if he did not speak to him, how can he say that?

PM: The process is clear… [KB] appointed Nick Timothy… [who] said last night that Muslims praying in public [was] an “act of domination”… she should sack him.

KB (4): We can only assume that he did not speak to Peter Mandelson. [Starmer] left the questioning… to two of Mandelson’s closest friends, one of whom was also friends with a convicted paedophile. Asking those questions should have been his job. Why did he fail to do his duty?

PM: … shadow Justice Secretary … Muslims … Even Tommy Robinson … [Badenoch] is too weak and has absolutely no judgment.

KB (5): … The Prime Minister knew that Mandelson had kept up a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein… had been warned about appointing Mandelson. He claims he was lied to. Mandelson had twice been fired for dishonesty, so why did the Prime Minister believe Peter Mandelson over the vetting documents?

PM: … Hindus … Jews … Christians … Muslims praying … the Tory party has a problem with Muslims -

[Interruption.]

Mr Speaker: Order. May I just say that I am not responsible for the answers? I just have to say that.

KB (6): … [Starmer] appointed Peter Mandelson, but did not bother to ask the questions. If he cannot be straight with the House on something as simple as this, why should we believe a word he says about anything?

PM: [Badenoch] said we should rush into war … NATO … Greenland … Iran … failure to condemn and sack -

[Interruption.]

Mr Speaker: Order. I repeat that I am not responsible for the answers, but this is certainly not Opposition questions.

PM: - the shadow Justice Secretary for the poison and division that he spreads. It is turning out to be quite a month for the Leader of the Opposition who claims that she never makes any mistakes.

Minutes later:

Andrew Snowden (Con): Every week, the Prime Minister comes to the Chamber and reads out this pre-scripted nonsense that bears no resemblance to the questions that he is actually asked… So I ask him again: … did he speak to Lord Mandelson personally before appointing him as ambassador to the United States?

PM: We have set out the process … Opposition Members do not want to talk about the war … Nor do they want to talk about the shadow Justice Secretary saying that Muslims are not welcome to pray in Trafalgar Square. The Leader of the Opposition should remove him from the Front Bench, or I suspect he will be sitting up on the Reform Bench next.

**************************

This sh*tshow generated multiple POOs (Points Of Order).

Sir Julian Lewis (Con), Paul Holmes (Con), Sir John Hayes (Con) all asked in various ways what could be done to make Ministers give answers relevant to the questions put.

The Speaker refused to be drawn, saying that the first was not a Point Of Order, the next had “a real weakness… because there is an assumption that the person knows the answer” and Sir John was “just continuing a debate that I think I have already given the answers to.”

Dawn Butler (Lab), MP for two decades and former Gordon Brown PS loyally used a Point Of Order to help the PM muddy the waters by asking whether it brought Parliament into disrepute when Badenoch stated (according to Ms Butler) it was “following British values to attack Muslims praying.”

That was a distortion: nobody denies the general right of Muslims to pray, which they can and do anywhere if it does not seriously inconvenience others; but the shadow Justice Secretary had described (not in Parliament) a mass Muslim prayer event in Trafalar Square as “an act of domination” and in PMQs Badenoch had stated he was “defending British values.” For Muslims there is no discontinuity between religion and politics. That event was certainly not the first assertion of their political strength and will equally surely not be the last. A Justice Secretary’s brief includes dealing with issues of public order. The local elections on May 7th will give us plenty to discuss.

Mr Speaker: “This is an important point: we need tolerance, and it is about respecting one another. You have put your point on the record, but I am not going to enter into a debate. I will leave it at that for the moment.”

Some are beginning to think that Sir Lindsay Hoyle, former Labour MP for Chorley and himself the son of a Lancashire Labour MP may be, despite his habitual and commendable defence of Parliament’s privileges and traditions, overly reluctant to persuade the PM to be fully honest with the Opposition.

But Starmer’s habitual contempt for PMQs protocol was so outrageous on this occasion that we wonder whether he can continue in office even as far as May 7th.

If he does, and more, perhaps we are lost instead.

Drinker's Diet

From “History Defined”:

In the 1600s, some monks in Germany only drank beer and water during their 40-day fast for lent. They concocted an “unusually strong” brew, full of carbohydrates and nutrients.

In 2011, a journalist attempted to re-create their fast. He lost 25 pounds during the ordeal.

Fom “Empires Unchained”:

The beer the monks developed for this purpose still exists and is still brewed by the same institution.

The Paulaner brewery in Munich traces its origin directly to the Minim friars of Neudeck ob der Au, who began brewing their Salvator doppelbock in the 17th century specifically as liquid sustenance during Lenten fasting.

The name Salvator reflected its quasi-sacramental purpose.

When the monastery was secularized in 1799 during the Napoleonic reorganization of Bavaria, the monks’ brewing operation was sold off and eventually became one of the founding breweries of what is now a major commercial operation.

The strong dark bock style they developed for religious austerity became so popular with Munich’s secular population that other breweries copied it, the suffix “ator” on any German doppelbock name, from Optimator to Celebrator, is a direct commercial tribute to the monks’ fasting beer.

A brewing tradition invented for self-denial became one of the most commercially imitated beer styles in Germany.

And you can still get it; whether you should is another matter. Another example of Not Safe For Work?