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The Beatles in India: John and George were already vegetarians so for them the diet was nothing strange. Paul liked the Indian cuisine but the spices were too strong for Jane [Asher, his girlfriend]. Ringo had spent long periods in hospital with peritonitis as a child and found the food much too hot for his taste. Mal Evans assembled a stock of eggs so that he could cook Ringo fried, boiled, poached or scrambled eggs, and Ringo himself had resourcefully brought along a suitcase of baked beans, just in case. p. 412 Paul on "Bungalow Bill" and animal rights: I remember John singing "Bungalow Bill" in Rishikesh. This is another of his great songs and it's one of my favourites to this day because it stands for a lot of what I stand for now. "Did you have to shoot that tiger" is its message. "Aren't you a big guy? Aren't you a brave man?" I think John put it very well. Funny enough, John wasn't an overt animal activist, but I think by writing this song he showed that his sentiments were very much that way. One of the nice things about Beatles songs is that in many cases they do seem to stand the test of time and this is an example of one that's getting better with time. It's becoming more and more relevant. If you look at veal crating and listen to this song, or look at the hunting of nearly extinct species like tigers and rhinos, well, this is a very good song. In that context it's fabulous. p. 421
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