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Show and tell
The American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Culture is one thing and varnish is another”. As he died in 1882, it is difficult to imagine what he would have made of the Walsall Show that took place in the Arboretum on Saturday and Sunday and the thin covering of burger grease and candy floss that is passed off as culture and leisure in this southern suburb of Bloxwich.
Having binned the dreadful, tawdry and embarrassing illuminations, our enlightened council had to come up with something to hypnotise those of us they regard as the common herd and keep us slack-jawed and open-mouthed with wonder and gratitude. They decided on a fun fair, monster trucks and young men on motorbikes jumping over things. The choice of this “entertainment” and the accompanying culinary delights says more about the state of Walsall than any Art Gallery, Museum or Library (closed on Monday for your information) could ever hope to express…