Lithuanians get high on Vodka in Boston.

What have Andy Warhol and Boston got in common?

Well it appears that Boston in England is trying to claim its fame one way or another.  Yes, there is a Boston in little old England.  Boston, which is a small town in the county of Lincolnshire in England in the United Kingdom (or Great Britain as it is sometimes known), is in fact the eponym of the more famous Boston Massachusetts.  Boston in the UK has been around for a good number of years and sports the tallest parish church tower in England.  It's a whopping 272 feet (and 6 inches) high.  It was because some of the Pilgrim Fathers were imprisoned in Boston prior to leaving for the New World that they strangely decided to call a settlement in what is now Massachusetts by the same name.  But I digress.

Boston has been trying to be famous for years.  Some long time ago it was the most significant port in the country but that was partly down to the Romans.  Boston is surrounded by a lot of reclaimed land but that is down to the Dutch.  Now, however, it can claim fame as the only place to blow up an illegal vodka factory in the UK!  But, unfortunately, that is down to the Lithuanians (and it cost them five lives).

Bostonians, rather like many Americans, are quite parochial.  I was a little amused by the Mayor's remarks when she reportedly said "I am sorry that it had to happen in our town."  Perhaps she was thinking it would have been better in Skegness.  According to Andy Warhol "... everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."  Well I guess it is a start for a whole town to get 15 minutes of fame.  At a population of about 60,000 that's 15 milliseconds each.  According to Lou Reed and John Cale "There's only one good thing about a small town.  You know that you want to get out."  Well five Lithuanians did.

Sorry to be so disrespectful but sometimes fame is like that.  If I blew myself up in a vodka factory I would want someone to make jokes about it.  It's a cruel world.  Go buy the album, it's worth it: Songs for Drella by Lou Reed & John Cale.  "Drella" being an amalgamation or coadjunct of Dracula and Cinderella which was a pet name of theirs for Andy Warhol.  The album Songs for Drella is a kind of obituary, eulogy or tribute to Andy Warhol.  (He's dead too.)  All excessive profits will go to the Lithuanian vodka fund to rebuild the factory.

Links:
Boston Explosion
Five Dead in Huge Fireball