I hate that

Whilst on my way back from the gym in the car this morning, Adrian Chiles informed me - from the safe haven of his studio at Radio 5 Live - that today is the 25^th anniversary of the day that Bryan Adams’s song, “[Everything I do] I do it for you,” was at last deposed from its number one position in the singles chart after 16 unbroken weeks at the top.

“I hate that song,” I told him, out loud, “I really hate that song.” Yet, of course, all around the world many millions of people really loved that song, to make it the enormous smash hit that it became. There is no accounting for taste, but perhaps in the field of music more than any other, deep, deep, down, I’m still convinced that I’m right and the countless hordes who thought it was brilliant are wrong.

I could explain why I think it’s so bad, but I probably wouldn’t persuade anyone and I could possibly be missing the point. It really is just a matter of taste. My more tolerant other self that is usually in charge knows that there is no right and wrong in this instance.

Hate is actually a very strong word to use in any context and when I’m in more thoughtful mode I certainly refrain from directing it at other people and generally I draw back from using it at all. I’m personally dismayed at how much I have seen and heard it expressed in the media in recent times, particularly in the recording of political events on both sides of the Atlantic during this recent summer of seething discontent and schism.

My railway hobby is a relatively angst-free zone. I love railways [and a lot of other things and people as well, I hasten to add]. Railways offer a non-judgemental comfort zone. They offer solace, but unfortunately they cannot shield me from the ignorance, prejudice and hatred that I hate so much.