In this weeks Beauty for Ashes we look at the Solar Eclipse; Earthquakes in Colombia and Indonesia; Is there famine in Gaza? Islam in Tajikistan; Country of the Week – Afghanistan; Islam in the US and the UK; Swedish injustice; Ireland’s anti-semitism grounds planes; German swimming pool apartheid; Australia’s Maoist school children; Miatta Fahnbulleh’s private school hypocrisy; fraud within the UK education, health and justice systems; Edwina Currie suggests government provided brothels for illegal immigrants; Italian works of art recovered; Ritchie Blackmore feud with Deep Purple ends after 33 years; Top ten classical – no. 9; the death of Jason Arday; The great Isaiah Scroll; good news from Australia about the environment; Song of the Week – where do you go to my lovely? Feedback; ‘prophetess’ Katie Souza claims that her eggs have been harvested by Aliens; the Final Word – Psalm 63. with music from Elton John; Carole King; Aryana Sayeed ; Pink Floyd; Don McLean; Deep Purple; Shostakovich; NEEDTOBREATHE; Peter Sarstedt; and Wes Bayliss.
I have added some further thoughts on my BFA Plus on my Substack – https://theweeflea.substack.com/p/bfa-45-plus-afghanistan-earthquakes
Here is the music used in this months podcast on Spotify….
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Catch up on last weeks episode here – Beauty for Ashes 44 – Against the Wind – Hungary, Starkey and Liddle
A wee question – is it not the case that in His Great Wisdom our Creator and Lord appears to have designed plate tectonics – the main cause of earthquakes – to keep the earth and environment habitable
Prof Alice Roberts – “Biological diversity could be entirely explained through natural processes; there was no need for – and no evidence of – a divine creator”. How sad, arrogant and unscientific. Does she not realise all this evidence points to a Divine Creator?
I’m rather concerned about the level of misinformation in this podcast. Three examples – one – your rather strange portrayal of what’s going on in Gaza – where is your evidence the population is increasing? Second – you are correct about the comments made by Mrs Currie – but why make a spurious linkage with immigration? Third – the professional classes have been ever this – why use people with “foreign” sounding names as examples?
5 years ago Gazas population was 2.05 million people. In 2026 it is 2.13 million – some genocide!
Mrs Currie was talking about immigrants.
Be careful about accussing people of misinformation when you use misinformation yourself.
Your musings regarding the link between things like earthquakes and solar eclipses, and biblical events, reminded me of a Geology lecturer who tried to convince me that Jesus’ words. in Matthew 5:13, were a result of Him experiencing petroleum seeping up through layers of Halite. I advise taking all such associations with a pinch of Rock Salt. Similarly, the increase in whale numbers and the blooming of the desert that are assumed to be positive occurrences. I believe we should try to avoid foisting our own value judgements on to naturally occurring phenomena. I once listened to a cruise ship lecturer describing an advancing Alaskan glacier as being “healthy”. The implication being that a retreating glacier is unhealthy. While whales and desert flowers can be appreciated, we should try to understand whether or not they are the results of natural variations or something more significant. Ritchie Blackmore is a good guitarist but surely not one of the greats. By Shostakovich, do you mean the football referee who was a lifelong fan of what became Zenit St Petersburgh?
Well done – another well argued exposé of the reality of things as they really are. You really are an evangelical version of Brendan O’Neill. God bless.
Another good Beauty for Ashes David, with most of the main world events covered well, along with empathy & grace..!
I had to laugh at the guy in Oban, being charged with assualt by hitting someone with ‘seagulls’..!
Having worked there earlier in th Spring (I am currently working in Mallaig, about 86 miles north of Oban by road) along Scotland’s beautiful & rugged west coast.
Technically there is no bird type called a ‘seagull’ as they may be herring gulls, black tailed gulls etc etc, however the generic & incorrect term is mostly used for them. Sadly they are mostly pests, or flying rats and do nothing to improve the coast, and only annoy visitors and locals alike, with their squawking annoying noise, and their ability to steal your fish & chips whilst you are trying to eat your takeaway..!
Shocked at this attitude to one of the creations of our Lord. Did you ever think that the reasons gulls behave in this way is because we humans have altered the environment so much? The gulls are only adapting their behaviours to exploit these environments.
I visited Tajikistan about 15 years ago. I learned that it had been the only former soviet republic which experienced a civil war following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As a result a central purpose of the government has been to do all it can as they perceive it, to prevent another one occurring.
Any sign of extremism in Islam, Christianity or political ideology is suppressed.
It is small, relatively poor country struggling to free itself from the history of communist control.
Hi David, enjoy the show each week and concur with others when they say don’t worry about the time!
The show has widened my music experience greatly but as classical music is my preferred genre I definitely approve of your new section of top ten classical pieces! I also agree that some of the more modern classical leaves much to be desired. However, I wondered if you had come across Alma Deutscher, a young composer and conductor. I really like her attitude as to her goal in composing music as expressed in words in the introduction to this piece, and then in the display if that principle in the music itself https://youtu.be/W0xMpLXQNvM?si=Kh0kooPU2Jbs9nBy
Thanks Michael, I will listen to this…
David