political mystery tour

This is part of an article from the London Times-

Condi goes on magical Beatles mystery tour Sarah Baxter

THE long and sometimes winding road from Birmingham, Alabama, where Condoleezza Rice bought her first Beatles record, to her friend Jack Straw’s door in Blackburn, Lancashire, covers 4,200 miles. But the American secretary of state will have another figure in mind when she visits him there later this month. Could somebody please explain why there are “4,000 holes” in the foreign secretary’s Blackburn constituency? Along with millions of others, Rice was puzzled as a youngster by the lyrics of A Day in the Life on her copy of the album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: I heard the news today oh boy Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire And though the holes were rather small They had to count them all Now they know how many holes it takes To fill the Albert Hall “I never understood that Beatles song. Perhaps now I’ll get the chance,” Rice said last week. She is due to visit Straw’s constituency as part of the special relationship they have developed in office. The foreign secretary toured Rice’s childhood haunts in Alabama last October — and sealed the visit with a kiss in front of the cameras. Now the world’s most powerful woman is joining him on a magical mystery tour of the northwest of England. Rice, 51, describes herself as a huge Beatles fan who is excited about visiting Liverpool as well as Blackburn. “Who doesn’t know Liverpool who is my age?” she asked. “The very first album I bought was by the Beatles.” The Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is putting on a gala concert in her honour, hosted by Roger McGough, the Mersey poet. He once formed part of Scaffold with Sir Paul McCartney’s brother, Mike McGear. But it was John Lennon, the other half of the Beatles’ songwriting partnership, who penned the mysterious lyrics about Blackburn, according to Hunter Davies, the Beatles biographer. The answer to Rice’s childhood question is that Lennon was inspired by a newspaper report on a council survey which found not only that there were 4,000 holes in Blackburn but also that there was one-twenty-sixth of a hole per person living in the town. Should the secretary of state wish to return home with a souvenir of her visit, she could pay £1.3m for Lennon’s part of the lyric sheet which is currently on sale at Bonhams, the auctioneers. There was a follow-up article a few days later after Dr. Rice had arrived, which I cannot locate. But there was a press conference where the '4000 holes' reference once again popped up. Rice was questioned if she now knew what the line referred to. The dialogue went something like this- Rice- 4000 holes? Jack Straw- It's from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band... Rice- (silence and blank look) Straw- There used to be a lot of potholes in the streets. A man went around with a clipboard... Rice- (still silent and not comprehending) Straw- The Beatles wrote a song about it. Rice- (finally getting it) Oh yes! Yes yes yes...