Piano 113

 A Yamaha grand strayed into the QEH a week or so ago. Presumably by special request of Pierre-Laurent Aimard, pianist of the day.

In which connection, Bing offers the snap above from Instagram. Another musician getting a bit of added value from his practise time. Which piano is to be found at reference 3. Presumably the same one featured above.

Then while we are on, we have the problem of the vanishing caribou (aka reindeer) of the northern wastes of Canada, featured at reference 4, whose numbers appear to have fallen from around 500,000 in the 1980s to a few thousand now. A problem which may be connected with the fact that these wastes now include plenty of mining.

What I did not learn from the FT, was that the Bathurst caribou are just one sort of Barren Ground caribou, themselves just one sort of caribou more generally. For a government view see reference 5 and for a more general view reference 6 - from which the striking snap above of caribou swimming in Labrador was lifted. One supposes that it would be a bit cold for humans - except for those softies who use wet suits.

Google turns up the more serious story at reference 7. From which I get the idea that opening up barren lands to mining and other activities, a difficult and fragile environment for large mammals, was always going to be a problem. While management of the problem often seemed to amount to no more than stopping the hunting of the First Nations. And, as with climate, where predictions of doom are complicated by that doom being superimposed on a variety of astronomical cycles,  we have cycles here too:

'... Scientists also have well-developed models of 40- to 70-year population cycles for most large herds. Explanations for these cycles are many; however, as some herds reach critically low levels, human disturbance of the range has become a major focus of debate...'.

No solution satisfying all the competing requirements in sight.

Last up, we have the unedifying spectacle of an eminent tax lawyer being accused of doing a bit of business on the side, on his own account, that is to say not paying his own tax rather than helping other people not to pay theirs. I associate to the chap from up-north who used to be known as Mr. Loophole, a motorists' barrister who specialised in getting them off the hook by digging up obscure loopholes in the law. Probably does not come across as smoothly as the chap snapped above. 

Altogether a dirty business. About on a par with the lawyers that make a good living out of medical negligence; that is to say sucking money out of an already cash-strapped NHS. And both breeds no doubt calm what is left of their consciences with talk of their efforts stimulating important improvements to the systems concerned.

See references 8, 9 and 10.

PS 1: I associate to the late Lester Piggott, a rich man whom tax related greed got the better of. I think he did a modest amount of time in an open prison, where he passed his time by passing on tips to favoured fellow-inmates. Maybe in exchange for the tins of tuna fish (in olive oil) which a correspondent tells me count as currency in certain prisons in parts west.

PS 2: the wannabee MP gangster noticed towards the end of reference 11 is in the news again at reference 12. Whatever happened to all the money that the Irish have extracted from the likes of Apple and Microsoft by being a corporate tax haven? But not a good sign, with it looking as if the man will get a good vote, even if he is unlikely to win. About the same  place as our Farage?

References

Reference 1: https://psmv6.blogspot.com/2026/05/piano-112.html.

Reference 2: https://pierrelaurentaimard.com/. Slow to load.

Reference 3: https://europe.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/pianos/products/grand-pianos/cfx-02/. 'Crafted for the world’s biggest stages. Pure sound flows effortlessly from artist to piano to audience, filling the world’s most prestigious concert halls'.

Reference 4: The Arctic’s vanishing caribou: While Canadians argue about who is to blame, herd numbers continue to fall - Ilya Gridneff, Financial Times - 2026.

Reference 5: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-education-centre/caribou.html.

Reference 6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribou_herds_and_populations_in_Canada.

Reference 7: Undermining subsistence: Barren-ground caribou in a “tragedy of open access” - Brenda L. Parlee, John Sandlos, David C. Natcher - 2016. Science Advisor.

Reference 8: Top London barrister evaded nearly £2mn in tax, court told: Robert Venables KC charged with three counts of cheating HMRC of income tax for nearly a decade - Suzi Ring, Financial Times - 2026.

Reference 9: https://www.taxchambers.com/.

Reference 10:: https://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/people/robert-venables. 'Robert Venables, who studied Literae Humaniores at Merton College in 1966, followed by Jurisprudence from 1970 to 1972, was the Hall’s Tutor in Jurisprudence from 1975 to 1980 when he left the position in order to take up full-time practice at the Revenue Bar in London. He took silk ten years later'. Perhaps he played hockey for Merton. Obviously a good chap.

Reference 11: https://psmv6.blogspot.com/2026/05/more-trolleys.html.

Reference 12: Dublin gangster candidate taps anger beneath country’s boom: Gerry Hutch’s unlikely bid for former finance minister’s seat rides on disquiet over housing and living standards - Jude Webber, Financial Times - 2026.

Group search key: pianosk.