Rosy Feiler of Montvale, New Jersey, has a question for Sir Paul McCartney: does he wear boxer shorts or briefs? "Lonesome" Larry Smith of Camberwell, south London, wants to know which McCartney song works best for getting a girl into the back seat of a car.

Thomas the Tank Engine steamed to a 29.5p premium yesterday as dealings began in the shares of Britt Allcroft, which owns the television and video rights to the children's favourite, writes Tom Stevenson.

The Royal Albert Hall is to stage an arena production of Carmen next February, the month when Eric Clapton usually performs at the venue.

A lyrical homage to growing old disgracefully by the Gloucestershire poet Jenny Joseph is topping a poll to find the nation's favourite poem of the past half-century. The survey, by BBC Television, closes at noon today. Last night Joseph's "Warning" was closely followed by Stevie Smith's "Not waving but drowning", with Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" third.

"Somewhere - he must be near a telephone." Ray Coleman's insistent demands could instil a sense of urgency into the most indolent and laid- back rock writer. As the editor of Melody Maker, the world's best weekly music paper, Coleman was determined to exact Fleet Street standards from his staff. Through his own strong will and professionalism, he helped create a dynamic newspaper that prospered throughout the heyday of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, into the era of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

Sir: Martin Kelner refers to John Lennon's song "I'm So Tired" as something of a paean to the cigarette (Section Two, 7 May) but neglects to mention Lennon's lambasting of the man widely acknowledged for introducing the weed to these islands: "And curse Sir Walter Raleigh, he was such a stupid get".

From Frank Zappa to the Sally Army, this hall is truly all things to all men. By Jonathan Glancey and Ben Summers

Where were you when John Lennon was killed 15 years ago today? The playwright Alan Bleasdale remembers where he was - and how he felt, and why it still hurts to think about the hero he never met

I can't remember what I was doing or where I was the day I heard that John Lennon had been shot, but I do remember what I thought when I heard the news, which was: "Serve him right."

"As far as I'm concerned," said George Harrison in 1989, "there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead." It was a typical late-Beatles utterance - a touch of wit and a load of acrimony. And it sounded terminal.

Last seen playing on the roof of Apple, their business headquarters, the Beatles disappeared in 1969 but Apple did not. Andrew Davidson anatomises an empire and a reunion 'We just pretended that John had gone on holiday, or out for tea, and had left us the tape to play with. That was the only way we could deal with it and get over the hurdle, because it was really very emotional' Ringo Starr

but where are they now? Insiders, outriders, relatives and friends. 30 brief lives compiled by Miles

Rock legends: Queen and Beatle releases featuring songs by late, great stars are set for a macabre battle, reports David Lister

Not quite Naomi Campbell or Robert Newman, perhaps, but Craig Brown is almost a celebrity novelist. He has been the Times's political sketchwriter, Sunday Times restaurant reviewer, Private Eye parodist and London Evening Standard columnist; he is the official humorous voice of liberal, middle-class, thirtysomething, South-east England. He lives, we are told, in a field in Essex with his wife and two children, 'Tallulah' and 'Silas'.