Mid-Lent THURSDAY

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Hamilton Lavity Stout in 1929 – a public holiday in the British Virgin Islands. He was the first and longest serving Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands.


Classic paintings meet modern life…


Today is the birthday, in 1875, of French composer, pianist and conductor, Maurice Ravel. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France’s greatest living composer. His most famous work is undoubtedly Bolero. While on vacation at St Jean-de-Luz, Ravel went to the piano and played a melody with one finger to his friend Gustave Samazeuilh, saying, “Don’t you think this theme has an insistent quality? I’m going to try and repeat it a number of times without any development, gradually increasing the orchestra as best I can. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwLABSm0yYc