Replies

I went to England in '97 to visit my best friend and had the opportunity to take the Magical Mystery Bus Tour ride. It was pretty cool, actually. We got to see the houses where each of the Beatles grew up, saw the orphanage "Strawberry Fields" which has a cast-iron gate painted bright red, the street "Penny Lane" where they hung out as teenagers, complete with the firehouse and barber shop, and ended up at The Cavern, where they were discovered. Since they didn't serve alcohol at The Cavern, the Beatles used to drink at the pub next door, "The Grapes." I'm not real big on group tours, but I'm glad I took this one. The tour guide told us the story about how John Lennon's aunt raised him. When he showed an interest in the guitar as a young teenager, she said, "You know John, the guitar's nice and all, but you can't make a living at it." After he became famous, he built her a house and put that saying on a bronze placard on the fireplace.

I'm sure that you had a good time and that it was quite meaningful to you because I'm sure that you were (or remain) a huge Beatles fan, but do you honestly think that it's appropriate to extend this sort of near-religious reverence to the drummer of a pop band? They are going to VERY CAREFULLY take the entire house apart brick by brick and STORE IT, apparently to reassemble at an as-yet undisclosed location.
If you were a resident of Liverpool, would you want your tax money spent in this way? Just curious.