Can a college course in Taylor fandom REALLY turn our man into a mid-life Swiftie?

It begins like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting – except there is a curious tone of denial among the attendees. ‘My name is Kim and I am not a Swiftie,’ says one. ‘I’m Judith and I’m not a Swiftie,’ says another. ‘I don’t know the names of any of her albums.’

After introducing himself, a silver-haired gent called John goes still further: ‘I don’t know anything about Taylor Swift.’

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Wilma admits that she is aware of a song called Shake It Off but, apart from that, she is a complete abstainer.

Several members of the class politely aver that they are ‘here to learn’.

As, indeed, am I. The largest gap in my knowledge is an understanding of my classmates’ motives for attending a Glasgow college’s crash course on the hottest pop star on the planet. So they are not fans. No shame there. Appreciation of her oeuvre is not compulsory.

Yet here they are, giving up a weekday evening for an education on a cultural phenomenon to which they were ­hitherto content to pay no mind. What has ­happened to them?

Taylor Swift on night two of the Eras tour in July in Kansas City
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