Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon agreed to make a personal appearance at a tiny independent book shop. As one of its regular customers, I was invited to meet the two former Beatles.

McCartney entered the room first. He was dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I was surprised to see that he was rather overweight, and that his arms were heavily tattooed in dirty faded blue-black ink. There was no hope of speaking to him unless I was prepared to battle with the other fans who had rushed forward to greet him. I decided to hold back for the time being.

A couple of minutes later, a very tall man came quietly through a door at the back of the bookshop. I was the only one who recognised him as John Lennon. Taking my opportunity, I approach him to ask my one burning question: ‘What is the meaning of the lyrics of Yellow submarine?’

Lennon smiled as he replied ‘I don’t know why you are asking me. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of academic papers written by real experts on this topic. I suggest that you go to the library and read them’.