I like Boston. (Fond memories of eating sushi at Legal Seafood, also of sitting in a bar watching the Red Sox clinch the American League playoffs - that should date it for you!) My friend (whose loyalty was admittedly to Philadelphia) claimed it was the most civilised and corrupt city in American, and home to the second-worst driving standards in the world. Worse than Paris, worse even than Lagos, and only marginally behind Yerevan, Armenia!

Waldo: Chaotic, for sure, but not very cheerful…

Boston is nice (where I am), the closest you’ll get to Europe in the USA.

However, it was undoubtedly the indicator that they were here to stay. Previous Abba singles, like “So Long” and “I Do X5″ were much better, but there were no Abba-fans to buy them and make them into hits. However, the success of “Mamma Mia” created Abba-fans who then automatically bought the next single. It’s not as simple as that, obviously, but they were here to stay, and thankfully their future hits were (in the main) far superior.

This to me is just unremarkable; it’s not compelling enough for me to worry about which war it’s about, or even if Fernando can indeed hear the drums. A bog-standard 5.

Not as bad as the next one, mind.

Krakow has seemed the obvious choice in the six years since I fell in love with that city, but I’ve long fancied Buenos Aires. Somewhere cheerfully chaotic anyway. Any suggestions?

GIRL: I dreamed that you were having sex with me last night.

BILLY: (Suprised): Really?

GIRL: (Genuinely angry): It was horrible!

I thought Fernando was about the Spanish Civil War too. But then I never paid too much attention to Abba lyrics, because Abba songs were never really about profound messages. I wonder if it really matters?

Re: #9. “I suspect that possibly only Abba could have got away with singing a campfire anthem on behalf of the vanquished.” That’s an interesting observation. It gives the song an emotional depth a casual listener - like, say, someone who thought this was about the Spanish Civil War - might easily overlook.

In 1998, a year or so after I’d graduated, I started my grand career as a library assistant for the council. Soon, I was working all week in a small district library with just one colleague most of the time, my manager Sylvia, who was about 50, divorced, voluable and opinionated, easily riled and East End. We made for a kind of chalk and cheese pairing. She listened to Capital Gold a lot. Generally, I was quite taciturn in her company, because I knew that I’d have to explain whatever I said, as it would generally be misunderstood.

One day, Fernando is playing.

Sylvia: This always makes me think of my dad, ’cause he was in the Spanish Civil War.

Billy: I think that its about the Mexican War of Independence though, beacause they’re singing about crossing the Rio Grande.

Sylvia was cross, and I reflected that my pop knoweledge was not always welcome.

How to annoy your colleagues through deep understanding of song # 2.

The incident that most stays in my memory, though, is when ‘Wonderful Tonight’ was on.

Billy: Oh, this is the most insufferably *sexist* song ever written! The woman in this song really does just exist as an object to be displayed and for other men to envy the singer’s possession of!

Sylvia: (furious at her happy memories of the seventies - and of probably boyfriends like Eric Clapton - being traduced) WELL, THAT’S ‘OW IT WAS IN THOSE DAYS! YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND!

To bring myself down to earth, I picked up “Noddy and the Magic Rubber”, only to immediately identify Big Ears as Bloom, Noddy as Stephen Dedalus, Tubby Bear as The Citizen and Policeman Plod as Edward VII.

I guess I should seek help.

My problem with IHAD is that I find listening to other peoples dreams really tedious.