In which the pond is blessed by a visitation from sage Moorice ...

Yes, but before everyone takes to the streets to stop the travesty,  the pond has some important insights in relation to fiddles, thanks to the reptiles of Oz and their resident thundering sage, Moorice ...

Oh there's a hush in the close this morning as devoted southern walri watchers gather at the hunt to update their wiki entries, but the pond has more important things to tend to ... not least the news that Moorice has issued one of his doom-laden supplications to the gods ...

Now the pond could sense the pedants gathering at the mention of fiddles ... Moorice being not just one of the world's great climate scientists, but also a dab hand at historical allusions ...

Truth to tell, the notion of reaching for fiddles has a somewhat suspect provenance:

...it is impossible to prove that Nero played a musical instrument during the burning of Rome. If he did, which is probable, it was the cithara. In that case, using the word fiddle in its broad application to the playing of any stringed instrument, it might be said that "Nero fiddled while Rome burned." But, in view of Tacitus' uncertainty concerning the story, the entire incident can be rejected as doubtful. Nevertheless, the expression "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" has such tremendous imaginative appeal, and is so deeply entrenched in popular thought, that it is unlikely that any amount of refutation will cause it to be discarded. (here, with bonus Shakespeare quotes).

And that's the point.

Like the Donald, the Moorice is a populist, at one with the people, and his wisdom is deeply entrenched in popular thought ... which is to say doom, doom, doom, as he stoppeth one of three on their way to a wedding and explains the latest news regarding the albatross ...

Now the pond's immediate reaction to all this was to dig a bunker, or head for the hills, or do both. Better prep the bug out, the centre will not hold and chaos is loos'd upon t'world ...

Of course it takes a sublime form of irrational hysteria to suggest a return to Thatcherism is part of a global tendency to populism ... however good old Maggie's reign might be construed, being a populist or being popular was hardly a key component ...

But the pond catches the drift ... we'll all be rooned before the year is out, and even without Moorice mentioning his speciality of climate science ...

First a few recent artistic impressions of Moorice ...

You can find that latter one at the illustrated edition thoughtfully published by the University of Adelaide library here ...

And now back to the feast of doom, doom, doom ...

Indeed, indeed, and how lucky that not a mention was made of Moorice's speciality, climate science ... because luckily at least that's a fraud and a total waste of money ...

Or so the Maurice soothsayer sayeth ...

But speaking of ways to be competitive, the Pope this morning has come up with a marvellous machine, so technologically advanced it surely answers Moorice's call for action, euphoria and ertia ... and more papal sagacity can be found here ...