It appears that I'm certainly not prime blogger material! Having written my first entry back in June, I decided this was ridiculous --nobody was going to read it because they'd never find it, and so on and whining on . So thank you, Zinb both for your kind words and for your existence.

Last time around wears I included on ancient photograph of me with theBrazilian singer, Flora Purim.Here's the pair --me with Airto Moreira. Or, "Airto and Hairto."

As a matter of fact I don't have a lot at the moment on my mind as regards music at the moment ,though I've been listening to a lot.I'd like to go on about the European classical composers whogot left out of my world thanks to a fortunately waning obsession on the part of the recording Italian composer Paisiello whose piano concertos , may not match Mozart his pea but certainly outshine Mozart in a more humdrum mood.Yet there's very little of his music on record.

Grasshoppering rapidly, I. also recently have been have bee ecstatically rediscovering some of the great Jamaican mento ofthe early 1950s,. Several CD rereleases have popped up quite recently. I haven't heard them all, but please don't pass up "Boogu Yagga Gal" in particular. I had some of its tracks in the original 78 rpm form . My mother was staying with the governor of Jamaica,whose wife , was an old friend of her, and when she mentioned that she had to get me some records,she was introduced to aim and she was told would certainly set her right. She didn't mention his name in her letter to my father describing the meeting, butfrom internal evidence he was very obviously Edward Seaga. I'm mildly surprised that she ended up with the likes of Bedasse and Lord Flea. For a future prime minister the man had good taste.

For some reason what has been much on my mind recently is the question of the British royal family,the House of Lords and such, including the idiotic suggestion that Britain abandon it's powerful unwritten constitution. A Bill of Rights is one thing, but it seems to me as plain as a pikestaff most of the US' most intractable problems come from that sacred cow (fanfare!Fireworks!) The Constitution. As for the royal family, every country needs a head of state. One that changes every so often is not very impressive, and surely we have anough evidence that a head of state who is also a partisan pol AND commander in chief has almost unimaginable potential for disaster. Anyway, why ditch one of the world's finest tourist attractions?

As for the House of Lords,it seems to me it has never been more of an asset. It may not totally represent the country as a whole, but then nor does a houseful of professional politicians. Members of the House of Lords do all sorts of jobs, whereas politicians only do one. Even without being particularly anti-politician, it seems to me that the advantage in a second chamber that keeps an eye on the first one not being created in the same way is obvious. I'm all for different sorts of peers -- life peers and so on --though life peerages should not be available to people of the political persuasion. But in God's name,not a second house chosen in the same way as the first.

Next time,a rant on a different subject (on what, I have no idea)