Peter Moore: The ups and downs of cultural appropriation

Should we fight cultural appropriation? Exeter Chiefs rugby have changed their logo from a native American (not an Indian) to a Celtic Chief. Sombreros are definitely out, unless you’re a Mexican, and we will not see the Black and White minstrels on our TV screens anytime soon. Should we see a real Devonian star in “Beyond Paradise”, even though it is filmed in Cornwall? But where does cultural appropriation end?

Outside Winchester Cathedral the Dean, the Very Reverent Catherine Ogle has proposed a £100,000 statue of Jane Austin. She is buried in the cathedral, Jane Austin not the Dean. When I saw her grave I did notice that it did not mention the minor fact that she wrote a couple of books. I do not know what would have shocked Jane more, the idea of a statue in her honour or the fact that the cathedral has a female dean. Sadly, I can’t ask her.

One of the problems is that we have no idea what Jane Austin looked like, even though she is on our £10 notes. This gives the sculptors a free hand. To encourage younger people they could make her look like Taylor Swift.

But there is another controversy, which is where cultural appropriation comes in. She actually lived in Basingstoke. How can Winchester steal Basingstoke’s most famous daughter. I was going to suggest that she is their only famous daughter but that would be unfair to Elizabeth Hurley. The most famous man from Basingstoke is of course Aaron Jarvis, the Torquay United striker. If the club survive perhaps we should put up our own statue of this famous Basingstoke man.

The whole issue of statues has become controversial since the toppling of Edward Colston in Bristol. He was a great benefactor to the city but made his money from the Royal African Company who were shipping slaves from Africa. I can understand why people whose ancestors were shipped across the Atlantic in appalling conditions do not want to walk past a statue commemorating one of the people behind the trade. Demonstrations are popular but it is important to emphasize that the Royal African Company (RAC) has no connection to the other RAC, Royal Automobile Club. I would hate to see demonstrations outside the large RAC office by the Almonsbury interchange on the M5. We do not want to see a boycott telling everyone to join the AA, unless you’re a shareholder in the AA.

Statues tell us more about the culture at the time they were erected than anything about the person commemorated. The statue of Colston was put up in Victorian times, 120 years after he died, when philanthropy was popular. Other Victorian statues often celebrate great war leaders. Major General Sir Henry Havelock has a statue in Trafalgar Square. His claim to fame is fighting in India and Afghanistan. There is even a Havelock Road in Torquay even though I cannot find any connection to Torquay. Although the country is full of statues to war heroes such as Clive of India, Nelson or Wellington there are very few statues of heroes from the lower ranks.

(Statue of Edward Colston at the M Shed)

In Exeter Cathedral I noticed the plaque commemorating an Admiral who was “accidently drowned at sea”. It made me wonder who many Admirals were deliberately drowned at sea. Today statues are more likely to be celebrating a comedian such as Eric Morecambe in Morecambe or George Formby on the Isle of Man.

We already have a bust of Torquay’s most famous daughter, Agatha Christie. Is it time for a full size statue? And how about another famous son of Torquay Peter Cook? Penny Mordaunt was born in Torquay. We could have a statue of her holding a sword, but we need to wait to find out what happens to her career first.

If Winchester can steal Jane Austin, should we look further afield? The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born at Ottery St Mary and Ted Hughes lived at North Tawton. Surely that’s near enough. Or is it a better idea to keep the money for something more useful, like saving Torquay United?