Competition: Beatlemania

In Competition No. 2745 you were invited to submit an extract from a leader’s speech to a party conference, incorporating the titles of as many Beatles songs as possible.

In 2007, Gregory Todd, a district court judge in Montana and fan of the Fab Four, managed to incorporate 42 Beatles song titles into his sentencing memorandum addressed to a defendant who had cheekily suggested that the judiciary ‘Let it Be’. An extract read: ‘Hopefully you can say now and When I’m 64 that I Should Have Known Better.’

The challenge was to weave in as many titles as possible while maintaining naturalness and plausibility. So while I salute Bill Greenwell, whose entry was composed entirely of Beatles song titles (Andrew Cowan almost managed it, too), I struggled rather with the stream-of-consciousness style, and it was not quite coherent enough to pass muster (though it would certainly liven up any party conference). Commendations, too, to J.