Last night I stood on the magnificent staircase that leads to the great hall of Christ Church, Oxford, and listened to the Oxford Cathedral choir sing The Lamentations of Jeremiah, by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), a moody, reflective and  haunting piece of music that seems wholly in keeping with Cardinal Wolsey’s wonderful Renaissance building. If you closed your eyes you could easily imagine being back in the 16th Century.

But in the real world, where art and architecture don’t resonate particularly, that wonderful piece of architecture is known, not for it’s acoustics or the activities of the choir, but for being portrayed in the Harry Potter movies.  the number of visitors to the College rose from about 200,000 a year to 750,000 after the first film.  This morning after breakfast there were two little visiting girls at the top of the steps, dressed up as witches.  The staff hired to cope with the mob of tourists say that the visitors look blank when told about Henry VIII and the 12 prime Ministers produced by Christ Church.  Talk about Harry Potter and they all re-animate themselves and their brains re-engage.

We will be told that this is "the market" and is good.  If there is no market for art, tough.  Personally, I think Epicureans (or would -be Epicureans)  can do a bit better than that, can’t they?