The night before last, I watched yet another programme on AI but this time presented by the well-known scientific commentator, Jim Al-Khalali. One surprising thing that I learnt was that in terms of sheer learning power, even in a neural network embodied algorithm, AI does not yet possess the learning power of a two year old human as the AI model requires thousands of repetitions whereas a human child has the ability  to conceptualise and to learn first time. In fact even when ‘recognising’ a dog shown in lots of different postures the AI robot would not necessarily have the concept of ‘dog’ and even altering a few pixels on a photograph might lead it to misidentify an object. Whether I find this reassuring or not is hard for me to say given the way in which AI is being incorporated into more and more decision making, not least in the NHS. Another thing that happened to me the night before last was my TV viewing in which I stayed awake after the news to watch Leeds United score their third victory in a week. On this subject, Jim Al-Khalili was attempting a conversation in real time with a conversational robot which did not ‘know’ that Leeds United was a football team and misidentified it as a documentary made about Leeds clothing workers in the 1970’s. After all of this, I fell asleep but woke up to see an astronaut in a science fiction film leaving his mother ship and landing on an alien planet and, upon escaping from his submerged craft, was immediately captured by alien creatures. I had woken up after the start of ‘Planet of the Apes’ which I have never actually seen before and it was sufficiently scary for me to be thankful to drift off to sleep  a warm bed and to the strains of Mozart. Yesterday I was destined what I hope to be a new pattern for the weekend in which I attend the early morning service in my church and look forward to the tea and biscuits immediately afterwards after which I collect my Sunday newspaper and fill up with petrol from a local garage. I read some interesting, and encouraging, political news on Sky News overnight. Former transport secretary Louise Haigh will outline an economic agenda to help voters with the cost of living in one of her most significant interventions since being forced out of cabinet 18 months ago. Ms Haigh, an influential figure within the soft-left Tribune group, will speak at an event next week alongside the Labour MP Chris Curtis – a former YouGov pollster seen as a rising star from within the 2024 intake. Mr Curtis chairs the Labour Growth Group (LGG), a caucus of around 100 Labour MPs who are broadly loyal to Sir Keir Starmer but believe the government must be more radical to bring about growth that puts more money in people’s pockets. While from different wings of the party (the LGG defines itself as moderate), the pair will outline polices they believe can unite both the party and Labour’s wider voter coalition. They want to challenge the assumption that Labour MPs, who have forced the government into several U-turns, are unmanageable and nothing can unite them. Speaking together on a panel at the Good Growth Foundation’s National Growth Debate, they are expected to make the case for a revamp of council tax and stamp duty as well as regulatory reform to encourage investment and support businesses to grow. They will argue that this is not about left or right, but a plan that pitches Labour against the status quo rather than as its defenders, with an economy that rewards hard work and takes on profiteering.

In the morning, I went to church which was pretty full even for an 8.30 service. Afterwards, in the parish hall there was a Spring Arts ad Crafts sale so as well as having my coffee and biscuits, I also purchased some raffle tickets, bought a banana and chocolate home-made cake some of which I am going to freeze and a spider plant. Then  picked up a copy of my newspaper, put some petrol in the car and got some living money out of the ATM. As the weather was fine and bright this morning, and the grass was starting to look badly neglected, I managed to get the front green area cut. I was a little  distraught when the mower refused to start (although it had started at first pull after the long winter break) but a friend of mine had left me some of a special product called ‘Fast Start’ which  sprayed  into the air intake, and this seemed to do the trick because the mower started  soon afterwards. With holidays and other things  intervening, the lawns had been left for the  best part of three weeks so I was particularly pleased to get this job underway. Afterwards I had a sort of meal of ice-cream, yogurt and rhubarb out of a tin which  was all  felt I needed. I listened to the ‘World This Weekend’ on Radio 4 and was then intrigued by the programme that followed it at 2.00pm. This was an account of how Sweden had been early adopters of the newly emerging technologies and by the year 2000 all children were provided with a laptop when they entered school. Then the evidence started to accumulate that this policy may have disastrous as things like the international PISA scores of educational attainment showed that Sweden, having been at the top of the table was rapidly siding down the table with reading badly affected. So the Swedes have had an abrupt change of policy as the evidence has accumulated and now screens of all types have been banned in schools and there is now an emphasis upon traditional ‘pen and paper’ skills. The PISA scores have started to improve again and there is a near consensus that too much reliance upon the new technologies has been damaging to educational attainment and social maturation. My son and daughter-in-law called round this afternoon and I told them about my holiday in Scotland, also arranging at the same time that we shall all go out to see ‘The Magic Flute’ next Tuesday. Whilst waving my family goodbye, I was happy to bump into my next door neighbour and we haven’t managed to make contact for some time. So, I have invited them around for a spot of afternoon tea and my son and daughter-in-law are more than happy to join in the party as it were, as soon as we can organise a convenient time.

Isn’t technology frustrating when it doesn’t work? Having got up early yesterday morning, I had the bright idea of seeing if I could get my Mozart aria presentation shown on either of my big TVs. My first point of call was my Music Lounge but here the Toshiba TV that I have installed recently updated its software and the internet access seems to have gone only to be replaced by a myriad of apps all of which I do not want or need and for which I would have to pay in any case. An attempt to use ‘Bluetooth’ led to a message that pairing was ‘Unsuccessful’ whilst an attempt to use Alexa only gave me the message that Alexa ‘cannot help you with that’ So I abandoned the Toshiba and tried the Panasonic in my main lounge. Bu using Alexa to hunt out internet access, my efforts were eventually crowned with success but it had taken an hour of my life fiddling about and nothing seemed to quite work as you might expect. Frustratingly, having got it once, it seems a bit difficult to get it back again but I think with a bit of fiddling about I can get to where I want. Yesterday dawned quite bright and sunny and I have in mind to attend a concert in our local parish church of St Johns. Later on in the afternoon, I have three Women’s Six Nations rugby matches to keep me entertained as well as a visit from my American friend (hence my fiddling about trying to get things to show her on the TV) The Mandelson row  is rumbling on and one gets the feeling it will only end badly for the Prime Minister, if not now then in the May local elections. Some inside stories are that to the effect that the senior civil servant tried to do Starmer a favour  because  he knew that one of the grounds upon which Mandelson failed his security  assessment would have been blocked by No 10 anyway so that is why the news of his failure was not passed onto him. As often in these matters, it is the ‘court of public opinion’ that matters most in the long run and the various opposition parties from Reform to the Greens must be rubbing their hands in glee at the self inflicted wounds on the Labour party. I saw Labour MP on TV last night declaiming that everyone knew that Mandelson was a ‘wrong un’ (he had already been sacked twice before) so it didn’t take a security check to bring him down as he should never have been appointed in the first place. The Iranian situation seems to be crawling towards some kid of resolution as the Straits of Hormuz are now declared to be open, despite the fact that the Americans are blockading both ends of it. Trump is desperately trying to get these Straits renamed (and at one point after himself!) but is now trying to impose the name of the ‘Straits of Iran’ I am not sure whether the cartographers pf the world can keep pace with all f these name changes and how many will survive the Trump presidency in any case.

After I had breakfasted, I went to collect my copy of the newspaper and then re-parked the car in the local park, from where I could walk to the nearby church of St. Johns. There was a ‘free’ concert was being held by four flautists working as a quartet and this was followed by coffee and cake. The first piece was a piece by Bach probably for a string quartet but transposed for flutes. This was followed by three other pieces, largely by French composers which were pleasant enough. Whilst at the church, I bumped into two other members of my U3A Classical Music group as I thought I might) and  chatted with them before making my way home. I lunched on potatoes and a lamb stew whilst watching the England vs. Scotland Six nations rugby match in which the English completely overran the Scots with some very good rugby. Later on the in the afternoon, my American friend called around and I managed (with a bit of a struggle) to show her the video clips of the Mozart arias and then we entertained ourselves by picking some of our favourite tracks from YouTube. They are playing  the feed of a live performance of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’ on Tuesday next so as this will not be heavily subscribed, I am going  to buy a couple of tickets for my friend and I to view  next week. I missed the Wales vs. France rugby in which Welsh women seem to have a good first half but were then overwhelmed by the French. I might try and catch up with the Italy-Ireland match which I believe is being shown on BBC i-Player. In the war in the Middle East, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz and reportedly attacked nearby vessels after briefly reopening the waterway yesterday. Donald Trump has downplayed the closure, saying Iran got ‘a little cute’ – but insisted the US would not be blackmailed by the move. The Sunday newspapers, though, will be dominated by the leaking accounts from the Mandelson affair. It now appears that a clutch of civil servants knew of the failure of the Mandelson vetting but somehow this news was not relayed to the Prime Minister. Daytime TV might be red hot next week, though, as first Starmer has to make a statement to the House of Commons and the following day, the dismissed senior civil servant at the Foreign Office is due to give evidence at a Select Committee of the House of Commons. But one has to wonder what is the point of a water tight procedure to vet important posts if the actual procedures are complied with but the actual result not communicated to the relevant decision makers? Cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo and cabinet office permanent secretary Catherine Little were both present at a meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and senior civil servants on Tuesday night, when the prime minister was finally told about Lord Mandelson’s failure to pass vetting – and they had apparently known of the decision for weeks beforehand. At first glance this should mean that the machinery of government needs to be overhauled but more experienced figures than these two (who had not been in post very long) should surely not to have allowed this debacle to occur.

Two stories have emerged overnight, the first heartning and the second almost unbelievable. We hear that from midnight, a 10 day ceasefire will be in place between  Israel and Lebanon and it looks as though Hezbollah, one of the principal dogs in the fight, have agreed to this proposal. This is surely good news for the battered Lebanese and one can only hope that this paves the way to a settlement between Israel and Iran. It looks as though the USA has effectively ordered the Israelis to stop their bombardment of Lebanon which of course they could have done weeks ago had they had a mind. But the much more important political story is that it now appears that Lord Mandelson actually failed his vetting but that the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were not informed of this result. When the senior civil servants appeared before a Parliamentary Select Committee, they apparently told their political masters that the full and proper procedures had been undertaken in the vetting of Mandelson but managed not to reveal the actual result i.e. that Mandelson had actually failed his vetting. The immediate political reaction was the sacking of the top civil servant at the Foreign Office but massive questions remain. All of the opposition party leaders have called for Starmer’s resignation on the grounds that he had misled Parliament i.e. lied which in the British political system is the ultimate hanging offence would that that were true in the US!) If it is indeed true that the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary were not told that Mandelson had failed his vetting (which strains our credibility to the utmost) then why was there an evident lack of curiosity to be informed of the result of the vetting? More heads may well roll in the days ahead and Starmer’s hold on power looks even more precarious. Yesterday, I received my Spring booster jab for COVID from a vaccine whose name I do not recognise. Although I must have received multiple jabs and boosters since the start pf the pandemic, this particular one has left my arm more sore than any of the others. No doubt, this will pass in time but I am used to even mild reactions to jabs received in the past. In the autumn, I should receive both a COVID and flue jab (one in each arm) I have have read that a sore arm indicates that you have had a good immune response which is a good thing but that symptoms should only last for about 36 hours. As long as I can carry my shopping bags and mow the lawn, that is all that concerns me. One tiny little ask for today is to restore the Spanish primers that I had taken along with me yesterday to their rightful place on my bookshelves. But I think I probably need to take one or two of them and start to revise my Spanish grammar which is a little rusty not having used it for six years. One of the waiters that I used to know when I was a teenager always used to joke with me that the best way for a young male to learn a foreign language was to acquire a ‘long-haired dictionary’ and he probably had a point but easier said than done at my age.

Later in the morning, I popped down into town by car to pick up my newspaper and proceeded to do my weekly shopping at Aldi. This  all went smoothly enough and so I re-parked the car and strolled around to see my acquaintances in the ‘Gifts of Love’ cafe. Then I had a little stroll along the High Street to see of there were any shirts in my size and colour (there weren’t) so I came home. For whatever reason, I was extraordinarily tired and the minute I got back so I got into my comfortable armchair with the feet up and promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours. I suspect that it was a combination of my COVID jab yesterday as well as being quite a busy day and then not a great deal of food inside  me. I felt disinclined to have a full scale meal so I mashed up a tin of tuna with butter, mayonnaise and Thousand Island dressing which I have on a slice of toast.  Then it was a case of routine domestic jobs such as clothes washing and putting the shopping away. In the course of the afternoon, I tuned into Emily Maitliss and Jon Sopel (two respected UK journalists) who were reporting with utter astonishment the dispute that Trump has entered into with the Pope, a conflict which Trump is bond to lose. At the same time, J D Vance the American Vice President, who is a recent convert to Catholicism, seemed to be warning the Pope not to interfere with the Trump agenda. The vice president also seemed to echo Trump’s assertion that Leo should concentrate less on global affairs. ‘It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what is going on in the Catholic church and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,’ Vance said in a Fox News interview. I other interviews, Vance has come close to arguing that the Pope’s theology was mistaken as the messianic MAGA faction almost seem to believe that Trump is a God-given saviour brought into the world to rescue America. I am looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow but there is a free concert in our local St Joh’s church in the morning and it is possible that my American friend may call around in the afternoon so we can have some quiet time together. In the meanwhile, one of my fellow group members from the Musical Appreciation group of U3A has sent me some photographs of a whisky distillery deep in the heart of Gloucestershire. It does sound a very interesting place but the difficulty is that we need to cajole a non-drinking partner to accompany us so that we can sample its delights. I had told him about the specialist whisky liqueur enhanced with chocolate and orange to which I may treat myself on my own birthday in about three week’s time (which also happens to be the anniversary of Meg’s death)

It does seem amazing to me that we are now in the second half pf the month of April and the time seems to be flying by, but when you go away on holiday, great chunks are taken out of your normal routine. I awoke yesterday to what I think is going to be a very buy day with several things on the planning calendar and I am actually looking forward to the end of the week and the weekend so that I can catch up with myself. My American friend has suffered from some swollen ankles after hours of enforced inactivity on our coach trip (although we did stop every couple of hours) and is seeking some medical assistance to put her back on the straight and narrow.  After my successful presentation of Mozart arias, I have already sketched out in my mind what the next in my mini-series of presentations is going to be and the next along will feature eight different instruments for which Mozart composed (violin, viola, clarinet, basset horn, French horn, flute and harp, organ, piano) but I have only discovered that Mozart composed anything for the organ. Meanwhile, there is a live Royal Opera House feed of ‘The Magic Flute’ next Tuesday so I may make up my mind whether to go along and, if so, who to ask to accompany me? In the Middle East, it looks as though Lebanon and Israel are talking to each other for the first time in decades and if this conflict approaches anything like a resolution it may be a further twist to help along the main Iran-USA talks when they commence again over the weekend. In the meanwhile, and particularly after Trump allowed himself to be portrayed as a healing Jesus Christ (subsequently hastily withdrawn), then speculation continues to mount over Trump’s state of mind/heath. As one convinced MAGA supporter put it very pithily ‘Jesus Christ is my Saviour, Donald Trump is my President’ In my own mind, I am firmly of the view that a medical emergency of some kind will put a premature end to Trump’s presidency and of this the Vice President, J D Vance is very well aware. At home, there is sort of good news for the economy but no real cause for rejoicing. The UK economy grew far more than expected in the month before war in Iran began, latest official figures show. The three months to February saw 0.5% growth in gross domestic product (GDP), the standard measure of an economy’s value and everything it produces, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Revised figures, also published on Thursday, said there was no growth in the three months to December. However, what is coming down the line is worrying in the extreme. It looks as though the Middle East war  is going to affect the UK economy disproportionately and it is not just the rise in petrol prices but food shortages that are in prospect.  A key shortage will be in carbon dioxide (CO2) which apparently is very heavily used in food preparation and packing to keep ingredients ‘fresh’ I read that predicted carbon dioxide shortages are expected to cause significant disruptions across the food, beverage, and manufacturing industries in 2026, particularly in the UK and North America, due to a fragile supply chain reliant on by-products of fertiliser production.

During the early  morning, I attended my Tai Chi class and I had already made myself do a 20 minute session of Pilates stretches after I awoke this morning. After the Tai Chi class, I had a strict 30 minutes with some of the regulars in the Methodist Centre and then had to make a rapid departure to receive my COVID spring booster. Quite unlike other COVID injections I have had,  I got a slight itching immediately after the injection but the experienced nurse gave me a check over to check I was experiencing no adverse reactions after which I went home to prepare for my Spanish conversation class.  We had agreed that we would tell three little stories about ourselves, two of them true and the third untrue and the other class members through their questioning had to come to an opinion which story which  was true and which false.  I wrote out my stories in English and then did an automatic Google translate so that some of the more obscure terminology I knew how to translate. The whole little experiment turned out to be quite entertaining and I think nearly all of us adopted a similar strategy. This was to take a seemingly far-fetched story which sounded false  and make this one of our true stories whilst a more mundane story was falsified a little. Altogether, this took well over an hour to complete and then we had some coffee. I had raided my bookshelves and taken along a series of ‘Teach Yourself Spanish’ books in case any of my fellow class members wanted to have use of one. In the course of our discussions in English over coffee, it seems that most of us are quite interested in global international affairs and world politics so we agreed, as a group, that we would devote some of the next session we are scheduled to have in a fortnight’s time to some discussion of some social and political issues (in Spanish). The minute I got home, my chiropodist arrived so I managed to get this activity  dovetailed into a busy day. Then I cooked myself a quiche and Primo cabbage type dinner and prepared for a restful evening and perhaps, even, an early night. My North American friend was not in the best pf health following our trip home the other day and it is probably  the case that both of us should  have taken along some compression stockings to avoid the risk of DVTs. The next day is certainly going to be more peaceful but I have the weekly shopping  to do and, naturally, the lawns are growing apace as they always do at this time of year. On the basis of some information gleaned from the internet, I have bought myself a second slipover because I managed to find one at a good price that was 61% cashmeer and wool, 20% cotton and the rest a mixture of fibres.  I ordered a large size (as advice on the website suggested) and so now I have a couple of garments to wear against each other) one to wear whilst the other is in the wash)

During the early  morning, I attended my Tai Chi class and I had already made myself do a 20 minute session of Pilates stretches after I awoke this morning. After the Tai Chi class, I had a strict 30 minutes with some of the regulars in the Methodist Centre and then had to make a rapid departure to receive my COVID spring booster. Quite unlike other COVID injections I have had,  I got a slight itching immediately after the injection but the experienced nurse gave me a check over to check I was experiencing no adverse reactions after which I went home to prepare for my Spanish conversation class.  We had agreed that we would tell three little stories about ourselves, two of them true and the third untrue and the other class members through their questioning had to come to an opinion which story which  was true and which false.  I wrote out my stories in English and then did an automatic Google translate so that some of the more obscure terminology I knew how to translate. The whole little experiment turned out to be quite entertaining and I think nearly all of us adopted a similar strategy. This was to take a seemingly far-fetched story which sounded false  and make this one of our true stories whilst a more mundane story was falsified a little. Altogether, this took well over an hour to complete and then we had some coffee. I had raided my bookshelves and taken along a series of ‘Teach Yourself Spanish’ books in case any of my fellow class members wanted to have use of one. In the course of our discussions in English over coffee, it seems that most of us are quite interested in global international affairs and world politics so we agreed, as a group, that we would devote some of the next session we are scheduled to have in a fortnight’s time to some discussion of some social and political issues (in Spanish). The minute I got home, my chiropodist arrived so I managed to get this activity  dovetailed into a busy day. Then I cooked myself a quiche and Primo cabbage type dinner and prepared for a restful evening and perhaps, even, an early night. My North American friend was not in the best pf health following our trip home the other day and it is probably  the case that both of us should  have taken along some compression stockings to avoid the risk of DVTs. The next day is certainly going to be more peaceful but I have the weekly shopping  to do and, naturally, the lawns are growing apace as they always do at this time of year. On the basis of some information gleaned from the internet, I have bought myself a second slipover because I managed to find one at a good price that was 61% cashmeer and wool, 20% cotton and the rest a mixture of fibres.  I ordered a large size (as advice on the website suggested) and so now I have a couple of garments to wear against each other) one to wear whilst the other is in the wash)

Having got back from holiday in the late afternoon, I was glad to get unpacked. Unpacking a holiday or weekend suitcase is slightly less straightforward because, apart from transferring clothes back to the drawer from whence they came (the easy part), there are also the collection of bits-and-bobs that you take along with you in case they might be useful (the difficult part) These tend to be little things like a folding penknife, various plugs, adapters and batteries and even a spare toilet roll (which can be handy on days out) My son had been for his early morning keep-fit swim and then called in quite early in the morning and, as always after a holiday, there is always quite a lot to catch up on. I gave my son a day by day account of everything I had been doing for the last few days explaining how my American friend and I had had a good time in each other’s company as practically everybody else on the coach trip seemed to be married couples or friends travelling together in groups of two or three. I showed my son the two purchases I had made and I am still mightily pleased with each one of them. The first of these was the sleeveless jumper I bought in Moffatt for the price of £20 and it is interesting when I go on the web to find similar items. These tend to be either cheap, Chinese made acrylic at a price of about £15 but if British made in wool, the price rises to about £70 with nothing much in-between. However, upon doing a bit of investigation one kind of sleeveless jumper that I particularly like is sold under the aegis of Amazon. One manufacturer sells a garment which is 35% cashmere, 18% wool, 20% cotton and the remainder mixed fibres. This sounds like an interesting purchase for me some time in the future. But I am pleased with my purchase as I am with the very special Loch Fyne whisky based liqueur enhanced with chocolate and orange. This I regard as a sort of anticipatory birthday present but I suspect that I shall consume it in very small quantities such as birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. I have been rather ‘out’ of the political news agenda with not having access to Sky News and YouTube in the hotel’s satellite system but I gather that Donald Trump is still hurling insults at Keir Starmer for not giving him 100% backing in the Iran conflict (perhaps not knowing about the assistance he gave in British lives in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in the USA) But the King is due to make a visit to the USA to help celebrate 250 years of their independence and Trump is full of praise for the King. He does not appreciate that he King only visits the USA with the explicit advice of the UK government but then the whole of Trump’s grasp on reality is tenuous these days.

The morning after my return, I am going quite slowly gradually  putting things back in the place where they need to be and thinking ahead to my commitments in the next day or so. The principal one is the musical demonstration of Mozart arias to the U3A group which is meeting in the afternoon so I am ensuring that my technology (iPad, power brick for the speakers) is working as it should. After I had an a very light lunch, I motored over to the house where our U3A Classical Music Appreciation group were having our monthly meeting.  The presenter of the first item was one of the choir who had recently given a performance of ‘The Armed Man’ and we had a description from the inside, as it were, of each of the thirteen pieces which make up the Mass as a whole. It is always very interesting  to get the background story and the performance seems to have had an extremely emotional effect upon the audience. Now we come to my presentation which was almost over as it began. I found that I could not get an internet connection for my iPad and my phone refused to respond as well. One of the other group members explained that the house in which were meeting was a notorious blackspot but then our host rode to the rescue and let me utilise his network for my two devices after which all was well.  I had rehearsed all of my material well and had to cut some of it a little short but it was pretty well received. One of (male) members said he found the performance  extremely emotional and it really moved him deeply which was gratifying to hear. I mentioned to my host that I had three others waiting in the wings as it were (Mozart’s instrumental pieces, some Beethoven and then some Bach) but they were just simple YouTube accesses without any videoclips to accompany them. As such, of there was a blank spot then I could fill in once everyone else had had a go as it were. Over the tea break that we have at the end of our meeting, conversation turned to other days out and it seems that most of the music group are also signed up go on the Derbyshire trip to Bakewell/Kedleston Hall in about five weeks time. I discovered from one of the other group members that there is going to a free ‘cake and coffee’ concert featuring a flute quartet this Saturday at 10.30 in St John’ Church which less than a mile away.  So I definitely wish to attend this as in the local parish church there are lots of opportunities  to mingle and to meet up with people  which is the name of the game nowadays. Bromsgrove does have an official festival in the third  week of June but as well as the concert on Saturday but there is now an organisation called ‘Bromsgrove Arts Alive’ which seems to be offering low priced events regularly throughout April, May and June so I must keep my eyes and ears open for events in which one would like to participate. There is another U3A group in which I am enrolled and this takes place imminently. This is ‘Conversational Spanish’ and I need to do a little bit of preparation for this as it has been decided that we shall have a session in which we talk about ourselves to the other group members. We need to mention two things about ourselves that are ‘true’ and one that is ‘false’ but I think that making up a story that is untrue might be slightly more difficult than the other two topics. Presumably, we have question each other rather as we would along the lines of the TV programme ‘Would I lie to you?’

Some very strange things are going on with the US-Iran conflict at the moment. According to Donald Trump, the Iranians are refusing to submit to core demands of the USA. But the American Vice President, J D Vance who was actually in charge of the US negotiating team is painting a rather different picture. US vice president JD Vance has claimed ‘a lot of progress’ was made during talks with Iran over the weekend, despite the two sides failing to agree on a resolution. Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Vance – who led the US delegation in talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad – said Washington had communicated to Tehran where it ‘could make some accommodation’ and where it would remain inflexible.  He insisted that Donald Trump was adamant that any enriched nuclear material must be removed from Iran and a mechanism put in place to verify it is not developing nuclear weapons. Vance added that Tehran ‘moved in our direction, which is why I think we would say that we had some good signs’ but he claimed ‘they did not move far enough’. His comments come amid reports of ongoing talks between the US and Iran, with Trump saying the US has been ‘called by the other side’ and insisting ‘they would like to make a deal very badly’. All of this does imply that the talks have not broken down irrevocably but that there is still quite a lot for which to play. But the Americans are claiming that their navy is, in  effect, preventing any ships from entering  the traits of Hormuz whilst the Iranians are claiming that it has the right to send any ships that break through the blockade to the bottom of the sea. But much of this is little else but political posturing. Despite Trump’s claim that the US navy is finest in the world, it would appear inconceivable that Trump would countenance sinking a Chinese ship, China being a member of the Security Council and a nuclear power in its own right. Whilst the USA may be trying to bring pressure to bear on Iran, the rest the world in general and the Gulf oil states in particular will be bringing pressure to bear upon the Americans. So a massive game of ‘chicken’ is being played out in front of us all. Returning to footballing matters, I am not a great fan of football these days but I still retain a sort of lingering affection for Leeds United who I used to see play in the early 1960’s. Leeds’ fortunes have not played out particularly well in the intervening years with spells in the 2nd Division (Championship) league but there has been a remarkable turn around  the fortunes of the club in the last couple of weeks. For a start, Leeds fought an exciting match against West Ham to win an FA Cup match on penalties and to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in 45 years. And in the last day or so, Leeds have actually beaten Manchester United (deservedly so) at Old Trafford for the first time since 1981. So we have two instances where Leeds have pulled out their best results (in the FA Cup and against Manchester United) for the first time in practically 4 decades which one has to say is noteworthy. Leeds have never had great success in the FA Cup matches over the years but perhaps the year is ripe for a change in fortunes as the final is now only one more win away. But Leeds have to play Chelsea who are third in the Premier division at the moment whilst Leeds are languishing towards the bottom so a look at the form book would indicate that Chelsea should win this match quite easily. That having been said, strange things happen in semi-finals which are held on neutral grounds in any case.

Having got up at 4.30am and breakfasted early, we set off in our coach for the journey home just after 7.30am. I had not slept very well the night before but did not worry too much about this as I knew that I could always have a good doze on the coach. Once we got beyond Glasgow our first stop was in the small town of Moffatt where many of us, including myself, made for the woollens and household goods in which the local store excelled. Although I was not specifically looking for it, I was delighted to purchase a sleeveless slipover because I have had to throw away two others recently that have gone into holes. The jumper I purchased was a lovely petrol blue and I snapped it up at a good price, delighted because even John Lewis do not stock this item any more and the cost in John Lewis seems to have been about double the price I paid. My friend bought herself a woollen hat and some fruit (which she shared with me) and then we proceeded on our way until our next stop was a service station north of Manchester where the choice of food outlets was terrible with nearly every outlet selling a version of junk food and I could not help but make comparisons with the excellent food and drink available in the service stations in the Spanish road system. Eventually,  I settled on some stir-fry and noodles sort of dish but I would never normally consume rubbish like this. Our final pit stop was a service area in which we have a change of drivers and a brief toilet stop whilst the driver was encouraging us to contribute generously to his driver’s tip to which my friend and I failed to contribute once we had calculated how much we knew that our driver was making in his unofficial guiding activities  as well as other benefits to the stores to which we were delivered en masse.  Once we got to Bromsgrove, we said our goodbyes to each other and then I caught a taxi home and started to think about a minimal degree of unpacking. In our domestic news, it has been reported that yet another Albanian gang has been successfully pursued and then prosecuted by the police. As the media asked the question why so many of these crimimnl gangs originate from Albania, I sought the explanation from Wikipedia. This is what I have learned. Albanian gangs are highly prevalent in organised crime due to post-1990s structural instability that fostered crime, combined with a reputation for reliability, discipline, and direct links to South American cocaine suppliers. They dominate via tight-knit, clan-based networks that are difficult to infiltrate and utilise ‘poly-crime’ tactics, including drug trafficking, human smuggling, and money laundering across Europe and the UK.

So the evening before last proved to be very entertaining in ways that could not be predicted. We had a meal of chicken breasts together with some Scottish delicacies all of which proved to be delicious. Having dined together my American friend and I drifted slowly towards the post-dinner coffee and entertainment area where we joined in a conversation with two of the members of our own coach party and therefore whom we know. The entertainment was to be provided by a huge, well kilted Scotsman which we did not think would be absolutely our cup of tea  but he really was very entertaining. He had fitted some of his own lyrics to songs with a Scottish theme such as the Sky Boat Song. But he sang these folksongs in a very slow and deliberate way which in some way captured the rhythms well of a boat being rowed upon a loch. So we enjoyed this entertainment for some time after which I was a little over-whelmed by the sound of it all and decided to make for my bed. But on my way through the cavernous hall and reception area, I came across a gentleman who I assumed was sitting on his own but was soon to be joined by his wife and we engaged in casual conversations about the things we had done so far on our respective holidays (some coach parties have the same general itineraries but in a different sequence). But as I was invited to join the couple  and our conversation turned to other matters, it transpired that they actually lived in Eastleigh of which where I lived in Hampshire (Hedge End) was actually a suburb. So we had lived within only a few miles of each other which was remarkable. They were enjoying a leisurely post-prandial drink of red wine and invited me to share it with them and chatted for probably an hour and a half altogether. I had no idea that the organising company (‘Lochs and Glens’) ran coaches from as far away as Eastleigh which must be the best part of 150 miles to the south of Bromsgrove. As the wife of a couple was a care assistant and worked in a residential home some of whose patients were suffering from dementia, I shared some of the characteristics of Meg’s final few months without being excessively morbid or filled with irrelevant details. When I got back into my room, I turned on the TV news in order to receive news about the results of the general election held in Hungary that day. I was delighted that the opposition leader Magyar (himself from the centre-right) had secured about two thirds of the seats in the 200-seat assembly and upon this news emerging, then Victor Orbán had conceded his defeat very early into the night. As Orbán had been in power for the last sixteen years, I assumed that if the election had been at all close then Orbán would have claimed it but his defeat was so enormous that the concession came early. The fact that the opposition leader secured about two thirds of the seats is highly significant because it may well be that some of the oppressive constitutional reforms introduced by Orbán to consolidate his grip on power are now capable to being rescinded  or  ameliorated. An absolutely horrendous situation has been reported from Milan airport where some 120 passengers on a EasyJet flight to, I think, Manchester were so delayed by the new border control system that the aircraft took off with only 42 passengers on board, the other 120 being left behind. Of course we are not yet in full holiday season mode just yet and one wonders whether things will settle down before the July holiday rush starts. 

In the morning, we were scheduled to visit Glasgow city centre and I think it is fair to say that we were all mightily impressed both by the traditional red sandstone ornate buildings many constructed by the Victorians  and a plethora of modern designs for many different types of institutions. There was quite a steady patter of rainfall as well as hail so I think we all were content to sit on the bus whilst the coach driver gave us a tour of some of the most iconic monuments involving both the city centre area as well as the University.  We were dropped outside Lewis in Buchanan Street and we dived through John Lewis and were pleased to avail ourselves of a high quality soup and sandwich in the cafeteria. After this. my American friend and I wandered down Buchanan Street to absorb some of the atmosphere of the traditional Glasgow building designs, after which we were pleased to get back onto the coach as it was still raining heavily. We were then transported to the ‘free’ Riverside museum of transport which has a display of practically every kind of transport available from bikes to cars, ancient and modern, to trains and trams. After we had boarded the coach again we stopped off at a picturesque little village of Luss, full of £1m houses and then popped in the village store where I was pleased to buy a copy of the <i>Sunday Times</i>. Upon getting back to the hotel, my fiend and I were both very thirsty after or travels so we popped into the bar for a quick pint of liquid refreshment before starting our packing and then having a delayed main evening meal haggis, venison and delicious ice cream). We have to get up at about 4.30 am and have our cases outside the room at about 5.45 and be ready to depart at about 6.30 the morning after quite a full and interesting holiday. My friend and I have reflected that we have had a good time in each other’s company and have had some interesting discussions and good laughs but the rest of the coach party holiday makers have seemed somewhat on the dour side. Tomorrow, we are due to stay awhile in what is said to the absolutely delightful town of Moffat which is said to have many interesting shops and some very original features and to be well worth a stop. Over the weekend, amid his feud with Pope Leo XIV, the president shared a doctored image of himself dressed as Jesus, in white robes and a red sash, putting his hand to the forehead of a sick man. He appears to have since deleted the post. During Monday’s segment of the ABC talk show, the hosts displayed the picture on the screen behind them as they addressed Trump’s recent Truth Social rant, in which he called the Pope ‘WEAK on crime’ and ‘terrible for foreign policy.’ The post has subsequently been deleted.

Last night I partook of a conventional fish-and-chips supper before the evening round of entertainment (bingo followed by a singer) which I took pains to avoid – fortunately, there are a whole series of interconnected lounges and it is not difficult to find people with whom to converse without having to participate in the entertainment provided. It is a case of fairly early to bed and early to rise because we had breakfast at 8.00am followed by a 9.00am coach departure for the day’s trips. One of the minor annoyances of life in the hotel is that the TV system is evidently satellite based and the system can access neither Sky News nor ClassicFM which are the channels to which I most frequently tune. So I make do instead with the rolling BBC news service and with Radio 3 if I require any music to assist me drift off to sleep during any periods of wakefulness during the night. One disturbing item of news is that the peace talks in Islamabad (Pakistan) between the USA and Iran have broken down and the UA Vice President, J D Vance has returned to the USA. The breaking point appears to be the insistence that Iran would cease any developments that might lead to a nuclear weapon and, of course, the Straits of Hormuz is still a massive bone of contention. Talks lasted well over twenty one hours whilst the Donald Trump stated view is that any failure to reach an agreement is automatically a ‘victory’ for the US. So it is unclear whether hostilities will recommence and, in any case, the Israelis had not been a participant in the talks and their bombardment of Lebanon seems to have continued apace. To complete the air of gloom a ceasefire had been negotiated in Ukraine to cover the Orthodox celebration of Easter but this ceasefire appears to have broken down almost from the start. Meanwhile, a fascinating election is taking place in Hungary where it looks as the hard right president, Victor Orban, may be facing defeat. But the Americas in general and J D Vance n particular have been actively compaigning on the behalf of Orban and what may be described as his Christian nationalism. Whilst to appears that the Opposition are ahead in Hungary, it is almost certain that the ruling party together with the assistance of the Americans will try to overturn the result and to claim a fraudulent victory. The results  of this may become apparent in some sixteen hours time but I would be amazed if Orban would relinquish power without the dirtiest of fights. Orban has had constant run-ins with the EU and I am sure that Brussels would love to see his departure but we shall have to see what happens when the election results are announced. At the moment, the whole of the world seems to be in the grip of right wing leaders both across Europe, the USA, Russia, India and China and one has to fear for the future of ‘normal’ social democratic politics. I think that part of the problem is that the right always seeks apparently simple solutions to complex problems of immigration and the economy. Centrist and left leaning parties are more aware of the complexities of modern life and therefore their policies might appear to be more nuanced and balanced which comes out as unclear in the minds of the various electorates.

So we boarded our coach at 9.00am and made for Inverary which is the ancestral home town of the Dukes of Argyll (who apparently still retains much political influence over the town). On the way, we made a pit stop where we enjoyed a quick coffee and actually managed to pick up a copy of the ‘Sunday Times’ for which I have a voucher. Unfortunately, and even later in the morning, it was still pretty cold and miserable but my American friend and I stumbled across a sort of coffee outlet which was actually in the ground floor of a local hotel. As we were both feeling a little cold and rain soaked, we asked for a soup of the day and were served with a really excellent leek and potato soup the kind where you can still see chunks of vegetables floating about) We then asked if they had any apple pie and were served with an excellent apple and blackcurrant pie in a delicious pastry complemented with ice cream. We both felt that we had stumbled across some really high quality food that we had been served. Then we sought out a specialist whisky shop selling a whole range of whiskies and, upon the  recommendation of the coach driver, purchased a really excellent whisky based liqueur laced with chocolate and orange. Naturally, we sampled this inside the shop and had no hesitation in purchasing a bottle, particularly as by signing into their newsletter, we received a 10% discount on our first order. Then feeling quite mellow by this stage, we made for Loch Lomond where we were booked onto a cruise on Loch Lomond. This turned out to out to be more interesting than we thought it was going to be as we were played the ballad of ‘By the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond’ and told the full history that lay behind the ballad that dates back to the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 i.e. 280 years ago. I had rather hoped to see the village of Balmaha and the island of Inchcailloch, the largest island in the loch, upon which I used to camp as a boy but it looked as through the boat trip ended in a different part of the loch, even though the trip was the best part of an hour in duration. And so we returned home having had some good experiences during  the day and looking forward, as always, to our evening meal. Tomorrow we have the prospect of viewing some of the iconic features of Glasgow as well as a guided tour of the city. In the late afternoon, the news has emerged that in response to the failure of the Iran peace talks, the United States is going to blockade the whole (both ends?) of the Straits of Hormuz so the horrendous impact upon oil prices and the multiple economies across the globe can only guessed at.

What an incredibly good first day of the holiday.  My family deposited me and heavy suitcase in the bus station at Bromsgrove and the coach turned up some ten minutes late. I was joined by my North American friend and then we set off, calling to a service station where we had a change of driver and an early morning cup of coffee. Then we experienced a very amusing and well-informed coach driver who stopped us at a service station well into the journey where my friend and I had an all-day breakfast. We happened to be sitting at a counter where there was a motor cyclist sitting opposite to us with the words ‘Shoei’ on his helmet. I explained to him that this was the name of a small Japanese college-within-a-college at the University  of Winchester (which he dd not know) but it transpired that his own son had been a student at the University after my time there. So we had a most entertaining encounter there and so we continued on our journey with a lot of story telling and jokes told en route. The coach driver added some witty jokes and comments on his own and entertained us with a list of the achievements of the outstanding Scots scientists and engineers who lived on the outskirts of Dumbarton which we circumnavigated before we arrived at out hotel on the shores of Loch Long. The hotel was spacious, modern and very well equipped and we were amazed by the quality of the accommodation which  we had been allocated. I was particularly pleased to have a double bed in which to luxuriate before we dined at 6.30.  I got unpacked and my lap top up and running in no time at all although the hot spot signal from my iPhone is much better than the hotel’s own network. My friend and I chatted with many of the young waitressing staff and I gave one of mine (a student who hoped to visit Italy and learn some Italian which was part of her family background) the link to my Mozart website filled with Italian arias which she said she would access and report back to me today. We had a rather run of the mill type meal but I had a salad starter and a mackerel main course and it sufficed. But my friend and I indulged in a bottle of rioja of which we drunk one half the rest being the medicine for this evening. We had some interesting conversations with other (elderly) guests but then turned in to have an early night as most of is had been up since 5.30 in the morning and had not slept very well the night before the journey. Breakfast is at 9.30 and I am up bright and early so after starting this blog I might go down and have a morning constitutional walk filling my lungs full of good, pure Scottish mountain air!

We set off at 10.30 for Dunoon, a small Scottish town but the weather actually turned cold and blustery when we arrived there. So most of us walked along the High Street gazing in the occasional shop window and eventually made our way into a bakery that sold coffee which was crowded out. After this, we made our way back onto the coach and motored by the side of the Holy Loch, he home of the famous submarine base. Eventually, after another drive through the mountains we arrived at Benmore Botanical Gardens, famous amongst other things for some redwood trees. But there was still a rally icy blast and I was especially pleased to have the benefit  of my nice woollen UMIST university scarf to give me some relief against the icy blasts. Eventually, some of us sought out the relief of the tea rooms and a warming cup of tea and I chatted a lot with a couple of ladies who had net whilst their husbands were having dialysis and died about eight years ago. Some warming sun came out the minute before we were due to depart and so I  remarked to others that we had arrived about two hours too early. Then we had a long drive back through some snow covered mountains and ‘lengthy’ lochs before arriving back in the hotel in the late afternoon. The next day promises a trip to Inveraray which is a town in Argyll and Bute. Located on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, Inveraray is a former royal burgh and known affectionately as ‘The Capital of Argyll.’ It is the traditional county town of Argyll, and the ancestral seat to the Duke of Argyll. Loch Fyne is best known to people in England as the chain of restaurants in which they originally sold mussels and branched out to other seafood.In the past, I have eaten with the ‘Old Fogies’ at the Loch Fyne restaurant in Winchester. Although we had a good breakfast before we departed this morning, I am quite look forward to a good evening meal as today has been one of those ‘coffee and biscuits’ type days to keep us going. After a quick text to my son, he alerted me to the fact that is the Women’s Six Nations competition so I am tuned into watching Wales v. Scotland whilst resting after the day out and getting myself in the mood for dinner. Every holiday has its own particular characteristics and this one is marked for me by the fact that of or party of about 20, many have done the trip before and when the coach arrives at a destination, many make tracks for destinations with which they are familiar. So as a lone traveller, I find myself tagging onto the coat-tails of other holidaymakers so that I know where to go. Benmore Gardens in particular was one of those attractions where you are presented with a map and then people disappear in all directions (usually on groups of two or three). Although we are being left to do our thing in Glasgow when we come to visit it, the coach driver has decided he will do a little ‘off-piste’ with us and give us a guided tour of what he considers to be the most iconic sights of Glasgow for a small additional charge per head (to which I think we all readily agreed) If only for nostalgic reasons, I am quite looking forward to the sail on Loch Lomond as I used to camp on an island off the little village of Balmaha a third of the way up Loch Lomond  when a music teacher/scoutmaster organised summer camps for us when I was about 15.

The mood in the Middle East has turned from a cautious optimism to one of fear and dread as to what is unfolding. Whatever the peace plan might say, the Israelis have continued with a massive bombardment of Lebanon, killing over 250 in a single day. The Iranians and Pakistanis say that the conflict in Lebanon is an explicit part of the deal but Israel and the USA deny this. We know that in historical terms, the only restraining hand on the military ambitions of Israel has been the USA but this is not now present with the Trump regime seemingly in disarray. Netanyahu has told the world that he has been dreaming of extending a fight into Lebanon against Hezbollah as a dream of his for the last twenty years and he is certainly not going to stop now, whatever the Americans might say. The Iranians for their part are saying that the conflict in Lebanon is clearly part of the ceasefire agreement and until Israel stops its attacks, then the Straits of Hormuz shall remain firmly closed. In any case, selective ships from non-combatant nations are allowed through at a fee reported to be $1 million per tanker which is a lucrative form of income for the Iranians. Meanwhile, the US is saying that they did not agree with the published 10 point peace plan but another ‘secret one’ which was a scaled down version of the 15 point plan (essentially a surrender document) presented to and rejected by the Iranians. So it seems that we are at an absolute stalemate and the Pakistani negotiators have all of their work cut out to resolve  the conflict. Although the ceasefire was supposedly agreed, it was never put into effect and the Israelis carried out a huge bombardment without any hint of restraint so it appears that the immediate future is, indeed, quite bleak. Donald Trump is now threatening more strikes against Iran if it fails to restrain Hezbollah but there is no parallel injunction against the Israelis. The American congress is said to be considering a War Powers act to authorise funding for the war but this is unlikely to change the situation. With an unrestrained Israel, one cannot see how this conflict is going to be brought to an end. It is interesting that the Trump regime is demonstrating a sort of ‘buyer’s remorse’ by indicating that they did not agree to the published peace plan (which they say is a fake copied from a Nigerian website) but another, more secret, peace plan. There is so much misinformation flying about that it must be hard for even independent analysts to make sense of an extremely confused situation.

The evening before last, I went out with the ‘Curry Club’ to have a meal with about 16 other U3A members. The meal was good without, in my view, being outstandingly good and the restaurant was packed adding considerably to the noise levels. Unfortunately, I was seated between two elderly male diners neither of whom had any conversation or had much to say for themselves but ate their meals in silence. I must remember on future occasions to try to position myself a little more adroitly to prevent this happening in the future but it not easy when established friends approach a table and sit down next to each other. When  got I got home I got together some tea and coffee supplies to take with me and I would estimate that I am at least two thirds packed, with the remainder to be finished off today.

I went down to have my Tai Chi class this morning and this proceeded satisfactorily but, unfortunately, the coffee bar I which we are accustomed to having our post-exercise drink is closed for the whole of the week so that the volunteers who staff the kitchen can have a little Easter break. I took the opportunity to go off and visit a ‘Home and Gardens’ type store but they did not have the item for which I was looking and as so often happens these days, I thought I would shrug my shoulders and see if I could do without the item in question. When I got home, I immersed myself in the political news from the Middle east which is getting murkier by the moment. What is interesting is that after Trump’s foul-mouthed outburst the other day coupled with his threat to destroy the whole of Iranian civilisation of the Straits of Hormuz were not re-opened, then more doubts are being expressed about the President’s fitness for office. The latest revelation from ex White House cardiologist under a previous presidency who is calling for an annual ‘statement of fitness for office’ to be made by a competent White House doctor but to my mind there should be a trio of doctors who perform this assessment. In any event, Trump is feeling increasingly cornered and is lashing out in desperation to those around him and I suspect that some more random sackings might be forthcoming. I had a delayed lunch in which I feasted on eggs and ham together with some potatoes and beans, more conscious of the fact that I should not leave food mouldering in the fridge whilst I am away. In the mid afternoon,  I received a surprise phone call from my daughter-in-law who was calling from the taxi on her home from the airport. She and my son were meant to be flying out of Birmingham airport on holiday. In the event, her flight and the whole holiday was cancelled but there will be an automatic refund. It means that my daughter-in-law can give me a lift down to the bus station tomorrow morning about which I am secretly relieved as I have been feeling a little tired over the last few days and the lift means that I should get to the bus station not worn out before the holiday actually starts. It looks as though some cloudy and stormy weather are in prospect for us but, during most of Friday, I shall be in a coach travelling Scotland-bound in any case. I am determined not to over-pack on this holiday so I am very strict about what is to be included within the suitcase but there are various things (such as tea and coffee making facilities) the absence of which can mar a holiday. The laptop upon which I compose this blog is going on the top of the suitcase and I can always ‘hot spot’ for a WiFi connection onto my iPhone, so I am hopeful that my blog can continue unabated for the next few days. As I now know that my daughter-in-law was due to pick me up to get to the bus station before the coach arrived to whisk me away on holiday up to Scotland, I allowed myself the slight luxury of staying up a little later than I had intended so that I could share in the audience reaction to the Iran war in ‘Question Time’.

I have just been alerted, via a ‘YouTube‘ video clip, of an extraordinary culture clash between Donald Trump’s White House (and Pentagon) and the Vatican where the Pope hails from the  USA itself. The United States, particularly in moments of conflict, has historically drawn on religious language to frame its actions. What appears to be emerging in the current context, however, is a more explicit and systematic fusion of faith and force — one that risks narrowing the space for dissenting religious voices in a Vatican counter-narrative. Pope Leo XIV’s interventions can be read as an attempt to reassert a universalist moral framework rooted in post-war norms.   His criticism of force-based diplomacy implicitly challenges not only specific military actions but also the broader erosion of principles established after the Second World War, including the prohibition on territorial aggression. Given that the Secretary of State for War, Pete Hegseth has often involved God in favour of the American military adventure the Pope has responded by saying (and I summarise) that ‘God does not accept prayers from those with blood on their hands’.

What I found completely extraordinary in this stand off between Church and State was the following report. Vice President J.D. Vance is investigating reports that senior Pentagon officials in January held a tense, allegedly threatening meeting with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s ambassador to the US. According to multiple reports, the official told the cardinal that the United States had the military power to do ‘whatever it wants’ and warned that Pope Leo ‘better take its side’. Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby, a close ally of Vance, is said to have called Pierre in for the unprecedented meeting. Tensions reportedly escalated, with one US official appearing to reference the Avignon Papacy, a period in the 14th century when the French crown exerted control over the papacy. In other words, the Catholic Church was explicitly warned, with a background of military threat as the meeting was held in the Pentagon, that the Church had better legitimise the current Iranian conflict as the Pentagon had the ability to force military compliance. To say that I found this whole episode jaw-dropping is probably an under-statement. What the Pope probably had in mind, as an undoubtedly learned man, is  the following. Based on historical analysis and recently released Vatican archives, the relationship between the papacy and 1930s fascism—specifically Benito Mussolini’s regime in Italy was complex, characterised more by cooperation and calculated negotiation than outright ideological endorsement, though it frequently provided the regime with moral legitimacy. Pope Leo probably recognised this part of fairly recent Catholic history and was probably determined to learn the appropriate lessons.