Robert ‘Didfyman’ Smith

Happy birthday Robert Smith - The Cure

This morning I’ve seen Olly Robbins’s appearance before the select committee described as ‘box office’, while a commentator flagged up another key political moment with the words ‘bring the popcorn’.

That’s one of our main problems right there.

Man on a bus: She's grouchy.
Woman: Grouchy? She's pregnant! You been pregnant?
Man: No.
Woman: No? Then stop chattin' about it.

Come offline, and listen slowly with me Come offline, and listen slowly with me

**NEW POST**

I'm starting a slow listening club on my Substack. It's an invitation to come offline & listen instead.

To explain why, this is why classical music is so important to me, and why I think slow, deep, engaged listening is such a powerful thing.

leahbroad.substack.com/p/im-startin...

'The Devil's Hand' is excellent - a pacy Faustian horror directed by Maurice Tourneur (father of Jacques), produced in occupied Paris by the German-controlled Continental Studios. www.theartsdesk.com/film/blu-ray... #thedevilshand #paris #mauricetourneur #filmreview

Who do you mean?

Tailleferre is certainly worth discovering. I only know a few pieces - but they are varied, individual and full of character.

Jeff and Susie Greene from 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' in a previous life.

"You've given me a 'poem' YOU wrote for MY birthday! What: they'd run out of flowers at the garage?"

He is a not good writer

😄

The Greens are a disgrace

If you need five minutes of soothing listening, try this: Rimante in pace by Giacomo Carissimi.

Carissimi was an Italian composer of the early baroque and yesterday, April 18th, was probably his birthday (in 1605.) 1/3

A shop in Bonn called Ruland

Roland from Grange Hill

It’s an extraordinary production and points up the paucity of the opera - and particularly new opera - scene in the UK. A provincial opera company commissioning a major new work, with large cast of principals, full chorus, large orchestra, lavish set? Forget it!

Me at the Bonn opera for Awakening

At the beautiful opera house in Bonn to see the new opera Awakening by my dear friend and one-time teacher Param Vir. Nearly curtain up!

A half cadence where the alto leaps down an octave to cross the tenor, which then leaps up a fourth while the alto leaps up a fifth, for unclear reasons

Bach was operating on a level so far beyond our comprehension that questioning his voice leading is like asking the stars why their light is….ok wait but actually what the heck is going on here

I could trump this - but not in a way I could put in a public post! I'm like the silent vegan

I’m sorry, Sarah. What a lovely cat

But for the road markings, that could be one of those cleaned-up pictures from 1908

But AIUI 'papal infallibility' doesn't mean 'the pope is never wrong', and it was anyway only codified in the 19th century?

Can’t believe I’ve never seen this gif before!

Well, Vance is right, there is a Just War doctrine, so the Catholic Church does sometimes support wars. But this Iran one would just not ever be covered by the doctrine however you spin it

Hungary proves populism can be defeated The country has a long-developed method for beating back Russian influence

In 2016, I spoke to veterans of Hungary's 1956 revolution for a BBC radio doc. They told me how student protesters plucked up courage, & began to shout "Ruszkik haza!" - "Russians go home!"

Now Hungarians are shouting it again.

@newstatesman1913.bsky.social

www.newstatesman.com/internationa...

Times article about allowing cricket subs in the county championship

I agree with Athers. I always suspected allowing subs in cricket would be open to gamesmanship and abuse - and it’s not taken long to show that to be the case.

In cricket, a bowler taking five wickets, known as a ‘five for’ (eg 5-46, said as ‘five for 46’) is in slang a ‘Michelle’ (Pfeiffer)

Viz Victor Mature cartoon

From @vizcomic.bsky.social many moons ago

The Pope is weak on rural bus services.

Bernard Hughes - Everyone Sang (SSA) YouTube video by Bernard Hughes

New piece just up on YouTube: this is my setting of Siegfried Sassoon's heartlifting poem 'Everyone Sang', here in its version for upper voices. Do have a listen!