Out of curiosity, I looked up the difference between the terms "Actual Bodily Harm" and "Grievous Bodily Harm". 'Grievous' implies injuries that are severely detrimental to the victim's health; 'actual' is the same, but less severe. I think I'd want more guidance than that if I was the judge in an assault case. Listening to…Read more Harm / Terms
2020s
Curious Ruminant
Pondering the big questions in life? Jethro Tull released their 24th studio album on Friday. It's a collection of ruminations on life and the human condition, told with Iain Anderson's characteristic wry humour. What more appropriate title, then, than Curious Ruminant? https://open.spotify.com/album/1m5tTXkBOzJEiwDz1TyPIG?si=BOxHlIXaSSajWSMKMrgoDw The band was formed in 1967. They released one album a year from…Read more Curious Ruminant
Pictures At An Exhibition
Readers of this blog will, no doubt, have heard of Emerson Lake and Palmer's version of Mussorgsky's piano suite, Pictures At An Exhibition. And you may be wondering what Katsushika Hokusai's painting, The Great Wave, has to do with it. The answer, unsurprisingly, is not a lot. You see, the Tim Kliphuis Trio has curated…Read more Pictures At An Exhibition
Distorted Reality
Did we pick the wrong sort of mushrooms for our meal last night? If you like Muse, you will also like No Signal. The two bands are all but indistinguishable. Both offer classically-inspired keyboards, heavy rock guitar, choirboy voices and singable melodies. Distorted Reality is No Signal's latest album, released in digital formats in April…Read more Distorted Reality
Medicine Box
Image by the WordPress AI The latest edition of my university college magazine, the brick, dropped in my inbox the other day. In the Student Life section, there was an article whose headline picture was of a rock band. It was titled 'Girl Like That' | Lucy Peer, and I found my inner voice asking,…Read more Medicine Box
Tripliciti
Triplicity (with a 'y') is any group of three things. In astrology, it is specifically a group of three signs belonging to the same element. Tripliciti (with an 'i') is a group of three fingerstyle guitarists: Andy McKee, Calum Graham and Trevor Gordon Hall. All three are consummate masters of their instrument; together, they create…Read more Tripliciti
Deerand
How long can a hot-air balloon stay aloft? Deerand is a Persian term that means 'duration' (of instrument's tones). It is also the title of the latest album from Quartet Diminished. https://open.spotify.com/album/4elRzwcxhHDW5swyjtlrsy?si=HdJ7yhWxTDG0nOqe0EN8pQ Quartet Diminished's latest album, released to Spotify 15th November 2024 According to Spotify, the band was formed in 2013, and it can't have…Read more Deerand
Galactic Acid
Galactic Acid is a curious title for the recently released album by the acoustic fingerstyle guitarist, Mike Dawes. Does it refer to acids out in the galaxy? (Formic acid, acetic acid, carbonic acid and amino acids have all been detected out in space.) Or is it an acid derived from the sugar, galactose, in the…Read more Galactic Acid
The Water’s Edge
In my first year at secondary school, there was a boy in my class by the name of Waters. He wasn't the most obedient of pupils, and the form master decided that a lesson in behaviour was in order. He told Waters to stand on a chair so that the boy was leaning out of…Read more The Water’s Edge
Yellow Sands
Or, Eight Tales of Pixie Mischief The Fairy Feller's Masterstroke, a painting by Richard Dadd (1864) The English painter, Richard Dadd, was born in 1817. His aptitude for drawing was evident early on, and he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Arts at the age of 20. While on a tour of Eastern Europe…Read more Yellow Sands
Crotchety Man 