An appropriate fate

+In these locked down times, and with time on my hands (a blessing as you get older) I am playing more of my old vinyl. This is slightly weird, since there are moments when I think my taste 50 years ago will have been so crap I would never now want to admit that I played certain stuff over and over again as teenagers do. Only kidding! My taste was never at fault, and may I confess that in 1960s Malton I was at the cutting edge of musical discernment? To my knowledge, I was Malton’s leading Frank Zappa fan, not a hotly contested position. So listening to Hot Rats (1969) today after what must be at least 40 years I was relieved to discover how brilliant this album was and remains. It feels like a bit of a luxury to dip into your past and discover that maybe your taste was impeccable (ahem). I say this without any sense of pride or self-satisfaction. It is merely the result of hanging on to my old albums and discovering that what I liked  half a century ago has stood the test of time. Of course my hubris on this subject could easily be deflated, I remember that loyalty to bands almost rivalled football tribal loyalties. It was, for example, important for your favoured lead guitarist to win the Sounds 'lead guitarist of the year contest.’ I always nominated Zappa, but I think Clapton won most times. Yeah, like who’s he?
 
+The toppling and dumping in the harbour of the statue in Bristol of slave trader Edward Colston has upset the Home Secretary, so I guess it must be a good thing. The statue had a Grade II listing, justified by Historic England on the grounds of its historic interest and Colston’s philanthropy. That’s a rather weak justification. What if the German Road Builders’ Federation (if there is such a thing) wanted to erect a statue in honour of that great autobahn builder and historically important person, Hitler? Never mind the other stuff, he did wonders for roads. I doubt such a proposal would get very far, but if it were put up and then torn down by protesters, where would our beloved Home Secretary stand on such an act of vandalism?